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The sexual health of adolescents globally and in the USA remains a significant public health challenge. No evidence-based sexual health education programs exist that specifically target refugee adolescents. The purpose of this exploratory study was to describe the impact of an evidence-based sexual health education program previously demonstrated effectiveness in nonrefugee populations on refugee adolescents' sexual health attitudes, beliefs, intentions and behaviors using minor adaptations to the curriculum. This analysis used a subsample of adolescents from refugee or immigrant backgrounds who participated in a community-based sexuality education program, Reach One Teach One-North Dakota (ROTO-ND). Previously validated scaled survey items were used to assess participants' sexual health beliefs, self-efficacy, knowledge of sexual health resources, and behaviors. Summary statistics were calculated for sociodemographic characteristics categorized by length of time living in the USA. Bivariate unpaired comparisons demonstrated significant differences in the entire cohort on pre- to post-intervention scores on all outcome measures and scales while controlling for program attendance. Participant (n = 103) mean age was 16 and the majority were male (58%). The present study provides evidence that existing evidence-based interventions not intended to target refugee youth may contribute to meeting the unique sexual health education needs of refugee youth with minor adaptations.

Although comprehensive sexuality education programmes have the potential to improve the sexual health and well-being of young people, many socially conservative rural states in the USA have laws and policies restricting school-based comprehensive sexuality education and supporting abstinence-only education. This paper describes the process of building a community-university partnership to implement a community-based comprehensive sexuality education peer education programme for high-risk young people and presents preliminary findings from a longitudinal evaluation. Through purposive recruitment, the sample included 386 young people (mean age) who were more diverse than the local community. Important university-community partnership components included (1) establishing local connections and legitimacy, (2) adapting and tailoring programmes to meet community context, (3) sustainability planning, and (4) flexibility, persistence, and patience. Building community trust and capitalising on the mutual benefits of community-university partnerships are effective methods of building community sexuality education programming in a conservative environment. Tailoring evidence-based approaches to comprehensive sexuality education in a politically restrictive environment shows promise in improving the sexual and reproductive health of young people.

The study reported here examined 367 adolescent 4-H participants in terms of demographic, psychological, behavioral, and relational characteristics, as well as their perceptions and experiences in 4-H. Overall, participants scored high on all outcome variables except having a diverse population in their club. Older participants were more optimistic, participated in more deviant behaviors, and were more satisfied with their 4-H experiences in comparison to younger participants. In comparison to boys, girls appeared to be healthier in regards to psychological characteristics, positive behaviors, and relationships with peers and other adults and were more satisfied with their 4-H experiences. (Contains 2 tables.)

The present study was designed to investigate stability and changes in prosocial behavior and the parent and peer correlates of prosocial behavior in rural adolescents. Participants were from a rural, low SES community in the Eastern United States. The participants were in 7th, 8th, and 9th grades at Time 1 and 10th, 11th, and 12th grades at Time 4, and completed measures of prosocial behavior and quality of parent and peer relationships. Latent growth curve modeling revealed that despite moderate stability in individual differences in prosocial behavior and slight increases in quality of peer and parent relationships, level of prosocial behavior declined until late high school with a slight rebound in grade 12. Furthermore, increases in the quality of peer relationships predicted decreases in prosocial behavior for girls but not boys. Discussion focuses on continuity and change in prosocial behavior and the gender-based relations between quality of parent and peer relationships and prosocial behaviors in adolescence.

The cross-ethnic measurement equivalence of the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D; L. S. Radloff, 1977) was examined using a subsample of adolescents (N=10,691) from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health. Configural and metric invariance, as well as functional and scalar equivalence, were examined for Anglo American, Mexican American, Cuban American, and Puerto Rican American youths age 12-18 years. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) in each group provided evidence of configural invariance for European and Mexican American adolescents but not for Cuban and Puerto Rican youths. A 2-group CFA for Anglo and Mexican Americans demonstrated partial metric invariance for these groups. Multigroup structural equation modeling indicated similar relations between CES-D scores and self-esteem for all 4 groups, supporting cross-ethnic functional and scalar equivalence. The results have implications for using the CES-D in cross-ethnic research and, more broadly, for the assessment and treatment of depression in Latinos.

This study examined the psychometric properties of a multidimensional measure of prosocial behaviors, the Prosocial Tendencies Measure-Revised (PTM-R), with early and middle adolescents. Results showed adequate reliability and evidence of validity for the PTM-R. Discussion focused on individual differences in prosocial behaviors among early and middle adolescents and the need to differentiate among differing types of prosocial behaviors. (Author/KB)

Purpose: The purpose of this research was to identify perceived barriers and facilitators of health from the perspective of rural Kenyan adolescents and to characterize the cultural context that shapes these barriers and facilitators. Design: Following a semistructured interview guide, qualitative focus group interviews were conducted at day schools with 64 upper-primary and secondary students in rural central Kenya. Participants provided written parental consent and individual assent for study participation. Results: Findings were organized into seven categories (individual, family, peer, school, community, institutional, and cultural) according to a social–ecological framework to highlight the multiple social and environmental contexts that shape health the experiences rural Kenyan youth. Conclusions: The prevalence and complexity of factors that shape the health experiences of young people in rural Kenya displayed in these findings adds context to the importance of utilizing multipronged approaches to improving adolescent health by focusing on the social contextual determinants of health behaviors and outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]