Educational Programs For Adolescents Research Articles

Abstract #1324711: Implementing a Structured Educational Program for Adolescents With Type 1 Diabetes in Arabic Culture: Are we Ready?

The increasing rates of newly diagnosed cases with type 1 diabetes among the youths (<20 years of age) with the suggestive evidence of poor glycemic control in teens with type 1 diabetes and the high rates of no show to clinic appointments have strived us to initiate the WICKED program, adapted from the UK. Improving transitional care for young people has the potential to improve health for many years to come. Currently there is a lack of any group strucuted education program in the MENA region.

Investigating the effect of cognitive-behavioral educational intervention on the development of female teenagers' social skills in Khomeini Shahr.

Social skills are necessary for teenagers to have good interactions, accept roles, and adapt to conditions in the community. The present study investigated the effect of cognitive-behavioral educational intervention on students' social skills. This experimental study was completed on 102 female students in Khomeini Shahr, Isfahan. Fifty-seven students participated in the online cognitive-behavioral educational program of social skills for five sessions, and 57 students were assigned to the control group. The data from the Matson Evaluation of Social Skills with Youngsters (for subjects aged 4-18 years old) were collected before and 1 month after the interventional program. The data were analyzed using SPSS 25, independent t-test, Mann-Whitney test, and Chi-squared test. The independent t-test showed that before the intervention, the total mean score of social skills and its variables were not significantly different between the intervention and control groups (P > 0.05). However, after the intervention, the total mean score of social skills and the variables of appropriate communication skills, relationship with peers, and impulsive behaviors in the intervention group was significantly more than the control group, but the mean scores of antisocial and arrogant behaviors (haughtiness) were not significantly different between the two times in the intervention and control groups. The results show that participation in educational intervention significantly increased student's social skills development; it is suggested to incorporate cognitive-behavioral intervention in educational programs for adolescents.

Development of a Web-Based School Support System Within the AVATAR Project for Psychosocial Well-being in Adolescents: Pilot Feasibility Study.

BackgroundHealth and well-being promotions are key points of educational programs for adolescents within schools. There are several health education programs mainly based on lifestyle habit changes; however, social and emotional dimensions should be considered within these educational strategies.ObjectiveThis study aimed to (1) develop a new web-based school support system to assess and analyze individual, classroom, and scholastic institute data on lifestyle habits, social context, emotional status, and scholastic performance; (2) create a web tool for managing the well-being of adolescents through a dynamic and personalized interface that provides immediate feedback that allows the school to monitor progress; and (3) evaluate, in a pilot study, the feasibility of this web-based school support system in order to build health programs that are specific to the needs of the studied population.MethodsThe AVATAR (a new purpose for the promotion and evaluation of health and well-being among healthy teenagers) method consists of integrating the information coming from different questionnaires. In particular, to allow planning didactic and educational actions based on the results obtained, the AVATAR approach allows subdivision of the results of the different observed variables and the 4 components into the following 3 percentile categories: modify, improve, and maintain. The AVATAR web platform was designed to collect data on lifestyle, emotional status, and social context from junior high schools in terms of the fundamental aspects of adolescent daily life, with free use by the scholastic community (scholars, teachers, and parents). In this pilot/feasibility study, data from 331 students were acquired between 2018 and 2019 at the beginning of the scholastic year (pre) and at the end following the school-based program (post).ResultsPreliminary results showed that after school planning and specific program implementation, defined after AVATAR feedback, students reported better well-being perception characterized by higher perception in psychological well-being (P=.001), mood (P=.001), self-perception (P=.006), and autonomy (P=.001), and an increase in the perception of financial resources (P=.001), which helped in developing healthy lifestyle habits (P=.007). In the social context assessment, students reported stronger relationships with family (P=.02) and peers (P=.001), and a lower perception of bullying (P=.001).ConclusionsThe AVATAR web-based platform is a feasible and flexible tool for the health and well-being management of adolescents from epidemiological, preventive, and educational points of view. In particular, it can be used to (1) promote information campaigns aimed at modifying risk behaviors in the student population, (2) sensitize students and put them at the center of their growth path, (3) inform institutions about the health and well-being of the school population, (4) ensure health programs are acceptable and feasible to users before launching on a large scale, and (5) improve the relationship of users (school) and educational agencies with research groups.

Hygienic Assessment of the Influence of Factors of Digital Environment on Adolescents in the Process of Educational and Leisure Activities

Background: The wide use of digital tools in teaching requires a hygienic assessment of their impact on the health and lifestyle of students. The objective of the study was to assess the impact of the digital environment on the health and lifestyle of adolescents, depending on the duration of use of electronic learning tools in educational and leisure activities. Methods: An anonymous online questionnaire-based survey of 111 high school and college students was conducted to establish their screen time in the educational process, when performing homework and at leisure, as well as indicators of wellbeing and lifestyle and health complaints. In addition, learning conditions in college computer classes, such as illumination, microclimate, air ionization, levels of electromagnetic fields, airborne concentrations of phenol and formaldehyde were assessed. Modern statistical methods (Student’s t-test, chi-squared test) and methods of evidence-based medicine were applied. Results and discussion: Almost 66 % of the respondents reported using electronic teaching aids (a computer or laptop) at school three or more times a week and severer symptoms of fatigue after such classes. Complaints typical of adult professional users were not common in adolescents, except for visual impairment over the past year (48.6 %). In computer classes, microclimate parameters were far from being optimal: illumination was lower than the regulated values; the levels of electromagnetic fields, ionization, and indoor air concentrations of phenol and formaldehyde were comparable to the appropriate standard values. We observed a high involvement of adolescents in the use of digital tools at home for educational purposes and especially at leisure. The intensive use of Internet (more than 4 hours a day) was associated with frequent complaints of headaches, visual impairment, sleep disorders, and poor self-assessment of the physical shape that may be attributed to the established decreasing number of teenagers engaged in physical culture and sports. Conclusion: The length of time spent in the Internet space for homework and leisure activities affects students’ health and lifestyle. This indicates the need to develop and implement preventive and educational programs for adolescents in order to minimize health risks posed by digital environment and confirmed by outcomes of distance learning.

Cyberbullying Detection Through Machine Learning: Can Technology Help to Prevent Internet Bullying?

Cyberbullying constitutes a threat to adolescents’ psychosocial wellbeing that developed alongside technological progress. Detecting online bullying cases is still an issue because most of victims and bystanders do not timely report cyberbullying episodes to adults. Therefore, automatized technologies may play a critical role in detecting cyberbullying through the use of Machine Learning (ML). ML covers a broad range of techniques that enables systems to quickly access and learn from data, and to make decisions about complex problems. This contribution aims at deepening the role of ML in cyberbullying detection and prevention. Specifically, the following issues are addressed: i. identifying the features most frequently considered to develop ML models predicting cyberbullying; ii. identifying the most used ML algorithms and their evaluation methods; iii. understanding the implication of ML for prevention; iv. highlighting the main theoretical and methodological issues of ML algorithms in predicting cyberbullying. To answer these research questions, a systematic review of literature reviews, from a total of n=186 records from online databanks, has been conducted. Ten literature reviews have been elected to analyze and discuss evidence about ML preventative potential against cyberbullying. Most of the models used content-based features to predict cyberbullying. The majority of these features includes words written in social network posts, whereas Support Vector Machine, Naïve Bayes, and Convolutional Neural Networks are the most used alghorithms. Methodological and technical issues have been critically discussed. ML represents an innovative preventative strategy that may optimize and integrate educational programs for adolescents and be the starting point of the development of technology-based automatized detection strategies. Future research is challenged to develop algorithms capable of detecting cyberbullying from several multimedia sources.

The Influence of Perceived Maternal Warmth toward Empathy among Urban Adolescents from Low Socio-Economic Status Family

This study aims to investigate how far maternal warmth can prredict empathy among urban adolescents who are living in the poverty condition. Sample in this study were 202 adolescents coming from low socio-economic status family in Jakarta, chosen with purposive sampling technique. The instruments that were used are Basic Empathy Scale and subscale of warmth/affection from Parental Acceptance-Rejection Questionnaire. Regression analysis indicate that maternal warmth has signitificant and positive role towards empathy among adolescents living in poverty condition by 7 %. Maternal warmth is also known to contribute on the affective empathy by 2,9 % and on the cognitive empathy by 8,7 %. The results of this study are expected to be a reference to develop educational programs for adolescents and mothers who live in poverty for preventing moral transgression among this population. Keywords: adolescent; empathy; maternal warmth; poverty.

The Internet Use and Addiction by University Adolescent Student

Background: Internet addiction is regarded as risk-taking behaviors among adolescents. Dysfunctional use of the internet may interfere with the person’s social life, school work, and at certain occasions constituting a predisposing factor for the appearance of psychiatric disorders. Aim: This study was to assess internet use and addiction by university adolescent students. Subjects and Method: A descriptive research design was followed in this study. The subject of the study compromised 515 university students (311 were females and 204 were males), their age ranging from 18 to 19 years in all twelve faculties in Port Said governorate. The following tools were utilized to collect the necessary data for this study (Internet addictive behavior scale and personal data for the students and their parents) Results: The study revealed that, more than one-quarter of studied students was using the internet for 3hours and more per day. Severe/ extremely severe internet addiction levels were higher among female students and human sciences students. Conclusion and Recommendation: Most of the studied students were moderate of internet addictive behavior scale. Thus, the study recommended continuous educational programs for adolescents to teach them about the proper internet usage to avoid negative impacts on psychological status and replace the excessive use of the internet with health activity(such as sports). An educational session to parents about the supervisory role of the parents at home.

Feasibility of a breast health educational program to increase breast cancer awareness among adolescents and their female relatives in low-income communities.

76 Background: Delays in the diagnosis of breast cancer in developing countries are partially related to a lack of knowledge on breast health (BH), particularly in rural communities with poor access to education. We implemented a BH educational program for adolescents from a rural community in Mexico, aimed at increasing knowledge and promoting intergenerational transmission of information from adolescents to their female relatives. Here, we report the results of our feasibility aims, as well as the change in knowledge in the students after the intervention. Methods: In this pilot study, adolescents enrolled in a public rural Mexican middle school were invited to participate in the program. They received age-appropriate, culturally sensitive sessions from expert educators focused on transmitting BH knowledge in their household. Our primary outcome was satisfaction with the content, with 75% approval needed for the program to be considered acceptable. Pre and post true/false tests to evaluate the students’ knowledge were applied. Paired t-test was used to detect changes in knowledge. A p value of &lt; 0.05 was considered significant. Acceptability of the program among the school teachers was assessed. Results: 238 students were invited to participate, of which 126 (53%) provided parental consent and completed the program. Median age was 13.5 years (12-16). 96% (n = 121) of the students considered the sessions very interesting and 99% (n = 124) thought they either learned “a lot” (66%; n = 83) or “some” (33%; n = 41). The pre- and post-test mean proportion of correct answers was 63% (12.5-100%, SD 0.2) and 89% (25-100%, SD 0.12) respectively. A statistically significant improvement in the proportion of correct answers was found for 5 out of 8 questions. 100% (n = 18) of the teachers thought the intervention was acceptable. Conclusions: Our results show that implementing a BH educational program for rural adolescents in low-income communities is feasible and acceptable, and that such a program can increase their knowledge on BH. Our next planned step is to assess intergenerational transmission of the information to the students’ female relatives.

Non-formal basic education as a development priority: Evidence from Nicaragua

Almost 900m adolescents and adults are illiterate in the developing world, yet most policy discussions focus on the educational circumstances of primary aged children. As a result non-formal educational programs for adolescents and adults are given very little support, and this group is virtually ignored in international agreements such as the millennium declaration. This article presents the first serious attempt at evaluating the impact of a non-formal education program. Results show significant learning achievement over the academic year, as well as strong development impacts of the program in non-learning dimensions of participants’ lives. These positive impacts, plus the significantly lower unit costs and self-targeted nature of the program provide strong evidence that this type of program can be an important part of the poverty reduction and human capital enhancement strategy of developing countries with large illiterate adult populations.

Educational and behavioral issues in transitioning from pediatric cardiology to adult-centered health care

It is assumed that when they begin growing up, a child with congenital heart disease will take personal responsibility for his or her care. For this purpose, patients need sufficient knowledge on the heart defect, treatment,and measures to prevent complications. However, empirical studies indicated that the levels of knowledge and understanding of both parents and children with congenital heart disease are poor. Therefore, sound patient education is imperative, particularly when patients are transitioned from pediatric cardiology to adult congenital cardiology. In this respect, the focus of communication shifts from the parent to the young patient; moreover, education should be tailored according to the developmental level of the patient. Issues that should typically be covered by educational programs for adolescents with congenital heart disease are information on the heart defect, treatment, endocarditis, sexuality and reproduction, sports, employability and insurability, and cardiovascular risk factor. International guidelines indicate that advanced practice nurses are key in developing and implementing patient education programs during the transition from pediatric cardiology to adult-centered health care.

Evaluation of an Educational Program for Adolescents With Asthma

Evaluation of an Educational Program for Adolescents With Asthma

Prevalence and Correlates of Hazardous Motorcycling Behavior among Students in Hualien Senior High School

The prevalence and correlates of hazardous motorcycling behavior among senior high school students in Haulien County were examined. Students were grouped by school and grade level, then were randomly selected by class. In total, 1152 students in the tenth, eleventh, and twelfth grades representing 27 classes in nine schools from Hualien County completed an anonymous questionnaire. Results indicate that the most prevalent hazardous motorcycling behaviors among the respondents were not getting a license to operate a motorcycle, motorcycling in the fast lane, not wearing a helmet, and motorcycling at high speed. The rates were 79.0%, 70.9%, 60.7%, and 63.9%, respectively. Gender, race, school, the extrovert trait, attitudes toward safety, and current smoking were found to be significantly associated with hazardous motorcycling behaviors. Enforcing mandatory helmet regulations, improving the structural design of helmets, establishing laws to prohibit hazardous mortorcycling behaviors, and providing educational programs for adolescents are recommended.

Motivation for Tattoo Removal

Motivational issues surrounding tattoo removal are important to understand because tattooing is flourishing, thus creating many requests for tattoo removal. A descriptive study and a 67-item survey were used to examine characteristics of tattooed patients seeking laser therapy for tattoo removal. The setting was the Laser Dermatology Center, Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, a large metropolitan ambulatory clinic. Patients queried were 64 tattooed males and 41 tattooed females between the ages of 17 and 62 years with a wide variety of vocational and professional occupations. We assessed risk factors surrounding tattooing decisions and experiences that might later influence their motivation to have the tattoos removed by laser therapy. Motivation, treatment, and cost, in terms of money, pain, and risk of disfigurement all entered into the decision making to have the tattoos removed. Strong elements of purchase and possession risks were documented as well as an improved sense of self and maturity. The patient's maturation was in contrast to the notion of a waiting room filled with ill-behaved stereotypical tattooed individuals. Most participants impulsively obtained their tattoos for internal expectations of self-identity at an early age and were still internally motivated to dissociate from the past and improve self-identity. Poor decision making and subsequent personal regret seem to be frequent motivations for tattoo removal, thus viable methods and accessibility to tattoo removal programs are important. In addition, educational programs for adolescents about tattooing to reduce risks and promote dissuasion should be implemented.

Practitioner Report: The Role Self-Complexity, Self-Verification, and Self-Handicapping in Understanding Adolescents with High Emotional Needs

ABSTRACTProviders of alternative educational programs for adolescents who are not coping with mainstream secondary education have relied historically on behavioural and cognitive theories for intervention rationales. However, psychologists are increasingly turning to the motivational role of the self-system, particularly to the developmental and multidimensional construct of self-perception, for theoretical guidelines to educational practice. Self-verification, self-complexity, and self-handicapping are three theoretical constructs within a social psychological perspective that help to explain non-compliant and unusual adolescent behaviour and provide direction to service providers for its management.

National Survey of Educational Programs for Adolescents with Serious Emotional Disturbance

Despite an increasing national and local emphasis on special education for adolescents identified as seriously emotionally disturbed, little information is available on the nature of actual education programs operated for such students. This national survey sought data on key aspects of such educational offerings including some program demographics and teacher characteristics as well as program features. These aspects are summarized to provide an indication of what is being done in school programs. Implications are presented for teacher preparation and other needs related to a better understanding of programs for adolescents with serious emotional disturbance.

Highlights from the Canada youth and AIDS study.

The identification of Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS) in 1981, and the subsequent isolation of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) in 1983, signaled the beginning of worldwide concern over the potential impact of the disease. As the global incidence of AIDS and HIV infection increased, Canadians expressed growing apprehension about the epidemic's affect on themselves. Because adolescents potentially are at risk for HIV infection, a special need existed to determine how Canadian youth were responding to the AIDS epidemic. During the summer of 1987, the Federal Centre for AIDS, in conjunction with the National Health Research and Development Program and the Canadian Public Health Association, commissioned a nationwide study. A national sample of more than 38,000 youth in grades 7, 9, 11, and the first year of college and university were surveyed about their knowledge, attitudes, and behavior concerning AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases (STDs). Also included in the total sample were youth who had recently dropped out of school and those who lived on the streets of large cities. In this article, the authors summarize findings from the study and offer conclusions and recommendations for action.

Learning disabilities teachers' perceptions of educational programs for adolescents with learning disabilities.

Rapid expansion of secondary learning disability programs has left little time to document current practices. This study examined perceptions of 135 teachers of students with learning disabilities working in middle-junior high and high school programs regarding the following: (1) the presence of specific attributes often associated with successful programs, (2) their professional views on field-related issues, and (3) suggestions for program improvement. Data were examined to determine if teachers' perceptions differed based on program type (i.e., resource, self-contained), level (i.e., middle-junior high, high school), or setting (urban, suburban, rural). Perceptions regarding the presence of selected attributes and recommendations for program improvement provide an agenda for professional dialogue.

The Adolescent: His Physical Growth and Health

IN A recent issue of the REVIEW, Jensen (46) presented a comprehensive report on investigations relating to the broad problem of physical growth. Reviews dealing with school health education and school health services have been prepared by Rugen (79) and by Wheatley and Shaffer (91). In the present review, primary attention is given to characteristics of physical growth and health during the adolescent years. Their implications for the educational program for adolescents are presented.