Search Results (181)

Though previous studies have demonstrated the protective benefits of sports participation against illicit drug use for a general population, how these findings apply to LGBTQ youth remains unknown. This study specifically looks at the relationship between sports participation and prescription drug misuse among sexual and gender minority youth. Using secondary data from the 2019 YRBS, we analyze associations among sports participation, sexual orientation, gender identity, and prescription drug misuse among a representative sample of U.S. high school students in Florida. Our results show that sexual and gender minority youth are at increased risk for prescription drug misuse compared to their heterosexual and cisgender peers. Moreover, sports participation is associated with higher rates of prescription drug misuse among all students, and the nuances of these trends are discussed with particular attention paid to sexual and gender minority youth. These results challenge conventional wisdom about sports participation. Without the addition of new demographic survey questions and LGBTQ youth participation in the YRBS, common myths about sports might have persisted. Our findings point to the meaningful presence of LGBTQ youth in sports, call for research and programming on LGBTQ athletes’ unique needs regarding substance misuse risk, and encourage LGBTQ-inclusive policies and practices within schools and sports programs in particular. Full article

Background: Teen dating violence (TDV) is a serious public health concern, with sexual and gender minority youth (SGMY) at elevated risk due to minority stress and systemic inequalities. This systematic review examines individual, relational, and contextual risk factors for TDV among SGMY. Methods: A systematic search was conducted in Scopus, Web of Science, and APA PsycInfo on 10 December 2024. Studies published between 2014 and 2024 focusing on teen dating violence (TDV) as an outcome among sexual and gender minority youth (SGMY) aged 13–19 were included. Study selection was independently performed by multiple reviewers using Rayyan. Risk of bias was assessed using the JBI Critical Appraisal Tools. Due to heterogeneity in the study design and measurement tools, a narrative synthesis was conducted. Results: Six risk domains emerged: (1) Demographic/Identity (e.g., gender, orientation, or race); (2) Psychological/Behavioral (e.g., distress or substance use); (3) Violence/Bullying (e.g., cyberbullying or exclusion); (4) Family/Sexual Abuse (e.g., family rejection); (5) Relational/Social (e.g., partner outing); and (6) School/Community (e.g., non-inclusive environments). Bisexual, pansexual, transgender, and racialized youth showed heightened vulnerability. Most studies were conducted in the USA and relied on non-validated TDV measures and cross-sectional designs, limiting comparability and causal inference. Conclusions: SGMY face unique, often overlooked TDV risks. There is a need for intersectional, longitudinal research and inclusive, developmentally appropriate prevention efforts that address both relational and structural factors. This review received no external funding and was not registered. Full article

Introduction: Access of transgender and gender diverse (TGD) youth to gender-affirming medical care (GAMC) has become a contentious topic in the West, with many members of the general population, politicians, and even some experts and academic researchers voicing concerns about possible adverse effects of GAMC on the mental and physical health of TGD youth. Due to these concerns, recent years have seen a significant rise in legislation restricting TGD youth from accessing GAMC in countries such as the United States, the United Kingdom, and Canada. However, in this critical review of the literature on the psychological (e.g., anxiety, depression, suicide, and body satisfaction) and physical (e.g., bone health, cognitive function, and fertility) health outcomes associated with GAMC among TGD youth, we argue that, given the state of current research, youth should not be restricted from accessing GAMC. Conclusions: Our findings reinforce the importance of close monitoring by doctors, counselling for TGD youth with respect to potential risks, and increased studies on the topic, especially those focusing on reproductive health. Full article

This article presents a structured review of literature published between 2015 and 2025 on the experiences of rural LGBTQIA+ youth. Using targeted search terms—including “LGBT*,” “rural,” “country,” “young people,” “sexual and gender minority (SGM),” “small town,” “youth,” and “students”—a research team identified 26 peer-reviewed articles that met inclusion criteria. Through team-based thematic analysis, six core themes emerged: (1) gaps in intersectional analysis, (2) mental health outcomes, (3) culturally responsive services and resources, (4) community climate and context, (5) experiences of victimization, and (6) policy. Across these themes, the review highlights the resilience, agency, and strength of LGBTQIA+ youth navigating rural environments. The literature consistently demonstrates how experiences of victimization are closely linked to mental health outcomes, while access to social support—particularly from affirming adults in systems (such as schools)—can mitigate harm and foster well-being. Implications for social work research, practice, and policy are discussed, with an emphasis on supporting LGBTQIA+ youth in U.S. Southern rural settings. Full article

Background: Cardiovascular fitness has been proposed as a key factor influencing executive functioning and academic performance during childhood and adolescence. However, the extent and consistency of this relationship remain unclear across diverse populations and educational contexts. This systematic review aimed to evaluate whether cardiovascular fitness, particularly measured through VO₂max, is consistently associated with improvements in executive function and academic performance among students from early childhood to adolescence. Methods: A systematic search of PubMed, Web of Science, SPORTDiscus, and ProQuest Central was conducted up to 15 November 2022. Studies were included if they examined correlations between VO₂max and cognitive or academic outcomes in students from preschool to high school. Methodological quality was assessed using the MINORS checklist. Results: Out of 271 identified studies, 12 met all inclusion criteria. Evidence suggests that higher VO₂max is generally associated with improved executive function domains such as attention, working memory, and inhibitory control, as well as academic performance indicators including mathematics and reading scores. Neurophysiological studies also indicate links between cardiovascular fitness and brain structure/function. However, the strength and specificity of these associations vary across studies due to methodological differences, limited sample diversity, and inconsistent control for confounders. Conclusions: Cardiovascular fitness appears to have a positive, albeit complex, relationship with cognitive function and academic performance in youth. Future research should adopt longitudinal and experimental designs to clarify causal pathways and consider moderating factors such as sex, age, and psychosocial variables. Full article

A growing knowledge base highlights the importance of accounting for a variety of social and structural determinants of health (SDOH) when understanding mental and behavioral health among adolescents and young adults. The objective of the current study is to examine patterns of self-reported SDOH deficits and characterize participant health indicators and social identity across classes. Data is from a cross-sectional national study of young people who were recruited through study advertisements on social media and surveyed online. Data were collected between June 2022 and October 2023. Eligibility included (1) ages 13–22 years, (2) living in the United States, and (3) proficient in English. Health indicators included suicide attempts, suicidal ideation, drug overdose, perceived likelihood of living to age 35, non-suicidal self-injury, recent alcohol use, and depression. Five classes of SDOH deficits were identified: (1) Economic Instability, (2) Low Overall SDOH Deficits, (3) High Social SDOH Deficits (adversity and discrimination), (4) High Economic SDOH Deficits, and (5) High Overall SDOH Deficits. Differences across class by health indicators and marginalized identity were found, with high proportions of gender minority and sexual minority youth in both the High Overall SDOH Deficit group and the High Social SDOH Deficit classes. Black youth were more likely to be part of the High Economic SDOH Deficits class. The findings encourage a public health approach that recognizes that improving the health of today’s young people must be connected to policies that reduce poverty, improve neighborhoods, and increase access to basic goods, services, and healthcare. Full article

The aim of this study was to assess the validity and intra-session reliability of the MyJump 2 smartphone application for evaluating countermovement jump (CMJ) and squat jump (SJ) performance in youth soccer players using the Chronojump contact mat system as a reference. Twenty-one male soccer players from an elite team (U14–U19) were randomly selected to participate in countermovement jump (CMJ) and squat jump (SJ) assessments, with jump heights recorded simultaneously by both systems. Validity was examined through Bland–Altman analysis, Pearson and Spearman correlations and linear regression. Reliability was assessed using intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC), standard error of measurement (SEM) and Bland–Altman test–retest analysis. Results revealed minor systematic overestimation by MyJump 2 (+0.943 cm for CMJ; +1.042 cm for SJ). Strong correlations were found between MyJump 2 and Chronojump (r = 0.972 for CMJ; r = 0.955 for SJ), while ICCs exceeded 0.97 for both jump types, indicating excellent reliability. These findings support MyJump 2 as a valid and reliable alternative for vertical jump testing in adolescent and junior soccer players as an accessible and suitable tool for field-based performance monitoring regarding vertical jumping ability. Full article

Measures of sexual orientation and family functioning are widely used among sexual minority populations. However, data on whether these measures are culturally syntonic and responsive to the needs of a particular population, such as Hispanic sexual minority youth (HSMY), are lacking. Therefore, this study assessed whether HSMY understand measures of sexual orientation and family functioning as intended. Authors conducted individual interviews with five HSMY to evaluate the face validity of a measure of sexual orientation (i.e., Klein Sexual Orientation Grid) and measures of family functioning (i.e., Parent–Adolescent Communication Scale, Parenting Practices Scale, Parental Monitoring of Peers). Data were analyzed using a general inductive approach. For the sexual orientation measure, five themes were identified related to the: (1) clarity of questions, (2) challenging nature of questions, (3) difficulty of responses, (4) suggestions to improve response options, and (5) need for questions to include gender identity. For family functioning, three themes were identified: (1) relevance of the measures to sexual minority youth, (2) the importance of understanding family history and cultural context, and (3) capturing the context of how sexual minority status and disclosure impact family functioning. HSMY had generally positive feedback regarding these measures; however, they also suggested specific changes associated with wording and specificity of the measures to make them more relevant to HSMY’s unique needs. Full article

Introduction: This study aimed to assess, through health metrics and bibliometric analysis, the global research on attitudes and social stigma of people living with HIV/AIDS and to identify research findings, gaps, and future directions. Methods: A cross-sectional bibliometric study was conducted through a structured search in different databases. Fifteen thousand four hundred and ninety-six documents were found between 1981 and 2024. Results: 83.5% were original articles, and international co-authorship was 30.66%. Since 2000, there has been an increase in research on HIV/AIDS attitudes and social stigma. The United States is the most prolific country worldwide (n = 7837 publications; 50.5%), with the highest number of prolific institutions (n = 4/5), as well as the greatest influence and relevance in research (h-index 170). The most studied topics worldwide are social support and social psychology concerning homosexuality, middle age, and youth in people living with HIV/AIDS. There was no significant correlation between the volume of publications, countries’ income levels, and the most prolific geographic regions with adult HIV prevalence, overall HIV incidence and prevalence, or antiretroviral therapy coverage in people living with HIV (p > 0.05 for all cases). Conclusions: Over the past two decades, research has shifted from human rights, legal rights, and ethics to attitudes toward healthcare, with the recent interest in pre-exposure prophylaxis, gender minorities, and intersectional stigma. The absence of strong correlations between publications volume and global health HIV-related indicators underscores the necessity of translating evidence into actionable strategies to reduce stigma and improve health outcomes. Full article

Previous studies have examined the association between family dysfunction and pubertal timing in adolescent girls. However, the evidence is lacking on the role of family dysfunction during sensitive developmental periods in both boys and girls from racial and ethnic minority groups. This study aimed to determine the effect of family dysfunction on the timing of pubertal maturation among US Hispanic/Latino children and adolescents. Participants were 1466 youths (50% female; ages 8–16 years) from the Hispanic Community Children’s Health Study/Study of Latino Youth (SOL Youth). Pubertal maturation was measured using self-administered Pubertal Development Scale (PDS) items for boys and girls. Family dysfunction included measures of single-parent family structure, unhealthy family functioning, low parental closeness, and neglectful parenting style. We used multivariable ordinal logistic and linear regression analyses to examine the associations between family dysfunction and pubertal maturation (individual and cumulative measures), with adjustment for childhood BMI and socioeconomic factors, design effects (strata and clustering), and sample weights. Multivariable models of individual PDS items showed that family dysfunction was negatively associated with growth in height (OR = 0.66, 95% CI: 0.44, 0.99) in girls; no associations were found in boys. In the assessment of cumulative PDS scores, family dysfunction was associated with a lower average pubertal maturation score (b = −0.63, 95% CI: −1.21, −0.05) in boys, while no associations were found in girls. Pubertal timing lies at the intersection of associations between childhood adversity and adult health and warrants further investigation to understand the factors affecting timing and differences across sex and sociocultural background. Full article

Introduction: The rise in youth sports participation has led to an increase in pediatric sports-related injuries in the United States, contributing to growing healthcare costs and exacerbating socioeconomic disparities. Insurance payor status is a critical factor influencing access to care, treatment delays, and health outcomes. This study examines the association between insurance payor status and outcomes in pediatric sports-related injuries. Methods: A systematic review of the Medline database was conducted. Included studies reported insurance payor status and pediatric sports orthopedic patient outcomes following surgery. Outcomes included time to be seen by a provider, treatment access, complication and revision rates, postoperative Emergency Department (ED)/Urgent Care utilization, readmission rates, hospital length of stay, pain, functional scores, discharge destinations, return to activity, and follow-up. Results: A total of 35 studies comprising 535,891 pediatric patients were included. Publicly insured or uninsured patients consistently experienced significant delays in accessing care, with average wait times for clinic visits, imaging, and surgery up to six times longer compared to privately insured patients. These delays were associated with worsened injury severity, higher rates of postoperative complications, and poorer functional outcomes. Publicly insured patients were less likely to receive advanced treatments such as bracing or physical therapy, further compounding disparities. Minority groups faced delays even when controlling for insurance status. Conclusions: Public and uninsured pediatric patients face systemic barriers to timely and equitable care, resulting in worse outcomes following sports-related injuries. Future research should explore targeted solutions to ensure equitable care for this vulnerable population. Full article

Though transgender and gender diverse (TGD) youth are disproportionately affected by suicide and disordered eating, little research has explored the relationship between the two using state-level data. This exploratory study examined whether disordered eating behaviors moderate the observed relationship between gender and suicide among adolescents. Multivariate logistic regression was performed on the population-based 2023 Healthy Kids Colorado Survey (HKCS) data (N = 49,989) to test whether the odds of suicide ideation and attempt differed by gender groups, and modeling was carried out to examine the moderation of these relationships by disordered eating behaviors. Additionally, analyses were replicated among only gender minority groups (n = 2486). Compared to cismale students, the prevalence of disordered eating was higher among all other gender identities. There was a significantly higher risk of suicidal ideation and attempts among transfemale, transmale, nonbinary and gender-questioning students. Disordered eating did not significantly moderate the relationship between gender and suicide outcomes. These findings underscore the heightened vulnerability of TGD youth to disordered eating and suicidal behaviors while suggesting that disordered eating may not be a pathway through which gender relates to suicide outcomes. Full article

Research shows that family conversations about STEM topics positively influence children’s STEM identity development. This study expands on these findings by exploring how family conversations beyond STEM content contribute to this development. Specifically, we focus on how non-academic forms of family support—as described by students who face systemic racial discrimination in STEM—shape these conversations. In this way, we extend existing work by exploring the extent to which families’ dispositions to talk about a wide range of topics—not just in STEM—might further support youth identification with STEM fields. Using Family Communication Patterns Theory (FCPT) to guide our analysis, we examined data from a survey of first-year college students (n = 1134) attending Minority-Serving Institutions and public universities in the United States. The survey asked students to reflect on their childhood conversations and their current sense of identity in STEM. Using structural equation modeling, we found that family disposition to engage in conversations about a broad range of topics was linked to more frequent STEM-related conversations during childhood and, in turn, greater identification as a “STEM person” in college. These findings highlight the complex ways that family communication patterns can support construction of an individual’s sense of themselves as a STEM person in later years. By interpreting these findings using FCPT, we highlight the nature of family communication patterns that can contribute to STEM identity formation. Full article

Background/Objectives: The COVID-19 pandemic created a growing need for insights into the mental health of children and youth and their use of coping mechanisms during this period. We assessed mood symptoms and related factors among children and youth in Saskatchewan. We examined if coping abilities mediated the relationship between risk factors and mood states. Methods: “See Us, Hear Us 2.0”, a cross-sectional study of 563 child–parent dyads, provided the data. The dependent variable, current mood state, was measured by the CoRonavIruS health Impact Survey (CRISIS) scale. Independent variables included sociodemographics, behaviors, household conditions, and coping ability. Multiple linear regression and mediation analyses were conducted, ensuring sample representativeness with sampling weights and addressing missing data through multiple imputations. Results: The participants reported mood symptoms (“moderate” to “extreme”) ranging from 23% to 38% on the CRISIS scale. Factors such as older children, hybrid learning, disrupted activities, and increased screen time worsened moods. The ethnic minority groups (BIPOC) living in mid-sized cities/towns experienced more negative moods compared to Whites residing in cities. Coping ability mediated the relationship between extracurricular activities and mood states. Conclusions: Our results underscore the importance of tailored interventions, recognizing the diverse needs of specific age groups, gender identities, and ethnicities and addressing the adverse effects of the pandemic-related disruptions on the mental health and well-being of school children in Saskatchewan. Our study also suggests prioritizing the diverse needs of children and youth during the planning and implementation of mental health services in the province. Full article

Rising rates of depression among youth present a growing mental health crisis. Despite growing concerns regarding the risks of air pollution exposure on youth mental and physical health, associations between ambient air pollutants and depression have been largely overlooked in youth. In this cross-sectional study, we investigated associations between ozone, particulate matter, and depressive symptoms in adolescents across 224 Colorado census tracts (average age of 14.45 years, 48.8% female, 48.9% of minority race/ethnicity). Students in participating schools reported depressive symptoms and demographic information, and school addresses were used to compute ozone and particulate matter levels per census tract. Possible confounding variables, including sociodemographic and geographic characteristics, were also addressed. Exploratory analyses examined demographic moderators of these associations. Census tracts with higher ozone concentrations had a higher percentage of adolescents experiencing depressive symptoms. Particulate matter did not emerge as a significant predictor of adolescent depressive symptoms. Secondary analyses demonstrated that associations with ozone were moderated by racial/ethnic and gender compositions of census tracts, with stronger effects in census tracts with higher percentages of individuals with marginalized racial/ethnic and gender identities. Ultimately, this project strengthens our understanding of the interplay between air pollution exposures and mental health during adolescence. Full article