UNIT 1. Perspective on Adolescence1. A Peaceful Adolescence, Barbara Kantrowitz and Karen Springen, Newsweek, April 25, 2005
This article presents evidence that, despite raging hormones, adolescents and families can have a peaceful friendship. A longitudinal study has identified socialization practices that unite parents and teens against peer pressures and cultural temptations. Moral and ethical character are modeled from caring, competent, and confident adults.
2. Youth Participation, Jennifer L. O’Donoghue, Ben Kirshner, and Milbrey McLaughlin, The Prevention Researcher, February 2006
The concept of youth participation has become a hot topic. Yet many people struggle to
understand what youth participation means, what it looks like, and how it happens. This article defines youth participation, provides a review of what it looks like and where it takes place, and concludes by debunking four myths surrounding youth participation.
3. The Future of Adolescence, Reed Larson, The Futurist, November/December 2002
Adolescence is the threshold to adulthood. Are today’s adolescents prepared to become adults? The Study Group on Adolescence in the 21st Century says “yes.” In fact, many adolescents rise to the challenge despite increased risks and greater demands on them than past generations.
4. Youth Engaged for Action, Margaret Post and Priscilla Little, The Prevention Researcher, December 2005
This article examines how out-of-school time programs can promote youth involvement in civic action by focusing on four interrelated programmatic strategies: establishing organizational readiness that fosters engagement; promoting youth-adult partnerships; engaging youth as leaders and decision makers; and involving youth in research and evaluation.
UNIT 2. Puberty, Physical Development, and Health5. Why Do Kids Eat Healthful Food?, Jennifer A. O’Dea, Journal of the American Dietetic Association, April 2003
Students up to the age of 17 were interviewed to discover what they perceive as the benefits of physical activity and good diet. Students identified fitness, better sports performance, and enhanced endurance among other benefits. The researchers also elicited information on barriers to a better lifestyle and suggest that schools and parents can intervene to do more.
6. Prescription for Disaster, Bob Smithouser, Plugged In, June 2006
Youth are abusing prescription drugs which often results in addiction and sometimes death. Suggestions are provided as to what can be done to help.
7. Youth Smoking Prevention: What Works?, Paula M. Lantz, Peter D. Jacobson, and Kenneth E. Warner, The Prevention Researcher, April 2001
Nearly 9 out of 10 current adult smokers started their habit before age 19. The authors present what works to prevent youth smoking.
UNIT 3. Cognitive Development and Education8. Documenting Learning with Digital Portfolios, David Niguidula, Educational Leadership, November 2005
Students can demonstrate mastery, dramatize their successes, and communicate with their community—all through digital portfolios.
9. Help Us Make the 9th Grade Transition, Kathleen Cushman, Educational Leadership, April 2006
Ninth graders explain how teachers can ease students’ way into the world of high school.
10. Stories from Tween Classrooms, Bruce Morgan and Deb Odom, Educational Leadership, April 2006
A close-up look at classes reveals differences in maturity within and across grades.
11. My Year as a High School Student, Deborah Waldron, Educational Leadership, March 2006
A high school physics teacher enrolls in a 9th grade biology class.
12. The Dropout Problem: Losing Ground, Paul E. Barton, Educational Leadership, February 2006
Why is the dropout rate steadily rising, and which programs convince students to stay in school?
13. Let Seniors Lead, Janice Dreis and Larry Rehage, Educational Leadership, May 2006
New Trier High School’s senior leadership program nourishes teachers-in-the-making.
14. Studies Reveal Strengths, Weaknesses, Bill Hemmer, The America’s Intelligence Wire, October 24, 2003
Americans consider a college degree crucial to a good future and a good career. Many students, however, do not transition well or at all from public school to college. A large number of such students are minority students. What schools can do to plug the leak in this educational pipeline is the focus of this article.
15. The New Cheating Epidemic, Anne Marie Chaker, Redbook, April 2003
Cheating in high school and middle school is on the increase, and parents and teachers wonder what to do about it. Why cheating occurs and how to curb it are central themes in this article.
16. Leading Adolescents to Mastery, Sue Kenkel, Steve Hoelscher, and Teri West, Educational Leadership, April 2006
Middle school students learn the benefits of not being able to turn in substandard work.
17. Healthier Students, Better Learners, Beth Pateman, Educational Leadership, December 2003/January 2004
The author addresses the links between student health and academic performance. She cites the efforts of the Council of Chief State School Officers and the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials to encourage development of state education programs in the schools. She describes the Health Education Assessment Project.
UNIT 4. Identify Social-Emotional Development18. Fostering Social-Emotional Learning in the Classroom, Linda K. Elksnin and Nick Elksnin, Education, Fall 2003
Many students face socio-emotional problems in school. Schools, therefore, have become centers for teaching social skills as well as traditional academic subjects. The authors explain first what emotional intelligence is and how it can be fostered in the classroom to help those students who are especially vulnerable to socio-emotional difficulties.
19. The Consequences of Insufficient Sleep for Adolescents, Ronald E. Dahl, Phi Delta Kappan, January 1999
More than a dozen forces converge on adolescents to push the sleep/arousal balance away from sleep. This may be very harmful to the teen’s health and emotional stability.
20. Body Image: How Do You See Yourself?, Kathiann M. Kowalski, Current Health 2, March 2003
Kathiann Kowalski defines and elaborates upon the concept of body image. She also discusses why body image is important to adolescents. She places much of the blame on the media for adolescents’ worrying too much about weight and appearance.
21. Adolescent Stress, Kathryn E. Grant et al., The Prevention Researcher, September 2005
There is evidence that increases in stressful life events account, at least in part, for the
increased rates of psychological problems in adolescents. This article introduces the issue of
adolescent stress by providing a general conceptual model of the role of stressors in the development of mental health problems for adolescents.
22. ADHD and the SUD in Adolescents, Timothy E. Wilens, Paradigm, Fall 2006
There is an overlap between teens with Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder (ADHD) and Substance Use Disorder (SUD).
23. Coping with Stress, Bruce E. Compas, Jennifer E. Champion, and Kristen Reeslund, The Prevention Researcher, September 2005
Evidence suggests that exposure to stress and the ways individuals cope with stress are of central importance for prevention of mental health and adjustment problems during childhood and adolescence. This article summarizes the relationship between stress and psychopathology in adolescents and discusses the current coping research.
24. A Mother’s Story, Paul Rudnick, The New Yorker, May 23, 2005
This article chronicles the struggle faced by the mother of an unattractive daughter. Poor body image and low self-esteem produced drastic results from her environment that even affected her career.
UNIT 5. Family Relationships25. Traumatic Stress in Adolescents Anticipating Parental Death, Amy Saldinger, Albert C. Cain, and Katherine Porterfield, The Prevention Researcher, November 2005
Reporting on a qualitative study with 35 surviving spouses and their parentally-bereaved school-aged children, this article explores the traumatic stress of a child’s exposure to the graphic physical, emotional, and mental deterioration of a dying parent.
26. Parental Illness and Adolescent Development, Nancy L. Worsham and Emily K. Crawford, The Prevention Researcher, November 2005
The prevalence of parental illness and its impact on adolescent development is reviewed in this article. The existing literature on cancer, AIDS, and other illnesses (e.g., multiple sclerosis) are explored and implications for concerned professionals are provided.
27. A Nation of Wimps, Hara Estroff Marano, Psychology Today, November/December 2004
Some parents are overly protective and anxious about raising their children and that may create anxiety and depression in teenagers.
28. Teenage Fatherhood and Involvement in Delinquent Behavior, Terence P. Thornberry, Carolyn A. Smith, and Susan Ehrhard, The Prevention Researcher, November 2004
This paper investigates the relationship between teenage fatherhood and various indicators of deviant behavior. By using a large sample of students, first interviewed in the 7th or 8th grades and again when they were 21 years old, the authors are able to explore the link between teenage fatherhood and delinquent behavior along the adolescent life course.
29. Impact of Family Recovery on Pre-Teens and Adolescents, Virginia Lewis, and Lois Allen-Byrd, The Prevention Researcher, November 2006
Beginning with an introduction to the concept of family recovery, this article explores its
stages and three distinct types of families in recovery. The primary focus, however, is the impact family recovery has on pre-teens and adolescents who are the “forgotten” family members in this radical and traumatic long-term process.
30. After Incarceration, Gretchen Newby, The Prevention Researcher, April 2006
While children usually look forward to being reunited with their parents following
incarcerations, reunification signals yet another stage in a long adjustment process. This article explores the impact of parental incarceration as it relates to future reunification, and provides practical suggestions for support.
31. When a Parent Starts Dating Again, Josh Bailey, Psychology Today, November/December 2006
Teens and early adults will often see a parent start dating just as they themselves are
considering settling down.
32. Learning to Chill, Susan Schindehette et al., People Weekly, September 23, 2003
Today’s adolescents are busier than ever as they strive to please parents, teachers, and peers. Why today’s youth are so busy and distressed is covered in this article. Some families are saying “enough is enough.”
UNIT 6. Peers and Contemporary Culture33. Risky Business: Exploring Adolescent Risk-Taking Behavior, Tammy Jordan Wyatt and Fred L. Peterson, Journal of School Health, August 2005
Risk-taking behavior among adolescents is explored in this article. Teaching techniques are provided to help the teacher in school.
34. The Overdominance of Computers, Lowell W. Monke, Educational Leadership, December 2005/January 2006
Heavy use of computers at a tender age may rob students of important social and physical experiences.
35. Teaching Kids to Kill, Tom Neven, Plugged In, July 2006
Teens today are being taught to kill in a similar way the military is taught to kill.
36. Alcohol Use among Adolescents, Michael Windle, The Prevention Researcher, September 2002
Alcohol drinking among adolescents is examined in this article and associated with three common forms of adolescent mortality.
37. Terrorism, the Media, and Distress in Youth, Rose L. Pfefferbaum et al., The
Prevention Researcher, April 2003
Emotional distress associated with media exposure to terrorism is discussed with suggestions for intervention.
UNIT 7. Teenage Sexuality38. The Sexual Revolution Hits Junior High, Kim Painter, USA Today Newspaper, March 17, 2002
Researchers in Washington, D.C., targeted seventh and eighth graders for a program to prevent early sexual activity, only to find out that they needed to retarget fifth graders since so many of the seventh graders were already having sex. Read why experts have pronounced today’s world as rougher and sexier for our youth.
39. The Cuddle Puddle of Stuyvesant High School, Alex Morris, New York Magazine, February 6, 2006
What’s a cuddle puddle? Even our 20ish readers may ask. Remember what happened in the halls of your junior and senior highs? Today due to 11% of 15–19-year-old girls calling themselves pansexual, bi-queer, or metro-flexible, the old public displays of affection may be with the same or opposite sex peers.
40. Give Students the Knowledge to Make Wise Choices about Sex, American School Board Journal Reader Panel, American School Board Journal, January 2006
Controversy continues about what should and shouldn’t be included in sex education programs in school. This article from the American School Board Journal discusses the two sides: abstinence only or comprehensive.
41. The Perils of Playing House, Nancy Wartik, Psychology Today, July/August 2005
Living together before marriage may lead couples to wed for all of the wrong reasons as
discussed in this article.
42. What to Tell Kids About Sex, Kay S. Hymowitz, Public Interest, Fall 2003
Sex education is a controversial subject. Sex education programs have recently morphed into comprehensive sexuality education programs. These programs appear more permissive than earlier programs that emphasized abstinence and conservatism.
UNIT 8. Problem Behaviors and Intervention43. School Bullying: Who, Why, and What to Do, Gordon A. MacNeil and Jason M. Newell, The Prevention Researcher, September 2004
School bullying has short- and long-term effects on its victims. In this article MacNeil and
Newell identify both prevention and intervention strategies which can be used in the school environment.
44. Bullying at School among Older Adolescents, Sandra Harris, The Prevention Researcher, September 2004
The author examines the types of bullying students observed in grades 8 to 12 and how students felt school personnel were interested in stopping the bullying.
45. Prevention of Domestic Violence during Adolescence, David A. Wolfe and Peter G. Jaffe, The Prevention Researcher, February 2005
For the most part, the response to domestic violence has been one of crisis management. While crisis management is important, Drs. Wolfe and Jaffe examine emerging prevention efforts which focus on adolescents.
46. Adolescents Who Self-Injure, Victoria E. White Kress, Donna M. Gibson, and Cynthia A. Reynolds, Professional School Counseling, February 2004
This article explores strategies for school counselor’s intervention for at risk students who are self-injurious.
