Open Access in JAH
Explaining Physical Health Disparities and Inequalities Over the First Half of the Life Course: An Integrative Review of Add Health Studies
This integrative review of research utilizing the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health draws on previous research detailing pathways linking early socioeconomic adversity in childhood and adolescence (Wave 1 in 1995 and prior) to physical health outcomes in young adulthood (Wave 5 in 2015). Health outcomes considered included specific diseases, disease risk, and morbidity as prospectively measured by parent-reported and self-reported health outcomes as well as clinical biomarkers.Union and Family Formation During Young Adulthood: Insights From the Add Health
Family formation patterns among US young adults are shifting, reflecting an accelerating retreat from marriage coupled with significant increases in cohabitation and nonmarital childbearing. Drawing on a selection of published longitudinal studies, this article reviews key contributions to the literature on these trends in union and family formation that have stemmed from research conducted using the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health, or Add Health. Add Health is integral to deciphering the adolescent precursors to young adult union formation and childbearing, allowing researchers to gauge the roles of multiple social contexts such as family, schools, peers, and adolescent romance, with attention to variation across racial-ethnic groups and by socioeconomic status.Twenty-Five Years of National-Level Research on Adolescent and Young Adult Mental Health in the United States
The longitudinal, population-level, biosocial data in the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (Add Health) have elucidated the developmental course of mental health across early stages of the life course. This data set also has been invaluable for documenting and unpacking disparities in these developmental patterns by race, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, gender, immigration, and sexuality. Reflecting the larger focus of this special supplement on Add Health as a tool for connecting adolescence to adulthood, this article reviews Add Health research since 2000 based on a search of key mental health terms, primarily describing patterns of two key markers of psychopathology (depressive symptoms, suicidal ideation) that were consistently measured across waves.Implications for Mental Health Promotion and Prevention Interventions: Findings From Adolescent Focus Group Discussions in Belize, Kazakhstan, and South Africa
This study aimed to understand 10- to 19-year-old adolescents' conceptions of mental health and well-being, and suggestions for appropriate interventions, in three low- and middle-income countries to inform the design of adolescent-responsive preventive and promotive mental health programming.Changes in the Sexual Double Standard Associated With Sociodevelopmental Factors Among Young Adolescents in Kinshasa
This study aimed to describe the changes in adolescents' perceptions of a sexual double standard (SDS) over time and to examine the developmental and social factors associated with these changing perceptions.Cross-National Time Trends in Adolescent Mental Well-Being From 2002 to 2018 and the Explanatory Role of Schoolwork Pressure
Previous research has shown inconsistent time trends in adolescent mental well-being, but potential underlying mechanisms for such trends are yet to be examined. This study investigates cross-national time trends in adolescent mental well-being (psychosomatic health complaints and life satisfaction) in mainly European countries and the extent to which time trends in schoolwork pressure explain these trends.Clusters of Contemporary Risk and Their Relationship to Mental Well-Being Among 15-Year-Old Adolescents Across 37 Countries
Adolescents' mental well-being has become a growing public health concern. Adolescents' daily lives and their engagement in risks have changed dramatically in the course of the 21st century, leading to a need to update traditional models of risk to include new exposures and behaviors. To date, studies have examined the relationship between (mainly traditional) risk behaviors and adolescent mental well-being or looked at risk factors that jeopardize mental well-being such as lack of social support but have not combined them together to highlight the most significant risks for adolescent mental well-being today.School Satisfaction and School Pressure in the WHO European Region and North America: An Analysis of Time Trends (2002–2018) and Patterns of Co-occurrence in 32 Countries
The purpose of the study was to examine the trends between 2002 and 2018 in school pressure and school satisfaction among 15-year-old students, across countries and by gender, in the WHO European region and North America, and explore whether there are variations between countries and by gender in the co-occurrence of school pressure and school satisfaction.Adolescent Risk-Taking, Cancer Risk, and Life Course Approaches to Prevention
Adolescent risk-taking may have long-term consequences for adult cancer risk. Behaviors such as smoking and sexual activity, commonly initiated during adolescence, may result—decades later—in cancer. Life course epidemiology focuses on unique vulnerabilities at specific development periods and their importance to later development of disease. A life course epidemiological perspective that integrates social and biological risk processes can help frame our understanding how specific adult cancers develop.Adolescent Neurodevelopment
The purpose of this article is to outline notable alterations occurring in the adolescent brain, and to consider potential ramifications of these developmental transformations for public policy and programs involving adolescents.Biological Contributions to Addictions in Adolescents and Adults: Prevention, Treatment, and Policy Implications
Despite significant advances in our understanding of the biological bases of addictions, these disorders continue to represent a huge public health burden that is associated with substantial personal suffering. Efforts to target addictions require consideration of how the improved biological understanding of addictions may lead to improved prevention, treatment, and policy initiatives.Adolescents' Perception of Causes of Obesity: Unhealthy Lifestyles or Heritage?
To evaluate adolescents' perception of the causes of obesity, with emphasis on differences according to nutritional status and socioeconomic position.Is Obesity a Risk Factor for Wheezing Among Adolescents? A Prospective Study in Southern Brazil
To investigate the effect of obesity at the start of adolescence on the prevalence, incidence and maintenance of chest wheezing among individuals aged 11–15 years in a birth cohort in a developing country.The New Imperative: Reducing Adolescent-Related Violence by Building Resilient Adolescents
Involvement in violence is affected by a variety of risk factors and timing, duration, number of risks, and intensity of risk factors. The earlier the exposure to risk starts, the longer the exposure continues, the number of risks one is exposed to, and intensity of the risk factors experienced are all important. A child who is severely beaten, sexually abused, or both; one who grows up witnessing intimate partner or family violence; one who attends a failing school or is not involved in structured after-school activities; or one who lives in a violent neighborhood is at increased risk of becoming involved in violent behavior.
