The Journal of Adolescent Health (JAH) is the official publication of the Society for Adolescent Health and Medicine. One of the society's primary goals is the development, synthesis, and dissemination of scientific and scholarly knowledge unique to the health needs of young people. In our third year of the JAH Distinguished Dozen initiative, we amplify important contributions to the field publish in JAH in 2022 [
[1]
]. The process of selection of articles is based on results of peer review. JAH asks all peer reviewers: “Does this manuscript merit special consideration in the Journal's monthly and/or annual collections of particularly important research?” Reviewers who responded affirmatively are provided with the opportunity to offer explanatory comments. In total, 232 scientific articles were published in JAH during the 2022 calendar year. Of these, 55 were nominated by at least one peer reviewer and 13 were nominated by two or more. The Journal's Editor-in-Chief and Associate Editors reviewed these nominations and selected one dozen articles to be highlighted for making distinguished contributions to the field of adolescent and young adult health. The 2022 JAH Distinguished Dozen are presented below.The COVID-19 pandemic has caused unprecedented changes in the lives of young people. In particular, the COVID-19 pandemic has had a significant impact on youth mental health. Five selected studies highlight the impact of the pandemic on the mental health and wellbeing of young people during the early days of the global pandemic. In addition, three studies highlight the important interplay between policies, schools, and adolescent health. Two studies aim to increase our understanding of causes of violence and bullying. Two studies increase our understanding of health disparities. Altogether, these studies generate information that can help to inform numerous programs, practices, and policies designed to improve global adolescent and young adult health and wellbeing.
Understanding the Impact of COVID Pandemic on Young People
Adolescent Mental Health, Connectedness, and Mode of School Instruction During COVID-19. Hertz MF, Kilmer G, Verlenden J, Liddon N, Rasberry CN, Barrios LC, Ethier KA. Hertz et al. conducted a cross-sectional COVID experiences survey from October to November 2020 in adolescents aged 13–19 years using the National Opinion Research Centers Ameri-Speak panel, which is a probability-based panel in the United States [
[2]
]. This study showed that during the COVID-19 pandemic, American students in grades 7–12 who attended school virtually reported poorer mental health than students attending in-person and that school and family connectedness each mitigated this association for all four mental health indicators assessed.College Student-athletes’ COVID-19 Worry and Psychological Distress Differed by Gender, Race, and Exposure to COVID-19 Events. Moore EWG, Petrie TA, Slavin LE. Moore et al. in this study explored how the COVID-19 pandemic and action taken to mitigate its effects influenced college students’ levels of psychological distress within the United States and whether this varied by race, ethnicity, and gender identity [
[3]
]. Approximately 6,000 collegiate athletes completed a survey in April and May 2020. Based on cross-sectional and path analyses, the study concluded that student athletes' stress was directly related to moving to online teaching and indirectly to being quarantined. Men's psychological distress was also related to their sport season being cancelled. Furthermore, student athletes’ exposure to COVID-19 events such as cancelled sport or being diagnosed with COVID-19 differed significantly by gender, race, and ethnicity.Crisis Response and Suicidal Patterns in U.S. Youth Before and During COVID-19: A Latent Class Analysis. Runkle JD, Yadav S, Michael K, Green S, Weiser J, Sugg MM. Runkle et al. examined suicidal behaviors in response to the COVID-19 pandemic for American youth [
[4]
]. Using a latent class analysis of crisis text-based platforms for support-seeking youth, four distinct crisis profiles in American youth were identified: (1) depression/isolation/self-harm (10.4%), (2) interpersonal stress/mood-anxiety (18.2%), (3) suicidal thoughts/depressed (19.0%), and (4) adjustment/stress (52.4%). During the pandemic, an increase in suicidal thoughts and active rescues occurred in the depression/isolation/self-harm and suicidal thoughts/depressed subclasses. Results identified an increase in suicidal help-seeking, particularly among children and LGBTQ youth. This study reports on a low-cost and targeted crisis text-based platform to support youth seeking help to address the significant and persistent effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on mental health and serves as an early warning signal for rising suicidality in young people. The use of this modality to support and identify at-risk groups holds a promise for scalable widespread interventions for support-seeking youth.Acute Care Visits for Eating Disorders Among Children and Adolescents After the Onset of the COVID-19 Pandemic. Toulany A, Kurdyak P, Guttmann A, Stukel TA, Fu L, Strauss R, Fiksenbaum L, Saunders NR. Toulany et al. provide a Canadian context on the acute presentations of eating disorders among children and adolescents before and during the COVID-19 pandemic [
[5]
]. The researchers used linked health administrative databases and conducted a population-based repeated cross-sectional study of emergency department visits and hospitalizations for eating disorders among all children and adolescents aged 3–17 years, residing in Ontario, Canada before (January 1, 2017 to February 29, 2020) and during the first 10 months of the COVID-19 pandemic (March 1, 2020 to December 26, 2020). Emergency department visits and hospitalizations for eating disorders among children and adolescents increased significantly—by 66% and 37%, respectively—after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic compared with prepandemic rates. The study is important for understanding the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the acute presentation of children and adolescents with eating disorders over time. The lessons learned from this study have potential implications for other public health emergencies, cross-cultural comparisons, and future circumstances that involve periods of lockdown, food shortages, and social isolation of young people.Examining the Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Youth Alcohol Consumption: Longitudinal Changes From Pre-to Intra-pandemic Drinking in the COMPASS Study. Gohari MR, Varatharajan T, MacKillop J, Leatherdale ST. Gohari et al. examined the ongoing effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on youth drinking behavior by investigating three cohorts of Canadian youth across four years [
[6]
]. The researchers used four-year longitudinal data from the Cannabis use, Obesity, Mental health, Physical activity, Alcohol use, Smoking, and Sedentary behavior study that included 14,085 secondary school students from Quebec and Ontario, Canada, who provided linked data for two consecutive years between 2017/18 and 2018/19 (prepandemic) waves and 2019/20 and 2020/21 (during the initial and ongoing pandemic). The researchers, after adjusting for age-related changes, found a temporary reduction in the expected escalation in frequency of alcohol consumption and binge drinking in the initial pandemic period. However, as the pandemic continued, the frequency of drinking and binge drinking increased and escalation rates were more consistent with prepandemic rates.Editorial: Taking Stock of the Downstream Effects of COVID-19 on Youth Substance Use Risk. Richter L. Richter's editorial highlights the critical importance of longitudinal studies with enough granularities to understand changes in youth drinking and binge drinking over the course of the pandemic [
[7]
]. Furthermore, ongoing surveillance of drinking and binge drinking in youth throughout the pandemic is needed to inform public health measures and harm reduction strategies.Understanding Links Between Schools and Adolescent Health
Local Education Agency Impact on School Environments to Reduce Health Risk Behaviors and Experiences Among High School Students. Robin L, Timpe Z, Suarez NA, Li J, Barrios L, Ethier KA. Most previously reported studies of the health-related impact of interventions to improve the school environment have been relatively small-scale and related to trials. This study adds to the literature by showing that such interventions can be successfully implemented within large-scale, routine programs and can still be associated with significant improvements in self-reported health risk behaviors [
[8]
].Overwhelming Support for Sexual Health Education in U.S. Schools: A Meta-Analysis of 23 Surveys Conducted Between 2000 and 2016. Szucs LE, Harper CR, Andrzejewski J, Barrios LC, Robin L, Hunt P. The number of schools providing sexuality education in the United States is declining despite public support. Szucs et al. report the findings from a meta-analysis of U.S. population-based surveys conducted between 2000 and 2016 assessing adults' (parents and nonparents) attitudes about sexuality health education. Across the 23 studies meeting inclusion criteria, 89% of respondents supported sexuality health education, documenting broad public support [
[9]
].Editorial: Advancing Sexual and Reproductive Health Education—Pursuing the Long Arc of Justice. Brindis CD. Both Szucs et al. and Brindis in this accompanying editorial note there is a large disconnect, not easily addressable, between public support and actual school offerings largely due to controversy around acceptable content topics [
[9]
,[10]
]. To move forward with comprehensive models, Brindis calls for innovative alternative approaches to engage communities more directly.Association Between LGBTQ Student Nondiscrimination Laws in Selected States and School District Support for Gay-Straight Alliances. Harper CR, Johns MM, Orenstein D, Pampati S, Jones TM, Leonard S, Taylor KR, Robin L. LGBTQ students disproportionately experience bullying and other forms of harassment and discrimination. Harper et al. use program evaluation data and state law data to examine the association between state laws protecting LGBTQ students in the United States and recommendations/requirements from school districts to establish gay-straight alliances (GSAs) in schools [
[11]
]. GSAs are one school-based means of improving climate and safety for this population. Harper et al. find a positive association, noting a 30% increase across 3 years in districts recommending or requiring schools to provide GSAs in states with nondiscrimination laws, compared to only a 12% increase in states without such laws. These findings suggest that state LGBTQ nondiscrimination laws can facilitate school district support for GSAs, thereby promoting more positive social environments and better health outcomes for all youth.Understanding Violence, Bullying, and Health of Young People
Violent Media in Childhood and Seriously Violent Behavior in Adolescence and Young Adulthood. Ybarra ML, Mitchell KJ, Oppenheim JK. Linkages between violent media use and aggressive behavior are well documented. However, fewer studies have prospectively examined media associations with truly violent behavior. Using self-reported violent media diet data from a national sample of youth aged 10–15 years, Ybarra et al. examine associations between violence exposure and later seriously violent behavior (e.g., murder, sexual assault) five and 10 years postbaseline assessment [
[12]
]. After adjustment for confounders, they find statistically significant, positive associations between general violent media diets and seriously violent behavior at both follow-up time points. Violent video games, television, and music were specifically implicated in addition to a general violent media diet. Longitudinal studies on media effects are relatively rare and these identified dose-response relationships suggest that even just a reduction in violent media use, versus elimination, could reduce later violent behavior.Gender Differences in Bullying Reflect Societal Gender Inequality: A Multilevel Study with Adolescents in 46 Countries. Cosma A, Bjereld Y, Elgar FJ, Richardson Cm Blz L, Craig W, Augustine L, Molcho M, Malinowska-Cieślik M, Walsh SD. Cosma et al. applied a social ecological perspective to examine gender differences in bullying behaviors to explore cross-national gender differences in bullying behaviors and to examine whether national-level gender inequality relates to gender differences in adolescent bullying behaviors among a large sample (N = 200,423) of adolescents, aged 11–15 years from 46 countries [
[13]
]. Researchers linked individual-level data to national gender inequality data and tested their association using mixed-effect multilevel logistic regression models. Large cross-national variations were observed in gender differences in bullying. Boys had higher odds of perpetrating both traditional and cyberbullying and victimization by traditional bullying than girls. Greater gender inequality at country level was associated with heightened gender differences in traditional bullying. In contrast, lower gender inequality was associated with larger gender differences for cyber victimization. The authors conclude that societal gender inequality relates to adolescents' involvement in bullying and gendered patterns in bullying; thus, there is a need for public health policy to target societal factors that have an impact on young people's behavior.Understanding Health Disparities
The Association Between John Henryism and Depression and Suicidal Ideation Among African-American and Caribbean Black Adolescents in the United States. Kahsay E, Mezuk B. Kahsay and Mezuk investigated the relationship between John Henryism, a psychological construct indexing repeated high-effort coping, and major depression and suicidal ideation among Black adolescents and explored whether these relationships vary by gender [
[14]
]. Data were collected from the National Survey of American Life–Adolescent Supplement, a cross-sectional, multi-stage, probability sample of African American and Caribbean Black adolescents aged 13–17 years (N = 1,170). Results of logistic regressions models indicate that high levels of John Henryism were inversely associated with major depression and suicide ideation with similar findings by gender. The findings show the importance of considering culturally salient protective factors for mental health among Black adolescents. Given the dearth of data on unique determinants of mental health among Black adolescents in the United States and the increasing incidence of suicide in this population, this research has implications for addressing the mental health needs of Black adolescents including the importance of using a strength-based framework for informing tailored interventions.Adolescent Reproductive Health Outcomes Among Mexican-Origin Women on Both Sides of the U.S.-Mexico Border. Darney BG, Boniface E, Jacobson LE, Fuentes-Rivera E, Saavedra-Avendaño B, Coleman-Minahan K, Riosmena F. Darney et al. developed a binational dataset merging two comparable nationally representative cross-sectional surveys in the United States and Mexico and used covariate balancing propensity scores to balance the age structure of four samples: U.S.-born Latinas of Mexican origin, foreign-born Latinas of Mexican origin, U.S.-born non-Latina Whites, and Mexican women residing in Mexico to describe a history of adolescent birth, age at first sex, and contraceptive use at first sex in the Mexican-origin population in both the United States and Mexico [
[15]
]. Results indicate that foreign-born Latinas of Mexican origin and Mexicans in Mexico had similar adjusted probabilities of reporting an adolescent birth, which were higher than those of Mexican-American and U.S.-born non-Latina Whites. Data also showed that history of an adolescent birth is declining across all four groups among younger ages and differences do not appear to be driven by the timing of first sex but by contraceptive use, which is increasing among younger age groups. The authors conclude that access to and use of effective contraception rather than timing of initiation of sexual activity are a key determinant of U.S. Latina and Mexican adolescent births. These findings have important implications for public health research and practice.Editorial: Adding Nuance to Our Understanding of Adolescent Reproductive Health Outcomes Among Women of Mexican Origin. Morales-Alemán M, Ferreti G. Morales-Alemán and Ferreti's editorial underscores the scientific and public health contributions of Darney et al.’s research, which provides insights into the reproductive health of young women of Mexican origin by disaggregating data and using nationally representative samples [
[16]
]. They describe how Darney et al.’s research moves the field forward toward a new standard for examining reproductive health outcomes among Latinx populations with their use of binational research to more fully understand Mexican and other Latin American diasporic experiences. Morales-Alemán and Ferreti's editorial also explains how Darney and co-authors’ findings support the need for further research to investigate the question of why disparities exist among young women of Mexican origin in their use of contraception, particularly highly effective methods. Finally, their editorial endorses the need for interventions that are responsive to group differences to support the reproductive autonomy and sexual health of each group.In conclusion, we are delighted to highlight these 12 JAH articles and accompanying editorials published in 2022 that collectively make distinguished contributions to the field of adolescent and young adult health. We are committed to publishing important high-quality science to inform programs, practices, and policies that will improve the health and wellbeing of all young people and promote health equity. We note among our Distinguished Dozen–highlighted articles, research was conducted in 48 countries and included 24 authors with primary institutional affiliations outside of the United States. Furthermore, several highlighted articles provide valuable insights into health disparities among young people and can help to inform future research and strategies to achieve health equity. We would like to express sincere appreciation to our peer reviewers who contributed to the selection process. Congratulations to all contributing authors. JAH presents this collection in the spirit of our mission to synthesize and disseminate important scientific and scholarly knowledge unique to the health needs of young people.
References
- The distinguished dozen: 2021 journal of adolescent health articles making distinguished contributions to adolescent and young adult health.J Adolesc Health. 2022; 70: 517-520
- Adolescent mental health, connectedness, and mode of school Instruction during COVID-19.J Adolesc Health. 2022; 70: 57-63
- College student-athletes’ COVID-19 worry and psychological distress differed by gender, race, and exposure to COVID-19-related events.J Adolesc Health. 2022; 70: 559-566
- Crisis response and suicidal patterns in U.S. Youth before and during COVID-19: A latent class analysis.J Adolesc Health. 2022; 70: 48-56
- Acute care visits for eating disorders among children and adolescents after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.J Adolesc Health. 2022; 70: 42-47
- Examining the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on youth alcohol consumption: Longitudinal changes from pre-to Intra-pandemic drinking in the COMPASS study.J Adolesc Health. 2022; 71: 665-672
- Taking stock of the downstream effects of COVID-19 on youth substance use risk.J Adolesc Health. 2022; 71: 655-657
- Local education agency impact on school environments to reduce health risk behaviors and experiences among high school students.J Adolesc Health. 2022; 70: 313-321
- Overwhelming support for sexual health education in U.S. Schools: A meta-analysis of 23 surveys conducted between 2000 and 2016.J Adolesc Health. 2022; 70: 598-606
- Advancing sexual and reproductive health education—pursuing the long Arc of justice.J Adolesc Health. 2022; 70: 521-522
- Association between LGBTQ student nondiscrimination laws in selected states and school district support for gay-straight alliances.J Adolesc Health. 2022; 70: 584-587
- Violent media in childhood and seriously violent behavior in adolescence and young adulthood.J Adolesc Health. 2022; 71: 285-292
- Gender differences in bullying reflect societal gender inequality: A multilevel study with adolescents in 46 countries.J Adolesc Health. 2022; 71: 601-608
- The association between John Henryism and depression and suicidal ideation among African-American and caribbean black adolescents in the United States.J Adolesc Health. 2022; 71: 721-728
- Adolescent reproductive health outcomes among Mexican-origin women on both Sides of the U.S.-Mexico Border.J Adolesc Health. 2022; 71: 679-687
- Adding nuance to our understanding of adolescent reproductive health outcomes among women of Mexican origin.J Adolesc Health. 2022; 71: 658-659
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Conflicts of interest: The authors have no conflicts of interest to declare.
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