Who has the most emotional stress? Older teens, rural youth, welfare recipients and Native American youth. Who is most at risk for suicide attempts? Hispanic and Native American teens, females, rural teens and teens who live in the West. These are some of the sad demographics featured in this Robert Wood Johnson Foundation-funded report. The report is based on the findings of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (“Add Health”), funded by congressional mandate, and conducted by the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development with 17 other federal agencies and institutes. This national study of adolescent health was designed to assess the social settings of adolescent lives, the ways in which adolescents connect to their social world, and the influence of these social settings and connections on health.
The survey was conducted through questionnaires filled out by 90,000 students in grades seven through 12 (from 145 schools), in-home interviews with over 20,000 students in 1995, and follow-up in-home interviews with 15,000 adolescents in 1996. There were also 18,000 parents interviewed, and questionnaires were completed by school administrators. 40 pages. Free. Add Health, c/o Burness Communications, 7910 Woodmont Ave., Ste. 1401, Bethesda, MD 20814. www.peds.umn.edu/peds-adol/pdfdocs/.Reducing_the_risk.pdf
– Amy Bracken
