Adolescents

Background: Boredom is a common but insufficiently explored experience in adolescence, which has been increasingly linked to the development of risky behaviours. This study explores the extent to which boredom predicts engagement in various risky behaviours among adolescents aged 15 to 17. Methods: A cross-sectional study on a sample of 281 high-school students in Croatia was performed in 2024. The participants completed a structured online questionnaire, including validated scales measuring their proneness to boredom, substance use, disordered eating, theft, and cyberbullying. Data were analysed using non-parametric tests, correlation coefficients, and linear regression. Results: Boredom showed a significant association with all forms of risky behaviour, with the strongest association found for disordered eating. Moderate predictive ability was observed for alcohol, marijuana, and drug use, while weaker but significant associations with cyberbullying and theft were also found. Male adolescents reported higher involvement in certain risky behaviours, although no significant gender differences were observed in boredom levels. Conclusions: Boredom is a developmental risk factor, notably when leisure time lacks structure and meaning. While the cross-sectional design of this study limits causal conclusions, the findings highlight the importance of taking boredom into consideration regarding pedagogical prevention efforts. Pedagogical activities targeting quality leisure time, especially within schools and families, may reduce adolescents’ susceptibility to harmful behaviours. Full article

We assessed economic vulnerability, measured by food insecurity, in relation to primary risk behaviors for adolescent pregnancy among U.S. adolescent females. The survey data for this cross-sectional study were collected from adolescent females (n = 187) recruited from high schools (n = 18) serving low-income communities in Southern California between January 2022 and July 2023. We used crude and adjusted logistic regression models to assess associations between food insecurity and sexual risk behaviors for adolescent pregnancy (e.g., early age of sexual initiation, contraceptive use, condom use), as well as financial dependence on a male partner. Adjusted models included demographics significantly associated with outcome variables. Participants were, on average, 17 years old (SD = 1.48); most participants were born in the U.S. (90.3%) and identified as Latina/Hispanic (85.0%). In crude and adjusted bivariate logistic regression models, compared to participants not reporting food insecurity, participants who reported food insecurity were (1) more likely to report early age at first sex (aOR: 3.6, 95% CI: 1.1–11.7), (2) less likely to report condom use in the previous six months among those sexually active during that timeframe (aOR = 0.2, 95% CI: 0.1–0.6), and (3) more likely to report being financially dependent on a male partner (aOR: 4.2. 95% CI: 1.6–11.3). The findings suggest the importance of addressing economic vulnerability to reduce risk factors for adolescent pregnancy. Full article

Background: As global populations age, addressing societal attitudes towards older adults becomes increasingly crucial. Ageism negatively impacts both older and younger individuals. Aging simulation has been proposed as a means to challenge ageist attitudes and promote intergenerational solidarity. This study examines the effectiveness of a brief aging simulation in altering adolescents’ perceptions of aging and older adults. Methods: A prospective interventional study was conducted with 63 high school students aged 15–18. Participants completed the Fraboni Scale of Ageism (FSA) before and after intervention. A subset of 20 students was randomly selected to wear an aging simulation suit. Results: Post-intervention FSA scores significantly decreased from 63.50 to 51.00, indicating a reduction in ageist attitudes. Participants showed significant changes in beliefs related to cognitive decline, the prevalence of Alzheimer’s disease, and the perception that older adults are homogeneous. Additionally, 80% of participants reported a positive shift in their attitude toward aging. The simulation experience was rated highly (average score: 9/10). Conclusions: The findings support the effectiveness of aging simulation in reducing ageist attitudes among adolescents. Given the role of adolescence in shaping long-term perceptions, incorporating aging simulations into educational curricula could be a valuable strategy for promoting intergenerational understanding. Full article

Internet addiction among adolescents has emerged as a significant global health issue, contributing to social isolation, academic difficulties, and emotional disorders, with excessive use of social networks further intensifying these challenges. This study evaluated the effectiveness of an educational intervention grounded in the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) in reducing Internet addiction and enhancing academic performance among adolescent girls in southern Iran. A randomized controlled trial was conducted with 370 female students aged 15–16 years, selected through two-stage cluster random sampling and divided equally into intervention and control groups. The intervention group participated in a five-week TPB-based program, incorporating lectures, group discussions, and parent–teacher meetings, while the control group received unrelated health education. Data were collected using the Yang Internet Addiction Test (IAT), a TPB-based questionnaire, and academic performance scores (grade point average, GPA) before and after the intervention. A repeated measures ANOVA revealed significant improvements in attitudes, subjective norms, perceived behavioral control, and intentions to reduce Internet use (p < 0.001). Internet addiction scores significantly declined, and GPA improved in the intervention group compared to the control group (p < 0.001, Cohen’s d = 0.950). The findings support TPB-based interventions as effective tools for reducing Internet addiction and improving academic outcomes among adolescents. This study was registered with the Iranian Registry of Clinical Trials (IRCT20131014015015N18). Full article

Developmental theories posit that social perspective-taking, the social-cognitive process of adopting another person’s viewpoint to understand the person’s thoughts and feelings, is important for youths’ successful functioning in close relationships, yet this idea has received little empirical attention. Guided by a social-emotional adjustment trade-offs framework, the current study tested the proposal that adolescents’ (N = 300, M age = 14.76) social perspective-taking would be linked with positive aspects of friendship in terms of friendship quality but also maladaptive aspects of friendship, namely co-rumination (i.e., excessive problem discussion between friends). This study used a multi-method design including surveys, laboratory tasks, and observations and extended past work by considering multiple dimensions of social perspective-taking including ability, tendency, and accuracy. Results provided support for friendship adjustment trade-offs of social perspective-taking. Full article

Background: Suicidal ideation among adolescents remains a major public health challenge. Exposure to neighborhood violence is associated with increased risk of mental health distress and school-related vulnerabilities. This study investigates the predictors of suicidal ideation among U.S. adolescents who have witnessed neighborhood violence. Methods: Data were drawn from the 2023 Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS), a nationally representative survey of high school students in the United States. A subsample of 3495 adolescents who reported witnessing neighborhood violence was analyzed. Key variables included sociodemographic characteristics, mental health symptoms, perceived school safety, and experiences of victimization. Multivariable logistic regression was used to identify factors associated with suicidal ideation, defined as seriously considering suicide in the past year. Analyses were conducted using Jamovi (version 2.6), with statistical significance set at p < 0.05. Results: The prevalence of suicidal ideation in the sample was 34.2%. Bisexual adolescents had significantly higher odds of suicidal ideation compared to heterosexual peers (OR = 2.34, p < 0.001). Depressive symptoms were the strongest predictor (OR = 7.51, p < 0.001). Both perceived lack of safety at school and differences in ethnic and population backgrounds were significant. Black and Hispanic/Latino adolescents had lower odds compared to White peers. Conclusions: Findings highlight sexual identity, depressive symptoms, school safety concerns, and ethnic and population background differences as key correlates of suicidal ideation. Culturally responsive, trauma-informed interventions are urgently needed for youth exposed to community violence. Full article

Background: One of the major challenges for children and adolescents with sickle cell disease (SCD) is academic performance. Objectives: Our study aimed to evaluate the academic performance of children and adolescents with SCD in Benin and compare it to the academic performance of their healthy siblings and paediatric comparisons. Furthermore, we aimed to explore the associations between socio-demographic factors, clinical characteristics, and depressive symptoms, and the academic performance of children and adolescents with SCD. Methods: The study was a cross-sectional study that used convenient sampling. Academic scores were collected during the 2021–2022 academic year. Patients with SCD and paediatric comparisons were recruited during routine hospital consultations. The Children’s Depression Inventory (CDI-S) tool was used to assess depressive symptoms. We compared academic performance scores (ranging from 0 to 20) using independent t-tests and explored associations through linear regression analyses. Results: This study included 209 participants: 100 patients with SCD (aged 6 to 17 years), 46 siblings, and 63 paediatric comparisons. The academic performance of patients with SCD (mean academic score = 13.29) was similar to that of the combined comparison group (mean academic score = 12.8, p = 0.196). Younger patients showed poorer academic performance (coef = −0.169, p = 0.019), and depressive symptoms (‘pessimism’, ‘self-hate’, ‘lack of friends’, and ‘fatigue’) were associated with poorer academic performance as well. Patients with SCD who were treated in Benin performed academically as well as their healthy siblings and peers. Conclusions: Children and adolescents with SCD performed on par academically with their healthy siblings and peers. While overall depressive symptoms were not significantly associated with academic performance, certain symptoms were more common among lower-performing students and should therefore be explored in greater detail. Full article

Affective–sexual education programs (ASEPs) are effective in combating gender violence (GV). Most previous studies have focused on the short-term effect these programs have on explicit sexist attitudes. The objective of this study was to analyze the short- and medium-term effect of an ASEP regarding sexist attitudes. An educational intervention study was carried out on 561 high school students in Tenerife (Spain). The 15 h intervention used a participatory methodology with debates, working groups, and game dynamics. Explicit attitudes were measured with the scale of sexist, violent, and stereotyped attitudes (SVSAs) and the gender role attitudes scale (GRAS), and implicit attitudes were measured with the assessment of the behavior of the characters of a brief tailored story, in which an interaction between two young people with an ambiguous component of gender violence is described. Four measurements were made: pre-intervention, post-intervention, 6 months, and 12 months. After the intervention, in the experimental group, scale scores decreased (SVSA from 28.7 ± 7.7 to 21.8 ± 2.1, p < 0.0001; GRAS from 30.6 ± 7.8 to 22.3 ± 2.8, p < 0.0001), and the level of approval of the behavior of the female character of the story improved (from 5.4 ± 2.6 to 7.6 ± 2.1, p < 0.0001). The effect of the intervention on sexist attitudes was maintained until the end of the 12-month follow-up period. Full article

While it is widely accepted that parents play an important role in facilitating the academic achievement of their offspring through school involvement and homework assistance, less is known about how exactly parents, in general, contribute to adolescents’ academic achievement within and across non-Western cultures through their everyday parenting behaviors and parent–adolescent relationships. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between several Western constructs of maternal parenting behavior (e.g., support, involvement, reasoning, punitiveness, and parental knowledge), and aspects of the mother–adolescent relationship (e.g., autonomy, conformity, and familism) and adolescent academic achievement among families living in China, India, and South Korea. Self-reported data were collected from adolescents living in urban areas within Mainland China (n = 589), India (n = 463), and South Korea (274). Examination of the results from the reduced linear regression model indicated that maternal knowledge, familism, punitiveness, age of adolescent, and region were statistically significant predictors. Full article

Social changes have significantly impacted the educational system at various levels, for example, through legislative reforms, and have consequently guided the teaching–learning process. One of the emerging methodologies is Service-Learning (SL), which directly affects student competence and promotes habits related to physical activity and health. The present quasi-experimental study examined the impact of an SL program on secondary school students (n = 112). The aim of the 16-session SL program, which was part of the Physical Education course, was to improve the physical condition and health of 18 sedentary older adults. The influence of this program on motivation, the prosocial climate, and the importance that the students attribute to the subject of Physical Education was assessed. The most significant results were found to be those related to the School Prosocial Climate linked to empathy (p < 0.05) and the motivational variable of Intrinsic Motivation for Stimulating Experiences (p < 0.01). In conclusion, it was determined that the implementation of a methodology based on SL has positive effects on students’ empathy and intrinsic motivation. Full article

Background/Objectives: Happiness is a main topic of psychological research, and as a catalyst for transformative change, it is capable of inspiring growth and well-being. This study aims to identify and understand the themes that compose visual representations of happiness in adolescents, while using an innovative qualitative methodology centered on visual research. Methods: Applying the ‘draw-and-write’ technique, Portuguese adolescents were asked to ‘Draw happiness’, generating a visual data set of 330 drawings, coined hSquares. Results: By order of prevalence, the thematic analysis identified eight key themes: ‘people’, ‘hobbies’, ‘love’, ‘smile’, ‘sports’, ‘basic needs’, ‘inner harmony’, and ‘human rights and equality’. The findings highlight the significance of social contexts, such as family and peer relationships, as central to adolescents’ happiness, while also emphasizing the importance of self-selected activities. Visual representations associated with basic needs and human rights emerged as novel contributions to the literature. Differences emerged by age, with younger adolescents often depicting single themes, whereas older adolescents integrated multiple themes in their drawings. Conclusions: This study provides a visual complement to the rich textual conversation about happiness and demonstrates the potential of visual methodologies in psychological research. Full article

(1) Background: Many mental health conditions either start or become apparent in childhood or adolescence. This paper reports on aspects of a study which explored the perspectives of 12 teachers from independent secondary schools in Western Australia on how the mental health and wellbeing of students exhibiting symptoms of Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) can be fostered within classrooms. Specifically, the focus here was on mental health challenges faced by students with ADHD symptoms and the strategies teachers employ to support their mental wellbeing. (2) Methods: A qualitative approach was taken to the study’s design and the data analysis. Teachers responded to a survey with four open-ended questions, and then participated in individual, semi-structured interviews. (3) Results: The analysis led to the generation of four themes relating to students’ mental health challenges, as well as comprehensive strategies used by teachers to address these. (4) Conclusions: The findings indicated that adolescents with ADHD, regardless of a formal diagnosis, experience significant difficulties with their mental health and academic achievement as a result of their ADHD symptoms, but also that the participant teachers employed a wide range of strategies to assist these students, including those that target their specific mental health challenges and those that are holistic and support their wellbeing more generally. Full article

Background: Feeding and Eating Disorders (FEDs) are severe mental health conditions often emerging during childhood or adolescence, with rising prevalence. They are frequently associated with psychiatric and organic comorbidities, including anxiety symptoms and insomnia. Phytotherapy, particularly Passiflora incarnata L. Herba, has been suggested as a potential treatment option for anxiety and insomnia in youth. Methods: this is an observational and retrospective study that includes patients assessed in a third-level Italian Regional Centre for Feeding and Eating Disorders in Children and Adolescents between 1 January 2020 and 31 December 2023. Eligible patients had a confirmed diagnosis of a FED, along with either an anxiety or a sleep disorder. During follow-up, the clinical efficacy of Passiflora incarnata L. Herba was assessed using the Clinical Global Impression–Improvement scale (CGI-I). Comparative analyses were conducted by stratifying the sample based on the target symptoms (sleep disorders/insomnia and anxiety), FED subtype, and whether polytherapy was used. Results: this study includes 94 patients, with most diagnosed with anorexia nervosa (71.3%). Passiflora incarnata L. Herba was administered at a dosage of 200 mg (1–2 tablets for day). It was often combined with selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) (56.5%), atypical antipsychotics (27.7%), or benzodiazepines (7.4%). Treatment was initiated for anxiety symptoms (75.5%) or insomnia (28.7%). No side effects were reported. Among patients with specific outcome data, 53.3% reported improvements in anxiety symptoms, and 45.4% reported improvements in insomnia. Conclusions: this is the first study to evaluate the use of Passiflora incarnata L. Herba for anxiety and insomnia in children and adolescents with FEDs. Our findings suggest that Passiflora incarnata L. Herba may serve as a well-tolerated adjunctive treatment, showing symptomatic improvement in up to 53% of the patients with data on treatment outcomes. Notably, 53.3% and 45.4% of participants, with specific outcome data, reported reduced anxiety and insomnia symptoms, respectively. Given its excellent safety profile and preliminary efficacy, Passiflora incarnata L. Herba may represent a promising alternative for patients with mild symptoms or for caregivers hesitant about conventional pharmacotherapy. Full article

School bullying is a pervasive issue with significant physical, mental, and social consequences for victims and bullies. Occupational therapy practitioners are uniquely positioned to address bullying due to their expertise in mental health, social participation, and child development. This systematic review synthesizes evidence on school bullying interventions to identify strategies that are relevant to occupational therapy practice. A systematic search was conducted across nine databases and identified 187 studies on occupation-based school bullying interventions. The review included studies employing a wide range of interventions, categorized into three tiers. Universal interventions (Tier 1) were the most effective, often following Social and Emotional Learning frameworks to foster positive school climates and address systemic bullying dynamics. Targeted interventions (Tier 2), such as peer mentoring and social skills training, demonstrated moderate effectiveness for at-risk populations. Intensive interventions (Tier 3) were less effective as standalone approaches but provided essential individualized support. This review highlights the potential for occupational therapy practitioners to play a pivotal role in addressing school bullying through evidence-based, occupation-focused interventions. Full article

Adolescence is a critical period for growth and development, yet research on dietary quality and its influencing factors among Senegalese adolescent girls is limited. This study aims to assess dietary quality, with a focus on dietary diversity (DD), and identify its determinants in a nationally representative sample of adolescent girls in Senegal. A cross-sectional study was conducted in 2023 among 600 girls aged 10–19 years. Food intake was assessed over a seven-day period to evaluate DD. Household food security and sociodemographic data were gathered through face-to-face interviews. Half the sample had adequate DD. As for consumption, 80% had breakfast daily, while the same proportion consumed one snack per day. Fruits and vegetables, meat/poultry/fish, and dairy were consumed daily by less than 25% of the sample. Sweet foods, sweet beverages, and salty and fried food were consumed by less than 10% every day. Not having been sick in the past two weeks (Odds ratio (OR): 1.53, Confidence Interval (CI): 1.05–2.22), taking breakfast daily (OR: 1.89, CI: 1.23–2.93) and micronutrients (OR: 2.75, CI: 1.54–4.92), listening to the radio at least once a week (OR: 1.66, CI: 1.05–2.63), and living in a household with access to an improved source of water (OR: 4.13, CI: 2.28–7.49) were positively associated with adequate DD. Overall, the diet of adolescent girls is of poor quality. Potential determinants of their dietary quality should be considered in future nutrition programs and policies to ensure their optimal growth and development. Full article

(1) Background: Adolescents living with HIV (ALHIVs) experience significant challenges in adhering to treatment and remaining engaged in care as they transition from pediatric to adult HIV care programs. The aim of this qualitative evidence synthesis (QES) was to review qualitative studies that describe how ALHIVs experience transition practices in low- and middle-income countries. (2) Methods: The following databases were searched: PubMed, Wiley Library Online, EbscoHost (PsychARTICLES, MEDLINE, Scopus, CINAHL), the WHO database, Google Scholar, and reference mining of the included studies. The inclusion criteria were as follows: ALHIV 10–19 years old, interventions on the transition period or studies describing transition practices, published between 2012 and 2023, conducted in low- and middle-income countries, English language, and qualitative and mixed-method studies. This review adheres to the PRISMA guidelines. CASP and MMAT were used for methodological quality assessment, and GRADE CERQual was used for the confidence in review findings. (3) Results: Seven articles were included in the final review. The five overarching themes described: (1) transition readiness during the pre-transition phase; (2) structural (health systems) barriers and treatment literacy as challenges during the transition period; and (3) provided accounts of successful post-transition experiences and recommendations for improving the transition process (when these were not experienced as positive), while also describing the individual and collective contexts in which transition took place, as they outlined (4) individual (psychological) barriers and the facilitative role that (5) a supportive environment played in the outcome of the transition process. There was a high level of confidence in transition readiness, while the other themes were assessed as having moderate confidence due to methodological limitations and minor concerns about adequacy or relevance. (4) Conclusions: There is a dearth of qualitative studies on the transition experiences of ALHIVs and on how the transition process impacts adherence, retention in care, and mental well-being. We recommend the development of interventions in the form of a guided transition protocol to improve the transition experiences of ALHIVs. Full article

Emotional exhaustion in children and adolescents has become a significant concern in post-pandemic educational settings, with increased risks of anxiety, depression, and academic disengagement. Despite the growing prevalence of burnout symptoms in school-aged populations, few psychometrically validated tools exist to assess this construct in younger cohorts. This study aimed to validate the factorial structure and psychometric properties of the Emotional Exhaustion Scale (EES-CA) for use in children and adolescents, focusing on reliability, internal structure, and convergent validity. An instrumental, cross-sectional study was conducted with a sample of 543 Chilean students aged 10 to 18 (M = 13.00, SD = 1.77). The EES-CA, adapted from the university-level Emotional Exhaustion Scale, was administered along with the Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scale (DASS-21). Data were analyzed in the following four phases: descriptive analysis, exploratory factor analysis (EFA), confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), and convergent validity. Reliability was estimated via Cronbach’s alpha and McDonald’s omega. EFA supported the following two-factor solution: Scholar Stress and Emotional Fatigue, explaining 58.49% of the total variance. CFA confirmed the superiority of the bifactorial model (χ² = 91.74, df = 34; CFI = 0.960; RMSEA = 0.072) over the unifactorial model (χ² = 133.20, df = 35; CFI = 0.932; RMSEA = 0.093). The internal consistency was strong (α = 0.888; ω = 0.883). The convergent validity for the EES-CA showed low correlations with wellbeing (PWI) and non-significant correlations with emotional intelligence (TMMS-24), supporting discriminant validity. The EES-CA exhibits a robust bifactorial structure with high reliability and valid associations with psychological distress measures. This scale is an appropriate and psychometrically sound instrument for assessing emotional exhaustion in school-aged populations, providing a valuable tool for early detection and intervention in educational and mental health contexts. Full article

Exclusionary discipline harms students, schools, and society at large. Students’ perceptions of prevention and countermeasures to this harm are imperative to improving equity in school discipline. This study examined eighth-grade students’ experiences in their middle school environments during implementation of the inclusive skill-building learning approach (ISLA). As part of ISLA implementation, school staff are supported in implementing preventative strategies and instructional responses in the face of behavior challenges. To inform future implementation efforts in these contexts, this paper examined how eighth-grade students experienced different aspects of the learning environment during the intervention year. A total of 22 students participated in focus groups and provided feedback on various elements of ISLA. Students’ experiences were analyzed using a theoretical thematic analysis, which revealed strong connections between teachers’ implementation of inclusive practices and relationship-building strategies and students’ sense of belonging and support in schools. Results are discussed in terms of the impact of student–teacher interactions, strategies to improve student outcomes, and considerations to improve ISLA implementation. Full article

This study examines the dynamics of information dissemination and opinion formation in Indonesian social media through a comprehensive analysis of a high-profile youth violence case. Using social network analysis (SNA), we analyzed 264,155 activities from 83,097 accounts on platform X (formerly Twitter) to understand the patterns of information flow, cluster formation, and inter-group interactions. The analysis revealed four distinct clusters with unique characteristics: a dominant support cluster (40.12%), a context-focused cluster (26.93%), a mainstream media cluster (14.14%), and a peripheral engagement cluster (6.05%). This study found significant patterns in information dissemination, with retweets dominating at 68% of total activities and strategic hashtag usage at 28%. Cross-cluster interactions comprised 20% of total activities, challenging assumptions about echo chambers in digital discourse. The network showed high resilience with 85% path reliability and demonstrated a consistent multiplier effect with a 1:5:15 ratio in message amplification. Bridge nodes (10–15% of accounts) played crucial roles in facilitating cross-cluster dialogue and maintaining network cohesion. The temporal evolution of discourse showed distinct phases, from initial factual reporting to later systemic analysis, with each phase characterized by different engagement patterns and narrative focuses. These findings extend existing theoretical frameworks while highlighting the need for more culturally nuanced approaches to understanding digital discourse in contexts of collectivist cultural dimensions. This study’s results have significant implications for digital literacy education, social media intervention strategies, and youth violence prevention efforts, suggesting the need for sophisticated, network-aware approaches that consider both structural dynamics and cultural contexts. Full article