This research used four consecutive waves of data from the National Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS) conducted by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), to estimate linear time trends by gender in the prevalence of school and electronic bullying victimization among U.S. high school students (N = 61,042). Dependent variables were student self-reported school bullying victimization and electronic bullying victimization during the previous 12 months. Independent variables used to estimate multiple logistic regression models by gender were survey year, race/ethnicity, and grade level. Results showed the prevalence of school bullying increased significantly among females from 2009 (21.2%) to 2015 (24.8%), linear trend OR = 1.08 [1.04, 1.12]; and decreased significantly among males from 2009 (18.7%) to 2015 (15.8%), linear trend OR = 0.93 [0.89, 0.98]. Prevalence of electronic bullying was unchanged between 2011 to 2015 among both male and female students. Asian race, relative to White race, was associated with significantly lower rates of both school and electronic bullying victimization among females, but not males. The incidence of school and electronic bullying victimization was significantly lower among Black and Hispanic students, but not among multiple-race students, regardless of student gender. Healthy People 2020 set a goal to reduce school bullying victimization 10% by 2019. As of 2015, school bullying victimization decreased significantly among males (16% decrease); it significantly increased among females (17% increase). Future research should explore underlying factors related to these divergent trends, and develop effective strategies to reverse the alarming rise in female school bullying victimization.

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Children and adolescents are not meeting the required federal physical activity (PA) guidelines established by the United States Department of Health and Human Services. It is critical that a regular pattern of PA is established in their youth to ensure ongoing PA into adulthood. However, many programs implemented during adolescence have shown limited effects, stressing the need for more innovative approaches to generate more interest and maintenance of PA behavior in this age group. Active video games (AVGs) or exergaming may prove to be an innovate process to improve PA in children and adolescents. A literature review was conducted to explore if active video games or exergaming could be an effective intervention to improve physical activity in adolescents. Active video games, also called “exergames”, are a category of video games that require movement or physical exertion to play the game. The methodology consisted of searching Academic Search Premier, CINAHL, The Cochrane Library, ERIC, PubMed, and Web of Science databases. Inclusion criteria involved only youth aged 12 to 19 years, randomized controlled trials (RCTs), and studies within the last 12 years. The following search terms were used: exergaming or active video games; physical activity or exercise; adolescents or youth; RCT or randomized clinical trial. The outcome indicates that exergaming or active video games can be an effective tool to improve PA in adolescents that will be more acceptable and sustainable than many conventional approaches.

More than 17% of children aged 6 to 19 years living in the United States are classified as overweight. Medical costs related to overweight and obesity were recently estimated to approximate $100 billion annually. The purpose of this systematic review was to provide the scientific evidence regarding Web-based weight management programs for overweight children and adolescents. Results suggest the potential for Web-based behavioral change programs for weight management in overweight children and adolescents. Future research should emphasize rigorous methodological adequacies, develop theory-based standardized frameworks, investigate types of interventions appropriate for boys and girls in this age group, evaluate long-term effect of interventions, and examine cost as well as clinical effectiveness.

Measures of additive interaction are relevant for nursing and population health research. Future research should further explore how and why bullying victimization appears to more profoundly affect female individuals more than male individuals and how to mitigate it.

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Study findings extend existing knowledge and contribute to a more comprehensive knowledge base regarding health practices among Asian adolescents. Having this knowledge base provides practitioners with a better understanding of the factors related to health practices in Asian adolescents and assists them in developing culturally sensitive interventions aimed at promoting PHP in this population.

Background Death by suicide is the second leading cause of death among adolescents globally. Healthy People 2020 set a goal to reduce by 10% the rate of suicide attempts that required treatment and designated the Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS) to measure this objective. Objectives This study used cross-sectional YRBS data (2009–2017) to (a) investigate whether gender moderates the linear time trend for the rate of depressive symptoms, suicidal ideation, and suicide attempts among high school students within the United States; (b) estimate these same measures stratified by gender; and (c) investigate whether the Healthy People 2020 goal for reduction in suicide attempts was met in 2017 for males and females. Methods Secondary analysis of nationally representative high school students using YRBS data 2009–2017 were analyzed using R and the R survey package. Based on Strengthening the Reporting of Observational Studies in Epidemiology guidelines (STROBE), additive interactions using rate difference were compared to multiplicative interactions using odds ratios. Results Additive interactions were identified between female gender and linear trends for depressive symptoms, suicidal ideation, and suicide attempts requiring treatment. Females, but not males, had positive linear trends for depressive symptoms, suicidal ideation, and suicide attempts requiring treatment. Suicide attempts requiring treatment among females was 36% higher in 2017 than in 2009 but decreased 13% in males during the same period. Discussion The Healthy People 2020 goal to reduce suicide attempts requiring treatment by 10% has not been met among females. The divergent trends by gender highlight the importance of surveillance measures by gender. Future research is needed to identify better suicide prevention strategies that address underlying factors and are gender specific.