This study developed a Pupils' Nature of Science Scale, including the subscales of the invented and changing nature of science, the role of social negotiation on science, and cultural context on science, to assess early adolescents' views about the nature of science. More than 6,000 fifth and sixth graders in Taiwan responded to the Scale. The study revealed that the adolescents had quite diffe...

This study investigates whether age and gender moderate the effects of social network and neighborgocentric social network ocial disorganization ontextual effects eighborhood effects ctivity space oderation hood contexts on adolescent substance use using a spatially embedded, egocentric social network data set comprised of 254 urban adolescents. Results indicate that substance use is enhanced b...

BACKGROUND The practice of swimming in "hypogravity" conditions has potential to decrease bone formation because it decreases the time engaged in weight-bearing activities usually observed in the daily activities of adolescents. Therefore, adolescents competing in national levels would be more exposed to these deleterious effects, because they are engaged in long routines of training during mos...

The ultrasonic cardiac output monitor (USCOM) is a noninvasive transcutaneous continuous wave Doppler method for assessing hemodynamics. There are no published reference ranges for normal values in adults (aged 18-60 years) for this device. This study aimed to (1) measure cardiovascular indices using USCOM in healthy adults aged 18-60 years; (2) combine these data with those for healthy childre...

This study investigated the knowledge, attitudes and opinions of parents on various aspects of adolescents' sexual and reproductive health in Lesotho. The study used a qualitative methodology. Findings reveal that parents are aware that male and female adolescents engage in sexual relationships. Some parents believe that adolescents are too young to initiate sexual activities while others said ...

CONTEXT To increase effective contraceptive use among adolescents at high risk of pregnancy, it is important to understand what factors influence them to visit a clinic for contraception, including support from their mothers, male partners and friends. METHODS Data from a prospective cohort study of 399 teenage clinic attendees using the pill, the implant or condoms were collected through a q...

Two of the most studied psychosocial variables in relation to HIV are behavioral adaptation and perceived discrimination. The main objective of this study was to analyze whether behavioral adaptation and perceived discrimination can predict risky behaviors for HIV infection depending on cultural and gender differences. The sample was composed of 815 adolescents aged between 14 and 19 years old ...

This study examines the hypothesis that effective parental influence stems from the qualities of the parent-adolescent relationship rather than from explicit efforts to alter adolescents' behaviors. Adolescents' versus parents' perceptions of parental influence as predictors of parent-adolescent relationship quality and of adolescents' social functioning are examined using observational and mul...