Multipronged intervention works to reduce youth violence and injury
ANN ARBOR—A comprehensive prevention approach in one Michigan city has reduced youth violence and injury as a result of an intervention involving a combination of existing programs, researchers at the University of Michigan report. The Michigan Youth Violence Prevention Center, in partnership with Flint, Mich., community organizations, found that following a two-and-a-half-year effort employing six […]
Anxiety in African American youth impacts future cortisol production in gender specific ways
ANN ARBOR—African-American youth whose anxiety levels are elevated by the everyday struggles they encounter will overproduce the stress hormone cortisol into adulthood, according to new research from the University of Michigan. Researchers found that anxiety among females and alcohol use among males in their teens predict their cortisol output seven years later. “This paper extends […]
MI-YVPC awarded $6M to advance youth violence prevention work
ANN ARBOR- The Michigan Youth Violence Prevention Center has received $6 million from the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention to continue its study of what happens when you restore physical environments that contribute to violence. The Center, based at the U-M School of Public Health, will study how improving vacant properties in three U.S. cities affects violence, […]
Youth with solid educational goals may steer clear of violence
ANN ARBOR—Young African-American men who have well-established educational aspirations by the time they are in 9th grade are less likely than their peers to engage in violent behavior at age 22, researchers from the University of Michigan have found. The team also found that exposure to community violence led boys without such aspirations to be […]
Young guns: Study finds high rate of firearm violence in high-risk youth after assault injury
ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Two young men in their late teens sit in adjacent rooms of an inner-city emergency room. One is getting care for injuries he suffered in a fight, the other, for a sore throat. When the nurse tells each one he can go, both head back out to an environment rampant with […]
Pay-to-play sports: Parents with traditional beliefs about gender may shortchange daughters
ANN ARBOR—Parents with the most traditional beliefs about masculinity and femininity are likelier to view pay-to-play sports fees as too high for daughters compared with sons, a new study from the University of Michigan School of Kinesiology suggests. “Overall, gender role belief played a small but significant role in parents’ appraisals of the benefits of […]
Less family support increases risk of binge drinking, marijuana use among urban youth
ANN ARBOR—Urban teens whose parents provide high levels of emotional support are more likely to avoid binge drinking and marijuana use, according to a new University of Michigan study. Researchers examined the family dynamics and parental support among 850 high school students identified as at-risk for dropout, based on a grade point average of 3.0 […]
Examining obesity and neighborhood food options
A new study looking at data from the Speak To Your Health! Survey zeroes in on the effect that fast-food restaurants have on obesity and nutritional health in specific neighborhoods. People with no fast-food outlets in their neighborhood usually meet the recommended consumption of five fruits and vegetables per day, while those who had the […]
Community-academic partnership explores barriers to calling 911 for stroke
African Americans are more likely to have a stroke and suffer from greater disability after a stroke than Whites. This is partially due to the fact that many African Americans do not make it to the hospital on time to receive a treatment that could drastically reduce the devastating effects. Existing interventions focus on teaching […]
The Academic Minute: Online Peer Pressure
Dr. Sarah Stoddard discussed findings from the Virtual Networks Study on the December 31st Academic Minute. Listen to the recording here. Full text available on The Academic Minute Website: http://wamc.org/post/dr-sarah-stoddard-university-michigan-online-peer-pressure Dr. Sarah Stoddard – Online Peer Pressure Young adults spend increasing amounts of time socializing online through social networking sites. But do these online interactions […]
New Publication: The Relationship Between Young Adults’ Online Social Networks and Alcohol Use
We’ve known for many years that young adults’ alcohol and drug use is influenced by their peers. It turns out this holds true in an online environment as well. The latest publication from the Virtual Networks Study, found in the Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs, reveals that the images and updates on one’s […]
Sexting among Young Adults
In recent years, the legality and safety of sexting has received attention, but little research has been conducted to explore the how sexting may influence health—until now. The Prevention Research Center of Michigan (PRC/MI) is pleased to announce the publication of a new article, “Sexting among Young Adults,” in the Journal of Adolescent Health. To […]
