High-Risk Behavior: Impacts on the Health and Wellness of Young People
A special issue of Healthcare (ISSN 2227-9032).
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 March 2026 | Viewed by 276
Special Issue Editor
Interests: public health; health promotion; preventive medicine; adolescent health; adolescent health services; youth health; youth-friendly services; psychosocial health; sexual health; eating disorders; overweight and obesity internet addiction; bullying; cyberbullying; academic students’ health; well-being and positive youth development
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
According to the United Nations, young people accounted for 33% of the global population in 2020, making them the largest demographic across the globe. As young people are increasingly demanding more just, equitable, and progressive opportunities and solutions from their societies, the need to address the multifaceted challenges faced by young people (such as access to education, health, and employment and gender equality) has become more pressing than ever. Adolescence (ages 10 to 18) is a critical transitional period that includes the biological changes of puberty and developmental tasks such as identity exploration and the accomplishment of independency. On the other hand, young adults (ages 19 to 25) are expected to take on adult responsibilities and obligations, so they have to face significant educational, social, and economic challenges.
Although adolescence and young adulthood are generally healthy times of life, some important health and social problems either start or peak during these years. The behavioral health patterns established during these developmental periods determine young people’s health and wellbeing and their risk for developing chronic diseases in their future. As part of their identity explorations, young people aim to have a wide range of experiences and are particularly vulnerable to adopting risky behaviors and participating in activities, such as tobacco, alcohol, and illicit substance use, unsafe sexual behavior, unhealthy nutrition, motor vehicle accidents, exposure to violence, and academic dropping out, that may result in health consequences and cause physical or mental harm during adulthood.
The purpose of this Special Issue is to highlight in young people’s high-risk behaviors and how they affect their health and wellness, including the following topics:
- Substance use;
- Alcohol use/underage drinking;
- Smoking/nicotine use/vaping;
- Energy drink consumption;
- Sexually transmitted infections;
- Teenage and unintended pregnancies;
- Nutrition and weight conditions;
- Eating disorders;
- Overweight and obesity;
- Internet, social media, addiction;
- Academic problems and dropping out of school;
- Homelessness;
- Motor vehicle collisions;
- Mental health disorders;
- Violence;
- Injuries.
We are pleased to invite you to participate in this Special Issue, and we look forward to your contributions. Reviews and original research articles (qualitative, quantitative, and mixed-methods studies) related to this topic are welcome.
Dr. Elisabeth Andrie
Guest Editor
Manuscript Submission Information
Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.
Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Healthcare is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.
Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2700 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.
Keywords
- public health
- health promotion
- adolescent health
- youth health
- psychosocial health
- sexual health
- eating disorders
- overweight and obesity
- internet addiction
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