Youth-serving Professionals Research Articles

Community-Based Youth-Serving Professionals' Provision of Sexual and Reproductive Health Information and Resources to Young Men and Associated Factors

Community-Based Youth-Serving Professionals' Provision of Sexual and Reproductive Health Information and Resources to Young Men and Associated Factors

Protective Effects of Adolescent–Adult Connection on Male Youth in Urban Environments

PurposePositive adult connection has been linked with protective effects among U.S. adolescents. Less is known about the impact of adult connection across multiple health domains for youth in low-resource urban environments. We examined the associations between adult connection and school performance, substance use, and violence exposure among youth in low-resource neighborhoods. MethodsWe recruited a population-based random sample of 283 male adolescents in Philadelphia. Age-adjusted logistic regression tested whether positive adult connection promoted school performance and protected against substance use and violence exposure. ResultsYouth with a positive adult connection had significantly higher odds of good school performance (odds ratio [OR], 2.8; p < .05), and lower odds of alcohol use (OR, .4; p < .05), violence involvement (OR, .3–.4; p < .05), and violence witnessing (OR, .3; p < .05). ConclusionsPromoting adult connection may help safeguard youth in urban contexts. Youth-serving professionals should consider assessing adult connection as part of a strengths-based approach to health promotion for youth in low-resource neighborhoods.

Living For the City: Voices of Black Lesbian Youth in Detroit

This article aims to raise awareness of some of the psychosocial, emotional, and sociocultural challenges faced by many of the youth who have gravitated to the Ruth Ellis Center and Affirmations Center, both in the Detroit area. Those identifying as Black lesbians express their struggles of negotiating several identities at one time, without the advantage of access to convenient resources and role models. These personal stories may help mental health youth service providers gain insights into the impact of these stressors so that they can adjust their practices toward culturally competent treatment with Black lesbian adolescents and their families. Recommendations for youth-serving professionals will be summarized.

Caring for America's Children: Military Youth in Time of War

1. Keith M. Lemmon, MAJ, MD* 2. Molinda M. Chartrand, LTC, MD† 1. *Director, Military Child & Adolescent Center of Excellence, Adolescent Medicine & Pediatric Faculty at Madigan Army Medical Center; Assistant Professor of Pediatrics, Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, Bethesda, Md 2. †Developmental & Behavioral Pediatrician, Spangdahlem Air Base; Assistant Professor of Pediatrics, Uniformed Services Health Services University, Bethesda, Md After completing this article, readers should be able to: 1. Describe the differences between Active Duty and Reserve Component military forces and how these differences may affect the emotional and behavioral well-being of military children and adolescents. 2. Discuss the differences between the service and sacrifice offered by a military service member on behalf of his or her country and the service and sacrifice a military child or adolescent offers in support of the military family member. 3. Explain why civilian pediatricians and other youth-serving professionals may come into contact with military children and adolescents and how they could support the emotional and behavioral health needs of this population more proactively. 4. Recognize some of the emotional and behavioral changes that may occur to military service members as a result of their service in the military and how these changes may affect their children. 5. Characterize the spectrum of stress in military youth. 6. Name three support resources designed specifically to support the emotional and behavioral health needs of military children and adolescents. 7. List three steps pediatricians can take within their practices to provide culturally competent care to military children and adolescents. “If you want to honor a service member, the best way to accomplish this is to honor and support their legacy, their children.” COL Elisabeth Stafford, MD, FAAP, FSAM, Career-long Military Child Advocate, Pediatrician, and Adolescent Medicine Specialist The events of September 11, 2001, clearly altered the lives of most citizens of the United States. However, few have been affected more significantly than military service members and their families. As the United States and its allies near the beginning of the eighth year of the global war on terrorism, the effects of prolonged wartime deployments on military families and children are beginning to be recognized and characterized more fully. Many military children and adolescents …

Strengthening the role of two key institutions in the prevention of adolescent substance abuse

Adolescent substance use and its resulting harms are major concerns of parents, youth-serving professionals, policymakers, private philanthropies, and public health officials. Numerous prevention initiatives have been launched, yet use rates for cigarettes, marijuana, and other illicit drugs have risen during the last decade [1]. This paper argues that current prevention approaches could be improved by enlisting and providing tools to institutions that regularly serve children and youth. The role of these institutions would be to systematically identify children at high risk and to provide them with, or refer them to, appropriate prevention services. Institutions selected for consideration in this discussion include primary health care facilities and schools. Early identification of at-risk youth is not a new concept, but it is one that has proven extraordinarily difficult to implement in institutional settings [2]. For scientists and practitioners, the goal of alcohol, tobacco, and other drug (ATOD) prevention is the avoidance of shortand long-term consequences related to substance abuse and addiction. To achieve this goal, programs can use a “universal” prevention approach, targeting the general population; a “selective” approach, targeting subgroups at risk; or an “indicated” approach, targeting persons who are already experimenting with drugs or who exhibit other risk-related behaviors [3–5]. Universal prevention approaches are most commonly used and include public awareness campaigns and school health curricula about substance abuse. This article, however, focuses on selective and indicated approaches to systematically identify and target more intensive ATOD prevention services for children and youth at highest risk of harm. Recent research provides detailed information about risk indicators and their use in identifying at-risk children and preventing future problems from ATOD use [6,7]. This review begins with evidence about specific risk factors that predict substance abuse and addiction and how these risks or behaviors might be detected by institutions. Next, we will review how each system currently participates in early identification and prevention activities, the barriers that have limited the development of effective substance abuse screening and prevention programs, and examples of promising and effective programs. Finally, the authors provide recommendations for strengthening the role of health care systems and schools in prevention.

Computer Assisted Adolescent Referral System (CAARS)

Abstract The Hollywood, California, neighborhood is a magnet for high-need youths who run away from home. These youths have many service needs. The Computer Assisted Adolescent Referral System (CAARS) is designed to assist youths in gaining access to services, support youth-serving professionals in making referrals, and identify high-risk youths in multiple settings. The system, which is self-evaluating, is a health, mental health, and social services database with over fifty service organizations listed and twenty-five types of services available. The Measurement Group (TMG), in collaboration with Childrens Hospital Los Angeles (CHLA), developed CAARS in 1995 as a freestanding program. Funding was provided by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) Special Projects of National Significance (SPNS) Program. The Web version (http://www.caars.net) was created in early 1998 in order to increase access to an earlier, stand-alone version of CAARS, and provide a way for those who serve youths thr...