In this study we examined the effects of risk factors (perceived neighborhood crime/delinquency problems, neighborhood incivilities) and protective factors (teacher support, family support, peer support) on the school engagement of 123 urban adolescents of color. Age and gender were also examined to determine if different ages (younger or older) or genders (male or female) significantly modified the relationship between the risk factors and school engagement. Results indicated that perceived neighborhood incivilities was uniquely predictive of school engagement. Contrary to hypotheses, different levels of the perceived social support variables did not modify the effects of risky neighborhood conditions on adolescent's perceived school engagement. Age, but not gender, significantly modified the relationship between perceived family social support and perceived neighborhood crime on adolescents' reported levels of school engagement. The implications of the results for prevention and intervention programs that address school engagement among early adolescents of color are considered.

Relationships among predictors and criteria of subjective well-being were examined in a sample of 151 urban adolescents of color, ages 12-15. The relative strengths of family, peer, and school-related support and esteem in predicting three measures of subjective well-being (life satisfaction, positive affect, and negative affect) were explored. Results suggested that sense of worth in one's family explained a significant amount of variance in subjective well-being variables, above and beyond the contributions of individual, school, and peer-related variables. Implications for prevention and mental health promotion with urban adolescents of color are discussed based on these findings.

Authors examined if parental monitoring moderated effects of family sexual communication on sexual risk behavior among adolescents in psychiatric care. Seven hundred and eighteen parents reported upon quality of family discussions about sex-related topics and degree to which they monitor teen behavior. Adolescents reported the frequency of their own safe sex practices. Parental monitoring moderated the family communication quality-sexual risk behavior relationship among African American families. African American parents who perceived themselves as capable of open family sexual communication and frequent monitoring had adolescents who reported decreased sexual risk behavior. The moderator model was not supported among Caucasian and Hispanic families and findings did not depend upon gender. For African Americans, findings support the influential role of family processes in development of teen sexual risk behavior and suggest, for parents of teens receiving mental health services, learning communication and monitoring skills may be critical to their adolescent's sexual health.

on intergroup dialogue (IGD) has primarily focused on student outcomes in traditional semester-long, 3-credit courses, documenting the positive impact IGD has on college students' (a) intergroup understanding, (b) intergroup relationships, (c) intergroup collaboration and action, and (d) perceived relevancy of diversity in higher education. The University of Illinois at Chicago's First-Year Dialogue Seminar (FYDS) was designed as a 1-credit, half-semester course based on traditional IGD courses and associated outcomes. Approximately 100 freshman students participated in the pilot of the seminar, completing both pre-and posttest measures of intergroup understanding, intergroup relationships, intergroup collaboration and action, and relevancy of diversity in higher education. In addition, a comparison group of approximately 80 freshman students, not enrolled in the course, were administered the posttest survey at Time 2. The results showed significant gains across measures of intergroup understanding, intergroup collaboration and action, and relevancy of diversity in higher education. Furthermore, FYDS students had significantly higher means across several of the same measures of intergroup understanding and intergroup collaboration and action than the comparison group. These results suggest the potential efficacy of a new model of IGD-based pedagogy and learning.

The purpose of this study was to examine the effectiveness of evidence-based recruitment and retention strategies for a longitudinal, family-based HIV prevention intervention study targeting adolescents in psychiatric care by (1) determining consent rate (recruitment), rate of participation at the first intervention session (retention), and follow-up attendance rate (retention); and (2) examining socio-demographic factors, family-level processes, sexual risk-related indices, and intervention factors (i.e., treatment arm) associated with study retention. Only one-third of the families contacted ultimately enrolled in the study. 81% of those enrolled participated in the workshop and 72% attended the booster sessions with no significant differences between families on any variable based on attendance. Retention over 1 year was 85% and did not differ by treatment arm. Strategies employed were successful at retaining families once they were enrolled. Findings highlight barriers to enrollment for adolescents in psychiatric care and suggest that it may be critical to integrate HIV prevention programs within community-based mental health services in order to counteract recruitment challenges.