Driving simulators can be used to evaluate driving performance under controlled, safe conditions. Teen drivers are at particular risk for motor vehicle crashes and simulated driving can provide important information on performance. We developed a new simulator protocol, the Simulated Driving Assessment (SDA), with the goal of providing a new tool for driver assessment and a common outcome measu...

A lmost one million teenagers in the United States become pregnant each year (“Facts in Brief”), and these same teens’ ideas about sex and related matters are strongly influenced by the media. Young adult novels about teen pregnancy can speak to teens who “want to read about things that are interesting and true” (Donelson and Nilsen 87). These same teens also read young adult literature to “fin...

We asked 27 Euro American teens ages 16 to 17 with developmental disabilities in Los Angeles to describe friendships. Eleven characteristics of friendship reported in the research literature (similarity, proximity, transcending context, companionship, reciprocity, mutuality, intimacy, support, trust/loyalty, conflict management, and stability) were mentioned by at least some teens. However, mos...

This research examined how social self-efficacy, collective self-esteem, and need to belong can be used to predict teens’ use of social media. The particular focus was on how these social psychological variables together with social media use account for variation in teens’ participation in a flash mob—an exemplar of 21-century collective action. Empirical data come from a survey of teens in a ...

Few studies have examined disparities in adverse birth outcomes and compared contributing socioeconomic factors specifically between African-American and White teen mothers. This study examined intersections between neighborhood socioeconomic status (as defined by census-tract median household income), maternal age, and racial disparities in preterm birth (PTB) outcomes between African-American...

OBJECTIVES The first aim was to examine the relationship between driver's age (novice teens, older teens, and adults) and child passenger's restraint status, front row seating, and injury risk. The second aim was to explore whether there was an excess injury risk to child passengers in teen crashes compared to those in adult crashes by examining the contributing factors. METHODS A cross secti...

This study provides additional evidence that Florida's "truth" tobacco countermarketing campaign was successful in reducing smoking among Florida teens. Smoking rates were substantially lower among Florida teens between fall 2001 and spring 2002, whereas previous studies found that smoking rates were comparable before the launch of "truth." Florida teens had higher levels of "truth" campaign aw...

OBJECTIVE To describe injuries of teens employed in the residential construction industry and to assess whether their injury experiences are significantly different from those of adults in this high risk industry. METHODS AND SETTING North Carolina homebuilders workers' compensation data for a 41 month period were analyzed. Injuries of teens were identified and described by body part injured,...

BACKGROUND We have previously shown that infants who were extremely low birth weight (ELBW) are particularly vulnerable to problems related to inattention and hyperactivity at school age. It is not known whether these problems persist to adolescence. OBJECTIVE To explore and compare the levels of psychopathology in a regional cohort of ELBW infants and sociodemographically matched term contro...

Research has found that good parent-child communication around sexuality has many positive effects for teens – including helping them protect their own sexual health. Good parent child communication leads to better contraception use and lower sexual risk behaviors. Teens want their parents’ guidance: research has found that more teens would prefer to get information about contraceptives from th...