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The Prevention Research Branch (PRB) conducts behavioral and observational research to identify determinants of health behavior and test the efficacy and effectiveness of educational, behavioral, and environmental strategies for improving or protecting maternal, child, and adolescent health. The research is conducted within an adolescent development framework and focuses on the influences of individual characteristics, parents, and peers on adolescent health behavior. There are three main areas of ongoing research: young novice drivers, family management of diabetes, and adolescent problem behavior.
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- Among students grades 6 to 8, the availability of fruits/vegetables and sweets in school vending machines was associated with overall frequency of consuming fruits/vegetables and sweets (Rovner et al., Journal of Adolescent Health, 2011). PMID: 21185519
- In a naturalistic driving study, novice teenage drivers were more than 4 times more likely to have a crash/near crash and had elevated g-force event rates that were more than 5 times greater than their parents driving the same vehicles on the same roads. Having friends who engaged in risky driving or non-driving behavior was the best predictor of both novice teenage crashes/near crashes and risky driving (Simons-Morton et al., 2011, Journal of Adolescent Health, PMID: 22098768, Simons-Morton et al., 2011, American Journal of Public Health). PMID: 22021319
- Depression was associated with physical, verbal, social and cyber forms of bullying among students in grades 6 to 8. The comparisons of bullies, victims, and bully-victims showed different results across forms of bullying. (Wang et al., Journal of Adolescent Health, 2011). PMID: 21402273