Abstract
In this issue of the Journal of Primary Prevention, we address some emerging issues in child and adolescent health as well as explore established concepts in new contexts. The first two articles highlight the fast changing field of child and adolescent health and the need for researchers to keep pace with this phase of life and the changing social, cultural, and environmental landscape. For example, the dietary supplement industry has had tremendous growth in the last decade (Nutrition Business Journal, 2011), but few have examined how supplements impact youth. Evans and colleagues studied real-world use of dietary supplements that is not captured in clinical trial studies. They report that 5.5% of children and adolescents in the US used herbal supplements, and 4.4% used vitamin supplements in the past 30 days to improve sports performance. While these percentages are relatively small, it is estimated that over a million youth used supplements to enhance sports performance. This article emphasizes the need for further research, given the lack of evidence of the efficacy and safety of performance-enhancing supplements for youth. Another emerging adolescent health concern highlighted in this issue is the use of the Internet to meet sex partners. Whiteley et al. examined a population of sexually active, African American youth to determine the frequency of meeting sex partners through the Internet and whether those who met sex partners online exhibited greater risk behaviors than those who did not engage in this activity. Their findings show that 6% of African American youth reported meeting sex partners online and that those who used the Internet to meet sex partners were more likely to engage in highrisk behaviors such as drug use at last sex, marijuana and cocaine use, and unprotected vaginal and anal sex. This study highlights a population that may be at higher risk for unintended pregnancy, HIV, and other STIs but also study points to an opportunity to access high-risk populations through the Internet for intervention purposes. The next three articles take concepts familiar to child and adolescent health and apply them within new contexts. Knowlden and coauthors examined whether constructs from the theory of planned behavior would be useful in predicting sleep intentions among college students attending a Midwestern university. Increasing evidence suggests the prevalence of sleep deprivation is on the rise, particularly in this population (Bixler, 2009; Lund, Reider, Whiting, & Prichard, 2010). Sleep deprivation has been reported to be associated with poor health, increased risk of injury, and decreased performance (for example, Ayas et al., 2003; Lockley et al., 2004; Stickgold, Hobson, Fosse, & Fosse, 2001). The study by Knowlden and colleagues suggests the theory of planned behavior may S. R. Tortolero (&) D. H. Li (&) University of Texas School of Public Health, Houston, TX, USA e-mail: Susan.Tortolero@uth.tmc.edu
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