This is a monthly publication from Jennifer O'Brien, the Adolescent Health
Coordinator at the Minnesota Department of Health (see contact information
at the end of this publication). This E-Newsletter will cover adolescent
health/ youth development related research, data, resources, learning and
funding opportunities for interested professionals. Past issues of the
newsletter are available online at: http://www.health.state.mn.us/youth/
February 2008
Research
1. Unrealistic Fatalism in U.S. Youth Ages 14 to 22: Prevalence and
Characteristics
Resources
2. National Teen Dating Violence Awareness and Prevention Week
3. MMWR looks at deaths from the Choking Game
4. Fact Sheet on Health Care Access and Utilization among Adolescents
and Young Adults Released
5. A CDC Review of School Laws and Policies Concerning Child and Adolescent
Health
6. Assessing Adolescent Reproductive Health: A Guide for Out-of-School
Time Practitioners
7. Teen Prescription Drug Abuse: An Emerging Threat
8. Parent-Adolescent Communication about Sex in Latino Families: A
Guide for Practitioners
9. What Research Tells Us About Latino Parenting Practices and their
Relationship to Youth Sexual Behavior
Conferences
10. Every Student Connected: It's Possible!
11. Music & the Internet: Understanding the Challenging Issues That
Youth Face
12. The Youth Work Institute
13. Somali Reproductive Health Forum
14. MOAPPP’s 17th Annual Conference
Grants (Please note: MDH is NOT a contact for the following opportunities)
15. McDonald House Charities US Matching Grants for Local or Community
Efforts
16. Medica Foundation Funding Priorities
17.Opportunities for Youth: PFLAG National Scholarship Program
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February 2008
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Research
1. Unrealistic
Fatalism in U.S. Youth Ages 14 to 22: Prevalence
and Characteristics
Patrick E. Jamieson, Ph.D.*, and Dan Romer, Ph.D.
Journal of Adolescent Health 42 (2008) 154–160
Purpose: To estimate the proportion of U.S. youth that exhibits
unrealistic fatalism about its future (not expecting to live past age 30),
and to test predictions about risk factors for this expectation.
Methods: Four waves of a nationally representative telephone survey
from 2002 to 2005 with youth ages 14 to 22 (N
4201) were
analyzed using logistic regression to identify correlates and predictors
of unrealistic fatalism.
Results: Approximately 1 out of every 15 youth interviewed (6.7%,
95% confidence interval [CI]
5.9%, 7.5%) responded that they
agreed they would not live much past the age of 30. Compared to
other youth, fatalists were significantly more likely to be older, male,
to identify as Hispanic, and have completed the interview in Spanish.
As predicted, recent experience of hopelessness was a strong predictor
of fatalism. In addition, nonwhite youth who had experienced
hopelessness reported increasing rates of fatalism as they aged.
Fatalistic youth engaged in greater suicidal planning, had more
accepting attitudes toward suicide, were less attached to religion, and
were more impulsive than other youth. Approximately 43% of fatalists
forecast a likely death by suicide, whereas the rest anticipated death
by an outside source. Fatalists were also more likely not to stay in
school.
Conclusions: Because youth exhibiting fatalism are at risk for not
staying in school and suicidal planning, they should be identified at an
early age for referral to programs that are effective in treating youth
with hopelessness and suicidal tendencies.
Resources
2. National Teen Dating Violence Awareness and Prevention Week
In recognition of National Teen Dating Violence Awareness and Prevention Week,
on February 27, 2008, at 2 p.m. (eastern time), the Office for Victims of Crime
(OVC) will present a Web Forum Guest Host Session with Mitru Ciarlante and
Barri Rosenbluth on best practices for serving teen victims of dating violence.
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February 2008
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Ms. Ciarlante is Director of the National Center for Victims of Crime’s Teen Victim
Initiative and works to advance rights and services for young victims and
survivors of crime. She founded the Children’s Advocates Task Force of the
Pennsylvania Coalition Against Domestic Violence and created the Students
Together for Outreach and Prevention of Abuse peer education program.
Ms. Rosenbluth is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and School-Based Services
Director of SafePlace’s Expect Respect, a dating violence prevention program.
She helped the Austin Independent School District establish the first school
policies in Texas regarding dating violence and contributed to the development
of Choose Respect, a national prevention initiative to promote safe and healthy
dating relationships among youth.
Visit the OVC Web Forum now at http://ovc.ncjrs.gov/ovcproviderforum to
submit questions for Ms. Ciarlante and Ms. Rosenbluth and return on February
27 at 2 p.m. (eastern time) for the live discussion. Go to
http://ovc.ncjrs.gov/ovcproviderforum/asp/participate.asp for instructions on
how to participate.
3. MMWR looks at deaths from the Choking Game – See attachments,
including a Q and A guide and the original report, or the following link:
http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm5706a1.htm?s_cid=mm5706a1_e
4. Fact Sheet on Health Care Access and Utilization among
Adolescents and Young Adults Released From MCH Alerts,
http://www.mchlibrary.info/alert/archives.html
The 2008 Fact Sheet on Health Care Access and Utilization:
Adolescents and Young Adults contains the most recent available data
on health insurance coverage, preventive and other health services,
and unmet need among adolescents and young adults ages 12-24,
including those with special health care needs. The fact sheet,
produced by the National Adolescent Health Information Center at the
University of California, San Francisco, with support from the Maternal
and Child Health Bureau, highlights trends and presents data by age,
gender, income level, and race and ethnicity. Information on trends
and data sources is included. The fact sheet is available at
http://nahic.ucsf.edu/download.php?f=/downloads/HCAU2008.pdf. A
list of other NAHIC-produced briefs and fact sheets is available at
http://nahic.ucsf.edu/index.php/data/article/briefs_fact_sheets.
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5. A CDC Review of School Laws and Policies Concerning Child and
Adolescent Health
Laws and policies are important tools that can be used to improve the health and
safety of children and adolescents in schools. Education and public health leaders
can use specific laws and policies to promote programs and strategies that foster
an environment in which children and adolescents can thrive and learn.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) Division of Adolescent
and School Health and Public Health Law Program engaged legal scholars and
researchers at the Centers for Law and the Public's Health: A Collaborative at
Johns Hopkins and Georgetown Universities to review the use of law as a tool for
improving and protecting the health and safety of children, adolescents, and staff
in public elementary and secondary schools. The culmination of the project is the
report "A CDC Review of School Laws and Policies Concerning Child and
Adolescent Health." Using a Coordinated School Health Program model as a
framework, the report gives educators and public health professionals new
access to information on laws and policies important to the health of children
and adolescents in schools. It is intended to help practitioners and policymakers
in public health and education at the federal, state, and local levels enhance their
knowledge of relevant laws and policies.
The full report was published in the February 2008 issue of the Journal of School
Health and is available for download from the American School Health
Association website:
http://www.ashaweb.org/journal_schoolhealth.html#legalissue.
6. Assessing Adolescent Reproductive Health: A Guide for Outof-School Time Practitioners From Child Trends E-Newsletter
Many out-of-school time programs serving adolescents seek to reduce
the occurrence of reproductive health problems, such as pregnancies
and STIs, among program participants. Other programs, even if not
directly concerned with improving participants' reproductive health,
can still be attuned to reproductive health issues facing adolescents
and may wish to monitor participant health and sexual risk-taking.
This brief discusses adolescent reproductive health and provides
program practitioners with questions that can be used to screen or
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February 2008
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monitor reproductive health among out-of-school time program
participants.
[http://www.childtrends.org/Files//Child_Trends2008_02_20_BR_AssessReproHealth.pdf]
7. Teen Prescription Drug Abuse: An Emerging Threat
The Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) in partnership with
Community Anti-Drug Coalitions of America (CADCA) is attempting to
educate parents about the risks of teen prescription and over-thecounter drug abuse with national ads in newspapers and magazines
across the country.
Though overall teen drug use is down nationwide, more teens abuse
prescription drugs than any other illicit drug, except marijuana - more
than cocaine, heroin, and methamphetamine combined.
You can download the strategizer at:
http://www.theantidrug.com/pdfs/resources/teen-rx/CADCA_Strategizer52.pdf
8. Parent-Adolescent Communication about Sex in Latino
Families: A Guide for Practitioners
This new publication not only assesses available information of parentteen communication in Latino families, but also pinpoints the research
findings that are most useful to practitioners. In addition, the
publication gives communication tips for Latino parents in both English
and Spanish.
[ http://www.teenpregnancy.org/espanol/PDF/Parent_AdolFINAL.pdf ]
9. What Research Tells Us About Latino Parenting Practices and
their Relationship to Youth Sexual Behavior
This second research review examining Latino parent-teen
communication describes research assessing the ways that Latino
parents’ values, beliefs, and parenting practices shape their adolescent
children’s sexual behaviors.
[ http://www.teenpregnancy.org/espanol/PDF/WhatResearch_Final.pdf ]
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Conferences
10. Every Student Connected: It's Possible!
Nationally recognized research shows students’ health and future success are
closely linked to how connected they feel to their school. This all-day forum will
share multiple examples of how schools can achieve this goal!
February 29, 2008
8:30 a.m—3 p.m.
Earle Brown Heritage Center
6155 Earle Brown Dr.
Brooklyn Center, MN 55430
11. Music & the Internet: Understanding the Challenging Issues
That Youth Face with Sergeant Mark A. Middleton
This workshop will include information about popular music groups and
what they represent to youth, clothing styles and hidden secrets, and
information about MySpace, Facebook, chatting, blogging & keeping
youth safe online. For more information, contact MN Youth
[ http://www.mnyipa.org/control.php?&topgroupname=&groupname=
education&subgroupname=&contentname=H108 ]
Friday, February 29, 2008
9:00am - 12:00pm
$45 Non-YIPA Members/$35 YIPA Members
Courtyard by Marriott
2020 American Blvd. East
Bloomington, MN 55425
12. The Youth Work Institute
It is not too late to sign-up for these March classes brought to you by the staff at
the University of Minnesota Youth Work Institute! St Cloud, Farminginton and
Mankato. See attached flyer for more details or visit their website at
[ http://www.extension.umn.edu/YouthWorkInstitute/ ]
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13. Minnesota International Health Volunteers presents:
Somali Reproductive Health Forum
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
12:30 – 4:30 pm
MIHV will present the results of its qualitative research study about
how Somali adolescents learn and communicate about sexuality and
reproductive health.
Topics will include: Cultural norms in the Somali community about
discussing sexuality and reproductive health, including parent/youth
communication; Somali community perspectives on the importance of
educating youth about sexuality and reproductive health;
Recommendations for culturally appropriate outreach and education
about sexuality and reproductive health for Somali youth
Registration required at www.mihv.org/events. Participation is free of
charge, thanks to funding from the Minnesota Department of Health,
Family Planning Special Projects. This event will be held at the
Minnesota Church Center building, 122 W. Franklin Ave., Minneapolis,
MN 55404. Speaker details will follow.
Feel free to forward this announcement to anyone you think may be
interested.
14. MOAPPP’s 17th Annual Conference- Register Today!!!
May 1-2, 2008
Earle Brown Heritage Center – Brooklyn Center, Minnesota
The MOAPPP conference offers two days of dynamic speakers, challenging workshops
and multiple opportunities to network with Minnesota professionals committed to
teen pregnancy prevention and support for pregnant and parenting teens.
Conference brochures can be downloaded from the MOAPPP website at
http://www.moappp.org/Documents/events/2008/2008ConferenceBrochure.pdf
For more information, please contact Marilyn Colby Rivkin – marilyn@moappp.org,
651-644-1447 ext. 15.
Early registration deadline is Friday, April 11th
Grants (Please note: MDH is NOT a contact for the following opportunities)
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15. Ronald McDonald House Charities US Matching Grants for Local or
Community Efforts
These grants are available to make a positive impact on the well-being of
children.
Deadline: Rolling
For more information, visit http://www.rmhc.org/grants/.
16. Medica Foundation Funding Priorities
The Medica Foundation sets funding priorities on an annual basis. Each priority
has potential opportunity for focus in the broader community, the delivery system
and the worksite setting. We will fund initiatives that address one or more of
these focus areas and support Medica's mission and giving guidelines. Funding
opportunities are offered in two giving cycles, generally the spring and summer.
The 2008 funding priorities focus in the areas of:
·
Behavioral Health
·
Healthy Living
·
Health care disparities in the areas of prevention and health care
literacy
Learn more information about the 2008 Funding Priorities including a
short description of each priority, goals and funding amount ranges.
Timelines/Deadlines:
Cycle 1 --Letters of Inquiry will be accepted from March 1 to March
21 for proposals in the areas of behavioral health and healthy
living.
Cycle 2 --Letters of Inquiry will be accepted from June 1 to June 20
for proposals targeting health care disparities.
Application Process: The Letter of Inquiry application form will be
posted on March 1st for the first funding cycle. Please visit
www.medica.com for more information and on March 1st to download
the application form.
17. Opportunities for Youth: PFLAG National Scholarship Program
The Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG) Scholarship Program is a
chance to reward the great work students are doing across the country to make
schools safer for LGBT students and allies.
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Deadline: March 15, 2008
For more information, visit
http://www.pflag.org/Scholarship_Programs.scholarships.0.html
****************************************************************
For more information on Adolescent Health at MDH, please contact
Jennifer O’Brien
Minnesota Department of Health
P.O. Box 64882
St. Paul, MN 55164-0882
Jennifer.obrien@health.state.mn.us
651-201-3627
Past issues of the newsletter are available online at:
http://www.health.state.mn.us/youth/
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