Adolescence is a period of biopsychosocial growth and development that may be initiated before the onset of puberty and may last beyond the termination of physical growth. Chronologically, adolescence can be divided into three psychosocial developmental phases: early adolescence (10 to 13 years of age or middle school years), middle adolescence (14 to 17 years of age or high school years), and late adolescence (4 years of college or work experience after high school).1 Although each phase can be characterized by various developmental tasks, by the end of adolescence most individuals have achieved emancipation from parents/caregivers and will have attained a psychosexual identity and sufficient resources to begin to be self-supporting.1 Paradoxically, experience with common adolescent events (eg, reluctance to accept parental advice and criticism, uncertainty about appearance and attractiveness, strong emotional feelings toward peers, and emergence of sexual feelings) and the successful transition through adolescent developmental phases also serve as predisposing, reinforcing, and enabling factors that can lead toward health-compromising behaviors (eg, experimentation with substance use and early sexual activity).

The seven articles in this special issue of Family & Community Health (25:2) span the full adolescent age spectrum, cover a range of geographic areas (urban to rural settings), and present specific topics related to adolescent health, such as decisions related to sexual activity, potential health consequences associated with those activities (eg, pregnancy, sexually transmitted diseases, and hepatitis B and C), community-based resources for the development of interventions for at-risk youth, and the assessment of dietary practices and barriers to physical activity.

Sather and Zinn present the results from a state-funded abstinence education program for 7th and 8th grade students. The classroom-based interventions stressed values and character education, abstinence as a health issue, and human development goals. The authors explore the study findings as they relate to a commitment to abstinence and the implications for health care practitioners in their encounters with adolescents.

Crosby et al present findings from their study with 170 pregnant African American adolescent females attending primary care clinics. The two purposes of this study were to determine associations between the self-reported history of pregnant African American adolescent girls and selected family measures and to assess potential barriers to receiving care for sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) among this population. They suggest that members of the target population may benefit from family-level primary prevention programs designed to reduce the incidence of STD infections.

Hepatitis B and C are responsible for an overwhelming number of infections among adolescents. Beech et al describe how they assessed the prevalence of hepatitis B and C infections and the predictors of these infections among homeless adolescents. Further, they bring attention to the need for and challenges of targeting homeless adolescents for hepatitis B virus (HBV) and hepatitis C virus (HCV) screening and vaccination programs.

Using a Delphi technique to assess service provider and community consensus on essential program elements for promoting the success of at-risk African American youth, Spitler et al address an important angle in addressing the needs of African American youth in the United States: the opinions of community leaders and youth workers. The authors suggest steps that should be taken to develop programs responsive to at-risk youth that utilize the assets of the communities in which they live.

Atav and Spencer describe the differences in health risk behaviors among adolescents attending rural, suburban, and urban schools in upstate New York. The risk behaviors assessed included substance use (tobacco, drugs, and alcohol), sexual behaviors, and carrying weapons. Their study highlights the importance of a focus on the specific location of residence and health risk behaviors among adolescents when developing targeted interventions.

Dietary factors have been shown to track through adolescence into early adulthood. With a strong link between dietary fat intake and the development of chronic disease conditions, Cullen et al present findings from a study of parent and child dietary fat practices and intake. Food records from 4th through 6th graders were examined along with questionnaires completed by parents regarding their dietary practices. Findings illustrate the need for family intervention programs targeting dietary fat behaviors.

Grubbs and Carter discuss the perceived benefits and barriers to exercise in a sample of undergraduate students. They illustrate significant differences regarding barriers that were most strongly associated with time constraints, family responsibilities, and embarrassment and provide suggestions for addressing the decline in physical activity in late adolescence.

Finally, the articles in this issue add to an understanding of the variety of health issues that plague youth and the need to design, implement, and evaluate interventions to address these concerns. Adolescence is a critical time of transition. As a consequence, this is an ideal developmental period in which to intervene and establish health-promoting behaviors that will set the stage for adulthood.

Assistant Professor Center For Community Health University of Memphis Memphis, Tennessee

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