OBJECTIVES To document risk behaviours and prevalence of chlamydia and gonorrhoea infections among adolescents aged 14 to 17 years entering care in Quebec Youth Protection Centres (YPC). METHODS From July 2008 to May 2009, adolescents residing in six YPCs completed a questionnaire during a face-to-face interview. Questions covered sexual and substance use behaviours prior to admission, as wel...

INTRODUCTION Information regarding gender differences in drug use of adolescents is essential for designing gender-specific drug prevention policies. This study was conducted in high school students in Tehran, Iran, in 2007. Here, we report the gender differences in lifetime prevalence as well as psychosocial associates of drug use. MATERIAL AND METHODS This was a gender analysis of the data ...

Previous research has shown that the rs53576 variant of the oxytocin receptor gene (OXTR) is associated with trait levels of loneliness, but results are inconsistent. The aim of the present study is to examine micro-level effects of the OXTR rs53576 variant on state levels of loneliness in early adolescents. In addition, gene-environment interactions are examined between this OXTR variant and p...

BACKGROUND There is little information about meal patterns and food consumption of adolescents in Palestine. The objective of this study was to describe the association between sociodemographic factors and food intake, and meal patterns among Palestinian school adolescents (12-15 year) in North Gaza Strip. METHODS A cross-sectional study was conducted in 2002 comprising 944 subjects in 10 sch...

INTRODUCTION The aim of this study was to evaluate the level of PA and EE in Serbian urban adolescents, using an objective measure. In particular, we explored gender and weight status related differences in PA level and EE among Serbian adolescents. In addition, their PA and EE obtained during schooldays and weekends were compared. METHODS From the representative sample of elementary schools ...

Purpose – Why do girls and women progressively opt out of maths-related study and careers? This study aims to examine motivations influencing female adolescents’ choices for maths participation during high school, which has implications for their long-term careers. Design/methodology/approach – Two longitudinal samples were included from different contexts – one from Sydney, Australia (N=459), ...

BACKGROUND Pain problems are common in children and adolescents. Measures of health-related quality of life (HRQoL) can be used to assess children's subjective perspectives of pain experience and its impact on their life. The aims of the study were to describe HRQoL and the prevalence of pain in a nonclinical population of children and adolescents, and to analyze the relationships between HRQoL...

INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVES Cardiovascular fitness (CVF) has been considered a health marker at all ages. The main purpose of this study was to examine whether meeting the current physical activity (PA) recommendations is associated with a healthier CVF level in adolescents. METHODS A total of 472 adolescents (14-16 years-old) were studied. CVF was estimated from a maximal bike test and PA wa...

BACKGROUND The most striking event in the whole process of female puberty is the onset of menstruation. To our knowledge, no large population-based studies have been performed on the topic of menstrual health among Italian adolescents in recent years. The aims of this study were to produce up-to-date information on the menstrual pattern of Italian girls attending secondary school, and to estima...

BACKGROUND This study sought to compare the utility of either inverted body mass index or body mass index to optimise the relationship with body esteem in young adolescents Design: The study was cross sectional in design and assessed body esteem and weight status in 756 young adolescents (394 boys, 362 girls, mean age ± S.D. 11.4 ± 1.6 years). METHODS Body esteem was determined using the body...