At-risk Teens Research Articles

Physician Advice About Being Overweight: Association With Self-Reported Weight Loss, Dietary, and Physical Activity Behaviors of US Adolescents in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, 1999–2002

The goal was to examine the association of physician counseling about being overweight with attempted weight loss, dietary, and physical activity/inactivity behaviors of US teens. We used data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys 1999-2000 and 2001-2002 for 16- to 19-year-old subjects with BMI for age of > or = 85th percentile (n = 716). Regression methods were used to examine the association of physician advice about teen weight status with covariate-adjusted differences in reported weight loss, dietary, and physical activity behaviors. Approximately 51% of overweight teens (BMI for age of > or = 95th percentile) but only 17% of at-risk teens (BMI for age of 85th to < 95th percentile) reported that they had been informed by a doctor about being overweight. More than 60% of those told by a doctor about being overweight had attempted weight loss in the past year, relative to 41% of those who did not receive this advice. Teens informed of their overweight status reported significantly smaller amounts of all foods and beverages and lower energy intake per kilogram of body weight in the 24-hour recall, relative to the comparison group. Physical activity and inactivity behaviors were unrelated to professional counseling about overweight status. Physician counseling regarding adolescent overweight status was associated with a positive impact on attempted weight loss and moderate dietary behaviors.

Cost-effectiveness of an Intervention to Prevent Depression in At-Risk Teens

Depression is common in adolescent offspring of depressed parents and can be prevented, but adoption of prevention programs is dependent on the balance of their incremental costs and benefits. To examine the incremental cost-effectiveness of a group cognitive behavioral intervention to prevent depression in adolescent offspring of depressed parents. Cost-effectiveness analysis of a recent randomized controlled trial. Kaiser Permanente Northwest, a large health maintenance organization. Teens 13 to 18 years old at risk for depression. Usual care (n = 49) or usual care plus a 15-session group cognitive therapy prevention program (n = 45). Clinical outcomes were converted to depression-free days and quality-adjusted life-years. Total health maintenance organization costs, costs of services received in other sectors, and family costs were combined with clinical outcomes in a cost-effectiveness analysis comparing the intervention with usual care for 1 year after the intervention. Average cost of the intervention was $1632, and total direct and indirect costs increased by $610 in the intervention group. However, the result was not statistically significant, suggesting a possible cost offset. Estimated incremental cost per depression-free day in the base-case analysis was $10 (95% confidence interval, -$13 to $52) or $9275 per quality-adjusted life-year (95% confidence interval, -$12 148 to $45 641). Societal cost-effectiveness of a brief prevention program to reduce the risk of depression in offspring of depressed parents is comparable to that of accepted depression treatments, and the program is cost-effective compared with other health interventions commonly covered in insurance contracts.

School Attendance Demonstration Project: An Evaluation of a Program to Motivate Public Assistance Teens to Attend and Complete School in an Urban School District

Objective: This article reports on the evaluation of The School Attendance Demonstration Project (SADP). SADP is an intervention aimed at improving the school attendance rates of 16- to 18-year-olds receiving public assistance. Method: Experimental group students attending school less than 80% of the time received a notice to attend an orientation for services. Students who continued to attend school less than 80%, did not attend the orientation, and could not show good cause for attendance were sanctioned. The study used a control group with random assignment. Results: Data show that in any month, more experimental group students met the attendance rule than did control group students. Logistic regression predicted that females, Hispanics, students from single-parent families, and those attending alternative schools had difficulty meeting attendance requirements. Conclusions: The findings suggest that at-risk teens need alternative strategies from sanctions to encourage school attendance.

Perceptions about Risk for HIV/AIDS among Adolescents in Juvenile Detention

Although progress has been made toward reducing risk-taking behavior among teens, adolescents confined in juvenile detention facilities and youths living in inner cities remain vulnerable. Reaching these populations with appropriate risk-reduction strategies continues to challenge health providers and educators. Crucial first steps in the design of relevant programs involve discovering how at-risk teens perceive risk and which risks and dangers within their communities occupy their attention. Participants in this study did not identify HIV/AIDS as a primary concern; instead, they described the dangers and risks they encountered in their home neighborhoods. Based on these findings, this discussion addresses the implications for the development of health education programs to empower teens for responsible behavior after release from detention.

Against the Current: How One School Struggled and Succeeded with At-Risk Teens. By Michael Brosnan. Portsmouth, N.H.: Heinemann, 1997

Against the Current: How One School Struggled and Succeeded with At-Risk Teens. By Michael Brosnan. Portsmouth, N.H.: Heinemann, 1997

Runaway with words: Teaching poetry to at-risk teens

This article reports on “Runaway with Words,” a poetry workshop for at-risk teens in Florida's runaway shelters. Through various exercises, oral recitations, and conversations, troubled teens learn basic writing skills that help them gain control over their emotions. Students, counselors, and instructors alike are asked to participate in the workshop, thus increasing the approachability of the adults and providing a crucial distinction between this experience and school. In the year and a half of the program's existence, Runaway with Words has interacted with a variety of children from a variety of backgrounds. Poems taken from the program's work with PACE and The Village School in Orlando demonstrate what can be achieved artistically in a relatively short period of time.

Developmental tasks: a key to reducing teenage pregnancy.

The developmental tasks of adolescence are discussed as a factor in some adolescents' risky sexual activity, which may lead to pregnancy. This theory is presented in the context of a case study. Nursing diagnoses, possible interventions, and nursing implications are examined in relation to assisting at-risk teens to meet their developmental needs. It is hoped that this article will stimulate further dialogue in the literature of developmental causes of teenage pregnancy, identification of those at risk, and appropriate nursing responses.

Residential Services for Pregnant Teens

Residential services for pregnant teens need to be reexamined to meet the special needs of at-risk teens in the 1980s. These needs include high risk medical conditions, poor family support systems, out-of-home agency referrals, and teens who need intensive counseling. While adoption fees will no longer support these programs, financing of residential services may become a necessary public burden.