Reports and Briefs

Features the latest news from the alcohol research field. The NIAAA Spectrum, an online Webzine includes research highlights on brain and behavioral effects of teen drinking.

Provides an overview of a study conducted by the National Institute on Drug Abuse, an interactive mobile texting aftercare program that has shown promise as a means to help teens and young adults engage with post-treatment recovery activities and avoid relapse.

Covers topics such as victimization, teacher injury, bullying, school conditions, fights, weapons, and drug and alcohol use, among others. The Department of Education and Department of Justice released the 17th annual report on school crime and student safety. 

Examines how community schools finance their work and describes the ways in which these schools use existing dollars to generate resources, partnerships, and activities to achieve their desired results.

Monitors six types of health-risk behaviors that contribute to the leading causes of death and disability among youth and adults, including: behaviors that contribute to unintentional injuries and violence; sexual behaviors that contribute to unintended pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases, including HIV infection; alcohol and other drug use; tobacco use; unhealthy dietary behaviors; and inadequate physical activity.

Provides a user-friendly guide for what to do and how to communicate about the harmful effects of illicit drugs and alcohol to children from elementary through high school. Organized in 6 major sections: 1) How This Book Will Help You? 2) What Substances Do Kids Use? 3) Why Do Kids Use Drugs? 4) How Do I Teach My Child About Drugs? 5) What If I Think My Child is Using Drugs? 6) Resources. 

Examines the social, environmental, advertising, and marketing influences that encourage youth and young adults to initiate and sustain tobacco use. Summarizes the latest findings on preventing tobacco use among youth and young adults.

Describes four areas of work that are central to developing a whole-school youth development approach and includes hyperlinks to tools that can be modified and adapted to support efforts to pursue a youth development approach in a particular setting.

Describes changes in the brain that occur during the adolescent years and the significance of this stage of development for life-long mental health. Particulary, discusses how the changes and differences from adults brains can explain, sometimes hazardous, adolescent behavior.

Responds to and recognizes the impact of trauma on many sectors in behavioral health and beyond. The paper introduces the concept of trauma and offers a framework for how organizations, systems, and service sectors can become trauma-informed.