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Adolescent Health

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RAND research on the physical and mental health of adolescents examines such topics as teenage pregnancy, sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), substance use, obesity and physical activity, depression and suicide, and the influence of the media on sexual behavior.

Multimedia
Sleepy Teens: A Public Health Epidemic
RAND's Wendy Troxel discusses how early school start times contribute to an epidemic of sleep deprivation among teens.
Dec 4, 2016
Q&A
How Marijuana Ads Affect Youth: Q&A with Elizabeth D'Amico
RAND's Elizabeth D'Amico discusses her research on how medical marijuana advertising influences adolescents' use of—and positive attitudes toward—the drug. Los Angeles County used her findings to limit the placement of marijuana billboards and signage outside dispensaries.
Aug 21, 2018

Explore Adolescent Health

Journal Article
Adolescents' Contraceptive Use with School-Discordant Partners: Exploring Individual- and Relationship-Level Characteristics
Characteristics of romantic relationships and contraceptive use were examined among 1,043 female and 961 male Add Health respondents. Females (but not males) were less likely to use condom with partners not from their schools or older partners.
Jun 20, 2023
Journal Article
Feasibility of a Computer-Assisted Social Network Motivational Interviewing Intervention to Reduce Substance Use and Increase Supportive Connections Among Emerging Adults Transitioning from Homelessness to Housing
Results suggest that a substance use intervention using Motivational Interviewing and social network visualizations is acceptable to youth transitioning to housing from and can be feasibly delivered by case managers during case management sessions.
Jun 13, 2023
Journal Article
Effect of Child Benefit Payments on Child Outcome Expenditures in South Korea
Using longitudinal data, Korea's child benefit programs are shown to generate positive child outcome expenditures. The effects are higher for lower- and middle-income families, suggesting that policy should target income groups.
May 25, 2023
Blog
RAND Turns 75: A Look Through the Decades At World-Changing Research
From anticipating the Space Age in the 1940s to studying gun policy and COVID-19 responses in the 2020s, RAND is celebrating 75 years of research that has made a difference.
May 8, 2023
Journal Article
Parental Perceptions Related to Co-Administration of Adolescent COVID-19 and Routine Vaccines
Our objective was to assess parental preferences to have their adolescents aged 12-17 years receive COVID-19 and other routine vaccines at the same time.
May 2, 2023
Journal Article
The Role of Pre-Treatment Traumatic Stress Symptoms in Adolescent Substance Use Treatment Outcomes
This study assesses the association between traumatic stress symptoms and substance use treatment outcomes among trauma-exposed adolescents, using methods to reduce potential confounding from factors such as baseline substance use severity.
Feb 21, 2023
Journal Article
The Kids Aren't Alright: The Effects of Medical Marijuana Market Size on Adolescents
Combining a novel measure of market size with two shocks to U.S. federal enforcement policy, researchers find that legal medical market growth increases youth cannabis use and alcohol-involved car accidents, suggesting complementarities for youths. It’s unclear whether these results apply to cannabis legalization for nonmedical purposes.
Dec 9, 2022
Journal Article
The Key Role of Schools in Youth Suicide Prevention
This commentary presents the evidence for why schools are critical to youth suicide prevention efforts.
Dec 7, 2022
Journal Article
Food Insecurity, Sleep, and Cardiometabolic Risks in Urban American Indian/Alaska Native Youth
Food insecurity contributes to racial/ethnic disparities in health. This is the first study to examine associations among food insecurity, sleep, and cardiometabolic outcomes in urban American Indian/Alaska Native (AI/AN) youth.
Nov 4, 2022
Journal Article
A Latent Class Approach to Understanding Longitudinal Sleep Health and the Association with Alcohol and Cannabis Use During Late Adolescence and Emerging Adulthood
Persistent poor sleep health was associated with higher levels of alcohol and cannabis use and consequences, and greater increases in alcohol-related consequences during the transition from late adolescence to emerging adulthood.
Oct 12, 2022
News Release
Landmark Women's Reproductive Health Survey Shows Need for Improvements in DoD Reproductive Health Care
Improvements to reproductive health care services provided by the U.S. Department of Defense would allow DoD to better meet the needs of female service members and address the high rate of unintended pregnancies among active-duty service women.
Sep 13, 2022
Journal Article
Volunteer Recovery Support for Adolescents: Using Propensity Score Based Methods to Understand Dosage Effects Within a Randomized Controlled Trial
The study used statistical methods designed to approximate RCTs when comparing more than two nonequivalent groups that include an assessment of the potential impact of omitted variables in order to address potential dosage effects for a commonly used evidence based substance use treatment program for adolescents.
Jun 24, 2022
Journal Article
Comparative Effectiveness of Individual Versus Family-Based Substance Use Treatment on Adolescent Self-Injurious Thoughts and Behaviors
We compared the effectiveness of individual- and family-based substance use treatments in reducing youth self-injurious thoughts and behaviors.
Jun 21, 2022
Commentary
A Four-Day Week: Is America Ready?
As alluring as a calendar filled with three-day weekends may seem, research shows that short school weeks can have educational and health risks for students, but also benefits for them and for school districts that make the change. Do the benefits of the condensed week outweigh the costs?
May 25, 2022
Blog
Responding to Russia, Sex Trafficking, Anti-Bias Education: RAND Weekly Recap
This weekly recap focuses on the false choice between responding to Russia or deterring China, how substance use and sex trafficking are connected, providing anti-bias education in U.S. schools, and more.
Feb 25, 2022
Journal Article
Loneliness and Multiple Health Domains: Associations Among Emerging Adults
We examine associations of loneliness with physical, behavioral, and health behavior outcomes, and investigate moderating effects by sex, race/ethnicity, and sexual/gender minority status.
Feb 8, 2022
Journal Article
Alcohol Use and Cannabis Use Trajectories and Sexual/Gender Minority Disparities in Young Adulthood
At the same levels of alcohol/cannabis use from middle school through young adulthood, SGM individuals show disparities in multiple domains compared to non-SGM peers. Efforts to reduce substance use and structural disadvantages experienced by SGM youths are needed.
Feb 8, 2022
Journal Article
Cost Analysis of a Randomized Trial of Getting to Outcomes Implementation Support for a Teen Pregnancy Prevention Program Offered in Boys and Girls Clubs in Alabama and Georgia
This study estimated the cost of adding Getting To Outcomes implementation support to a teen pregnancy and sexually transmitted infection prevention evidence-based program called Making Proud Choices in 32 Boys and Girls Clubs in Alabama and Georgia.
Oct 13, 2021
Journal Article
Homeless Children and Young People: A Review of Interventions Supporting Access to Healthcare Services
One of the many risks associated with a lack of secure housing is difficulty in accessing healthcare. This research note looks at the healthcare needs of homeless children and young people and identifies interventions that support them.
Sep 14, 2021
Report
Independent Evaluation of the New York State 1115 Waiver Amendment: The Children's Design
In this interim evaluation of the New York State Medicaid program's Children's Design, RAND researchers identify facilitators of, and barriers to, its implementation; describe and delineate baseline trends in outcomes of interest; and assess the feasibility of identifying comparison groups for analyses that will contribute to a summative evaluation of the program.
Aug 6, 2021

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RAND Topic:
Adolescent Health

Topic Synonyms:
Youth Health

Research conducted by

Researcher Spotlight

Eric R. Pedersen

Adjunct Behavioral Scientist

Eric R. Pedersen is an adjunct behavioral scientist at the RAND Corporation. His primary affiliation is with the Keck School of Medicine at the University of Southern California. His research interests are primarily in the areas of young adult/adolescent alcohol use and comorbid mental health…
Lisa Sontag-Padilla

Behavioral and Social Scientist

Lisa Sontag-Padilla is a behavioral and social scientist at the RAND Corporation. She has over 15 years of research experience focusing on youth mental health and well-being, as well as expertise in college mental health, social emotional well-being, parent-child relationships, research design,…

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