Introduction: Family dynamics play a crucial role in shaping adolescent social behavior and psychological health. Adolescence is a critical developmental stage marked by rapid physical, emotional, and social changes. During this period, family communication, emotional support, and parental involvement significantly influence the formation of social values and mental well-being. Methods: This study employed an analytical survey design using a cross-sectional approach to examine the role of family dynamics in shaping social behavior and psychological health among students of SMA Negeri 15 Wajo. A total of 65 adolescents were selected through purposive sampling. Data were collected using a structured questionnaire developed by the researchers and analyzed using Chi-Square tests with a significance level of α = 0.05. Results: The findings revealed a statistically significant relationship between family dynamics and both behavioral problems and psychological health (p = 0.002). Adolescents from families with positive dynamics exhibited better social behavior and mental health outcomes compared to those from families with poor communication and emotional conflict. The univariate analysis also showed that most respondents experienced supportive family environments (83.1%) and good psychological health (73.8%). Conclusion: Healthy family dynamics contribute positively to adolescents’ behavioural development and psychological stability. Effective communication, emotional warmth, and balanced parental involvement serve as protective factors against deviant behaviors and mental health disorders. Future research should further explore sociocultural aspects influencing these relationships to support interventions promoting adolescent well-being.

Among the developmental stages of human life, adolescence is a nutritionally important period where the growth spurt occurs. Proper nutrition paves the way to adequate growth and good health during this period. At the same time, this is a period where a person starts to become independent and food choices and dietary habits begin to change according to environmental influences. Eating behaviours of adolescents exert a major impact on the nutritional health of adolescents. The eating behaviours in adolescents may vary from individual to individual and may manifest in some as undereating, overeating or disordered patterns. Each of these abnormal patterns is harmful and ends up in negative outcomes; overeating leads to overweight, obesity and non-communicable diseases and undereating causing undernutrition and its related consequences. Similarly, disordered eating patterns can lead to nutritional deficiencies and may even progress to eating disorders as well. Therefore, understanding the eating behaviours of adolescents, their associated factors and their consequences is important to determine the interventions to improve the nutritional health of adolescents. In this review, the importance of eating behaviours in adolescence, common eating behaviours of adolescents, the consequences of unhealthy eating behaviours of adolescents and the strategies that can be taken to promote healthy eating behaviours have been discussed. The present review also highlights the knowledge gaps in existing literature concerning eating behaviours among adolescents. Future research is recommended to explore the modern eating behaviours of adolescents, their associations and effective interventions to promote healthy eating behaviours among them.

The COVID-19 pandemic and its measures have profoundly affected adolescents' lives, including their health behaviors. As a host of research indicates that adolescent health behaviors cluster together and that adolescents can respond differently to the pandemic, we examined adolescents' changes in clusters of health behaviors and its correlates during different phases of the pandemic. A total of 710 Dutch adolescents (53% female; at pre-pandemic: Mage = 14.37; SDage = 0.65; age range = 12.72 to 17.06years) completed questionnaires on health behaviors (i.e., nicotine use, alcohol use, unhealthy food intake, and physical inactivity) before the pandemic (spring 2019) and during different phases of the pandemic (lockdown 1 (spring 2020), reopening 1 (fall 2020), lockdown 2 (spring 2021), reopening 2 (fall 2021)). We used a person-centered technique to explore how health behaviors clustered in latent classes before and during different phases of the pandemic, and whether adolescents transitioned to different classes during different phases. Adolescent demographics (i.e., age, educational type, and sex) and parental health behaviors were tested as covariates of class membership and transitions. The Latent Transition Analysis (LTA) identified three classes before the pandemic: one class characterized by health-risk substance use and food intake, one class characterized by health-protective versions of these behaviors, and a medium health-risk class. During the pandemic phases, two classes were identified: most adolescents in the health-risk or health-protective class transitioned to a class with similar health-risk and health-protective behaviors. The third, medium health-risk, class was split into a health-protective and a health-risk class during the pandemic, with most adolescents transitioning to the health-risk class. Age, educational type, sex, and parental food intake behavior were related to latent class membership at some, but not all, time points. Some parental health behaviors, but not adolescent demographic factors, were related to the transition from the medium health-risk to the health-risk class. Adolescents at-risk for unhealthy behaviors may remain so during the pandemic. Adolescent demographics and parental (food intake) behaviors are relevant to consider as forms of screening adolescents who may be more at risk to show health-risk behaviors. Larger studies are needed to corroborate these findings.

This study aims to investigate the mediating effects of experiential avoidance and subjective well-being on the relationship between parental marital conflict and BrainRot behavior-a colloquial term referring to the perceived negative effects of consuming excessive online content, particularly on social media platforms-among Chinese adolescents. A self-reported survey was conducted with 4,063 adolescents (2,021 boys, 2,042 girls; mean age = 14.71 ± 1.43 years) in China. Validated Chinese versions of standardized instruments were used, including the Children's Perception of Marital Conflict Scale, the Problematic Short Video Use Scale, and the Acceptance and Action Questionnaire-II, along with a single-item measure of subjective well-being. Data were analyzed using SPSS 26.0, and mediation analyses were conducted with the PROCESS macro (Model 6), applying 5,000 bootstrap resamples to estimate 95% confidence intervals for indirect effects. After controlling for age, gender, and grade, parental marital conflict was positively associated with adolescents' BrainRot behavior and experiential avoidance, and negatively associated with subjective well-being. Mediation analyses indicated that experiential avoidance served as the primary mediator in this relationship, while subjective well-being and the sequential pathway also played smaller but significant mediating roles. These findings suggest that both experiential avoidance and subjective well-being contribute to the link between parental marital conflict and BrainRot behavior. This study provides further insight into the psychological mechanisms linking parental marital conflict and adolescent BrainRot behavior by identifying experiential avoidance and subjective well-being as key mediators. The findings contribute to the understanding of how adolescents' internal coping strategies and emotional well-being influence the impact of family conflict, offering theoretical implications for research on adolescent behavior and family dynamics. Practically, the results suggest that interventions aimed at reducing BrainRot behavior should focus on fostering adaptive coping strategies and enhancing subjective well-being, providing guidance for family-, school-, and community-based programs.

Associations Between County-Level Vape-Free Air Law Coverage and E-Cigarette Use Behaviors Among U.S. Adolescents in Monitoring the Future.

Alterations in hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis function may underlie the relation between childhood maltreatment and nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI) behaviors. This study examined how co-occurring patterns of maltreatment types influenced adolescent NSSI behaviors and the mediating role of diurnal cortisol, using a longitudinal design. The sample included 295 Chinese adolescents (M age = 10.79 years, SD = 0.84 years; 67.1% boys). The study employed latent profile analysis to identify childhood maltreatment patterns and conducted path analysis to examine the mediating mechanism. Four maltreatment patterns were identified: Low Maltreatment (67.8%), High Neglect (15.6%), Moderate Maltreatment (10.2%), and High Abuse with Moderate Neglect (6.4%). Furthermore, compared to the Low Maltreatment profile, adolescents in the High Neglect profile were at increased risk for later NSSI behaviors through higher waking cortisol levels, while those in the High Abuse with Moderate Neglect profile were at increased risk through a steeper diurnal slope. Disturbances in diurnal cortisol rhythm serve as a pathway through which childhood maltreatment "gets under the skin" to lead to adolescent NSSI behaviors. These findings offer promise for identifying maltreated youth at risk for NSSI behaviors and informing targeted prevention strategies.

The prevalence of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) has been on the rise, with adolescents and young adults experiencing the highest incidence rates. For these young patients, self-management behaviors are critical to maintaining disease remission and improving quality of life and yet their current self-management status remains suboptimal. This study aimed to evaluate the impact of a remote and multicomponent intervention program (integrating health education, solution-focused intervention, peer support, and mindfulness training) on the self-management behaviors and related mental health outcomes in young adults and adolescents with IBD. From July 2024 to January 2025, we conducted a 2-arm, single-blind randomized controlled trial. Adolescents and young adults with IBD (aged 13-24 years) were recruited from gastroenterology wards of 2 tertiary hospitals in Chongqing, China, and randomized 1:1 to the intervention (extra multicomponent program) or control (routine care) group. Outcomes (self-management behaviors, perceived social support, basic psychological needs, anxiety, depression, and disease activity) were assessed postintervention (T1) and 12 weeks later (T2). Intention-to-treat analysis was used: normally distributed data via mixed-design analysis of variance, and nonnormal data via rank sum and Friedman tests. A total of 74 participants (mean age 18.95, SD 2.96 years; 53/74, 72% males) were enrolled (37 per group) with no baseline differences. Compared with the control group, the intervention group showed significantly higher self-management scores at both T1 (mean difference -16.676, 95% CI -24.370 to -8.982; P<.001, η2=0.206) and T2 (mean difference -14.189, 95% CI -22.594 to -5.784; P=.001, η2=0.136), along with higher perceived social support scores at T1 (mean difference -9.000, 95% CI -13.932 to -4.068; P=.001, η2=0.155) and T2 (mean difference -6.649, 95% CI -11.890 to -1.407; P=.01, η2=0.082). Basic psychological needs scores were also higher in the intervention group at T1 (mean difference -4.946, 95% CI -8.323 to -1.569; P=.005, η2=0.106) and T2 (mean difference -3.946, 95% CI -7.720 to -0.172; P=.04, η2=0.057), while anxiety (T1: P=.04; T2: P=.007) and depression (T1: P=.048; T2: P=.03) scores were lower. In addition, the intervention group had a higher disease activity remission rate at T2 (P=.03). This study extended the application of self-determination theory to adolescents and young adults with IBD, offering a novel theoretical basis for self-management practice in this population. It was shown that this multicomponent intervention was a valuable addition to standard care in enhancing self-management behaviors and related mental health outcomes while lowering disease activity. In addition, its alignment of intrinsic behavioral motivation with nurse-driven clinical settings boosted clinical operability of the intervention. Chinese Clinical Trial Registry ChiCTR2400086703; https://www.chictr.org.cn/showproj.html?proj=235313.

Insufficient physical activity (PA) and extensive sedentary behavior (SB) in adolescents has been related to adverse outcomes related to physical fitness, body weight as well as social and psychological health indicators. Furthermore, these behaviors tend to track from adolescence to adulthood, thereby affecting adult chronic disease risk. The knowledge of factors associated with PA and SB is needed particularly in adolescents, in order to plan public health strategies aiming at increasing PA and reducing SB. The aim of this Citizen Science project (conducted between February 2020 and June 2021) was to work together with young citizens on a school-based epidemiologic study assessing device-based measured PA and SB in students (grades 8 or higher) to identify associated factors based on both established as well as co-created questionnaires. In 12 school classes from Berlin and Brandenburg, students were as Citizen Scientists involved in the co-creation of class-specific questionnaires by collecting factors that may influence their PA and SB. Students participating in the study wore thigh-worn accelerometers (activPAL) for seven consecutive days and subsequently completed established as well as the newly developed class-specific questionnaires to ascertain potential influencing factors of PA and SB. Multilevel linear regression models were used to identify factors associated with time spent in moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) and SB. Accelerometry data with at least four recorded days were available for 119 students (783 recorded days). In models adjusted for age, sex and parental socioeconomic status, high traffic safety around the school (14.8min/day, 95% CI 0.9, 28.7) and higher degree school type (10.7min/day, 95% CI 1.7; 19.8) were associated with more time spent in MVPA. From the class-specific questionnaires developed based on input from students, the feeling of being exhausted after school and homework was associated with less time spent in MVPA, while internal motivation to be physically active, active hobbies and working out regularly at a gym were associated with more time spent in MVPA. The potential influencing factors under investigation were not associated with sedentary time (except female sex, which was related to lower sedentary time). Although our findings warrant confirmation in larger samples, this Citizen Science study points to potential action points that may be targeted in public health interventions aimed at increasing PA to improve health in adolescents.

We examined the psychosocial factors that predict sexual risk behaviour of adolescents who reside in HIV affected homes in Uganda, to provide evidence for developing suitable interventions. Structured questionnaires were used to collect data about these adolescents' psychosocial and sexual experiences. The scales and data were verified for precision and reliability using factor analyses, while the predictors of sexual risk behaviour were examined using general linear models. Results showed that having been female, in the younger adolescence stage and a Muganda or Lango, living with one caregiver, being a recipient of HIV/psychosocial care and vulnerable to negative peer influence, personal threats, interpersonal problems, psychosocial distresses (e.g. psychosis and delinquency) and coping by deflecting problems, significantly enabled sexual risk behaviour in these adolescents. However, attending school, religious conviction, experiencing orphanhood especially of the mother, living with two caregivers, and experiencing poverty, judgmental HIV stigma, distress (e.g. inattention and depression), self-control and social support significantly deterred it. These results highlight the centrality of gender, age, HIV care, family situations, sociocultural and peer norms, community stressors, psychosocial distresses, and negative coping methods in influencing sexual risk behaviour of adolescents who reside in HIV affected homes. Interventions by families, schools and agencies are needed to prevent or mitigate these risk factors.

ABSTRACT Bullying negatively impacts child development, increasing risks for deviant behaviors and poor health outcomes. Racial/ethnic minority youth experience high rates of bullying. This study examines the relationship between the frequency of middle childhood bullying victimization and adolescent risk behaviors, including fighting, marijuana use, sexual activity, physical inactivity, and sleep problems. Racial/ethnic differences in these associations are also explored. An analytical sample of 2,678 children and their primary caregivers was derived from Waves 1 (birth), 5 (age 9), and 6 (age 15) of the Future of Families and Child Wellbeing Study. Frequency of middle childhood bullying victimization was assessed via a composite index, and risk behaviors were self-reported or reported by primary caregivers. Path and multi-group path analyses examined associations between bullying victimization and risk behaviors and whether racial/ethnic differences existed. Frequent bullying victimization significantly predicted fighting, sleep problems, and physical inactivity, but not sexual activity or marijuana use. While our multi-group path analysis found no statistically significant racial/ethnic differences in the association between frequent bullying victimization and the outcome variables, the findings do indicate that Latino/Hispanic youth had higher levels of risk behavior outcomes. Bullying victimization can have lasting consequences for all young people. Social personnel are crucial in early intervention initiatives to combat and alleviate the harmful effects of bullying and to foster healthy development.

Nutritional status represents an individual’s overall physical condition, which is influenced by dietary intake and the body’s ability to utilize nutrients efficiently. Among the various determinants, physical activity and fruit–vegetable consumption play essential roles. According to the 2018 Basic Health Research data in Makassar City, the prevalence of nutritional status among adolescents aged 13–15 years was 2.69% severely thin, 7.01% thin, 63.21% normal, 17.67% overweight, and 9.42% obese. This study aimed to analyze the association between physical activity, fruit–vegetable consumption, and nutritional status among 65 female adolescents at SMPN 40 Makassar. Data were collected from November 2024 to February 2025 using a validated Food Frequency Questionnaire (FFQ) for dietary assessment and the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ) for activity measurement. Nutritional status was classified based on the Body Mass Index-for-Age (BMI/A) criteria from the World Health Organization (WHO, 2007). Statistical analysis employed the Chi-Square test. The results showed no significant association between physical activity and nutritional status (p = 0.210) nor between fruit–vegetable consumption and nutritional status (p = 0.243). These null findings suggest that other dietary or lifestyle factors, such as total energy intake, meal frequency, or sedentary behavior, may play a more dominant role in determining adolescent nutritional status in urban settings. Future studies are recommended to expand the scope by including multiple determinants of adolescent health and nutrition behaviors

This study was conducted to assess the psychometric soundness of the short form of the Inventory of Parent and Peer Attachment (IPPA-45) and its relationship with internalizing and externalizing behavior problems. Iranian adolescent girls and boys aged 14-17 (n = 1532; 50% girls; Mean age = 15.50, SD = .97) were asked to report their attachment security, internalizing and externalizing behavior problems (Youth Self-Report), and demographic characteristics. Results of the confirmatory factor analysis supported the original three-factor first-order model for maternal, paternal, and peer forms, with equivalency across gender and reasonable reliability. Internal construct validity was supported by acceptable correlation coefficients among the three dimensions. The trust and communication subscales of the IPPA-45 were negatively correlated with all subscales of behavioral problems and adolescents' age, while positively correlated with academic performance. Conversely, the alienation subscale showed significant but weaker correlations with these variables in the opposite direction. Satisfactory discriminant validity was demonstrated through Average Variance Extracted (AVE) for trust and communication, but not for alienation. Gender discrepancies were observed, with boys exhibiting higher attachment security to their parents and girls displaying stronger attachment to their peers. The findings suggest that the IPPA-45 is a reliable and valid instrument for assessing adolescents' attachments to their parents and peers. Thus, attachment relationships, including peer attachment, appear to be essential for protecting teenagers from behavior problems and should be targeted in intervention programs.

With growing concern about aggressive behavior among adolescents, there is ongoing debate regarding the link between poor sleep quality and aggression. The present study examines the relationship between poor sleep quality and aggressive behavior in adolescents, with a particular focus on family cohesion and affect (i.e., both negative and positive affect) as underlying mechanisms. A sample of Chinese adolescents (N = 528, M age = 14.12, SD age = 1.14, 45.8% female) participated in the study. The results indicated that poor sleep quality was positively associated with aggressive behavior. Family cohesion and both types of affect partially and serially mediated the relationship between poor sleep quality and aggressive behavior. These findings underscore the importance of targeting sleep quality in interventions aimed at adolescents. Improving sleep quality may help to enhance adolescents' mental and emotional well-being, promote healthier family relationships, and reduce aggressive behaviors.

Longitudinal Patterns of Adolescents' Health-Related Behaviors in Canada.

Beyond impulsivity, predicting non-suicidal self-injurious behavior in adolescents: A network approach.

Suicidal thoughts and behaviors in adolescents with mood disorders: Insights from a nationally representative sample.

Cannabis expectancies mediate the association between social media use and cannabis experimentation in early adolescents: A prospective cohort study.

Sleep disturbances are established risk factors for suicidal thoughts and behaviors (STB) in adolescents. Nightmares are understudied in this context. The Interpersonal Psychological Theory of Suicide (IPTS) proposes that suicide ideation (SI) alone is not a risk factor for suicide attempt (SA); instead, high levels of SI interact with capability (i.e., factors that enable ideators to make attempts). Through the lens of the IPTS, this study explored the role of nightmares as correlates of variables associated with STB and as potential indicators of capability. We assessed nightmare frequency and severity in 340 adolescents at entry into intensive treatment for STB. For the group at large, nightmares did not have direct relationships with SI and SA but were correlated with variables associated with these outcomes. The pattern of associations suggested that nightmares are distal risk factors for SI mediated by insomnia, depression, and emotional dysregulation. In the presence of high SI, nightmares were associated with SA, even after controlling for STB-related variables. Nightmares may be an indicator of capability potentiating SA in youth with high SI. Our findings highlight the importance of assessing nightmares in the management of suicidal youth and exploring interventions that decrease nightmares as a suicide prevention strategy.

Creating an adolescent intensive health behavior and lifestyle treatment for type 1 diabetes: Feedback from the target population.

Prevalence of Current, Daily, and Heavy Smokers Among Adolescents in 97 Countries: A Global Population-Based Study.