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Sexual Medicine Reviews Jun 2024Adolescence is a crucial stage of physical and sexual maturation and development and a period in which understanding sexual and reproductive health (SRH) is important.... (Review)
Review
INTRODUCTION
Adolescence is a crucial stage of physical and sexual maturation and development and a period in which understanding sexual and reproductive health (SRH) is important. SRH interventions and toolkits provide a range of valuable resources and information to young people, educators, and members of the community on numerous topics, including contraception and puberty.
OBJECTIVES
The usefulness and reliability of these available toolkits have not been previously studied, thus limiting our understanding of their appropriateness and contents. Hence, this scoping review aimed to synthesize the available toolkits aimed at the SRH of adolescents and young adults to understand the contents, design, and information gaps.
METHODS
A systematic search was conducted of 6 medical databases and 12 gray literature sites. Sixteen toolkits published globally before May 2023 were included in our review.
RESULTS
The majority of toolkits (n = 12) contained information related to general SRH knowledge and contraception, whereas only 3 contained information on teenage pregnancy. We found that aiming the toolkits toward educators and health care workers was a favorable design over targeting adolescents and young adults directly and that vulnerable youth-including LGBTQI+ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer or questioning, asexual or allied, intersex, and additional identities) and youth from humanitarian settings-were not well represented.
CONCLUSION
We identified key gaps in the inclusion of information in a range of SRH topics, such as LGBTQI+ sexuality, teenage pregnancy, and safe abortion, in the currently available SRH toolkits and their lack of applicability in a global context. Furthermore, we provide recommendations for areas of improvement to encourage adolescents' agency in their SRH education.
Topics: Humans; Adolescent; Sexual Health; Reproductive Health; Young Adult; Female; Sex Education; Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; Pregnancy; Male; Pregnancy in Adolescence
PubMed: 38736215
DOI: 10.1093/sxmrev/qeae032 -
Behavioural Neurology 2023Risk of suicidal ideation and suicidal behaviors greatly increases during adolescence, and rates have risen dramatically over the past two decades. However, few risk... (Review)
Review
INTRODUCTION
Risk of suicidal ideation and suicidal behaviors greatly increases during adolescence, and rates have risen dramatically over the past two decades. However, few risk factors or biomarkers predictive of suicidal ideation or attempted suicide have been identified in adolescents. Neuroimaging correlates hold potential for early identification of adolescents at increased risk of suicidality and risk stratification for those at high risk of suicide attempt.
METHODS
In this systematic review, we evaluated neural regions and networks associated with suicidal ideation and suicide attempt in adolescents derived from magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) studies. A total of 28 articles were included in this review.
RESULTS
After descriptively synthesizing the literature, we propose the Emotional paiN and social Disconnect (END) model of adolescent suicidality and present two key neural circuits: (1) the emotional/mental pain circuit and (2) the social disconnect/distortion circuit. In the END model, the emotional pain circuit-consisting of the cerebellum, amygdala, and hippocampus-shows similar aberrations in adolescents with suicidal ideation as in those with a history of a suicide attempt (but to a smaller degree). The social disconnect circuit is unique to adolescent suicide attempters and includes the lateral orbitofrontal cortex (OFC), the temporal gyri, and the connections between them.
CONCLUSION
Our proposed END brain model of suicidal behavior in youth, if confirmed by future prospective studies, can have implications for clinical goals of early detection, risk stratification, and intervention development. Treatments that target emotional pain and social disconnect may be ideal interventions for reducing suicidality in adolescents.
Topics: Humans; Adolescent; Suicidal Ideation; Prospective Studies; Magnetic Resonance Imaging; Risk Factors; Amygdala; Pain
PubMed: 37786433
DOI: 10.1155/2023/7254574 -
Nutrition Reviews Aug 2021Studies have indicated that homocysteine levels are nontraditional markers for cardiovascular disease. The onset of atherosclerotic disease begins in childhood and... (Meta-Analysis)
Meta-Analysis
CONTEXT
Studies have indicated that homocysteine levels are nontraditional markers for cardiovascular disease. The onset of atherosclerotic disease begins in childhood and adolescence; thus, prevention of its risk factors should occur early.
OBJECTIVE
This systematic review and meta-analysis was conducted to summarize the association between high homocysteine levels and traditional cardiovascular risk factors in children and adolescents.
DATA SOURCES
This systematic review and meta-analysis were developed according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses and the protocol was submitted to PROSPERO. Only observational studies in children and adolescents with homocysteine levels as an exposure variable and cardiovascular risk factors as outcome variables were included and searched in the following electronic bibliographic databases: PubMed/MEDLINE, Web of Science, Embase, Latin American and Caribbean Literature in Health Sciences, Ovid and Scopus.
DATA EXTRACTION
Two authors independently extracted data from eligible studies. The methodological quality of the studies was assessed using the Newcastle-Ottawa scale.
DATA ANALYSIS
Seven studies were included in the systematic review; they were published from 1999 to 2017, predominantly were of a cross-sectional design, and mainly evaluated adolescents. In the meta-analysis (n = 6), cross-sectional studies (n = 3) identified that high homocysteine levels were positive and weakly correlated with overweight in children and adolescents (odds ratio, 1.08; 95%CI, 1.04-1.11).
CONCLUSION
High homocysteine levels were weakly associated with overweight in children and adolescents in the reviewed cross-sectional studies. However, for the other traditional cardiovascular risk factors, the findings, although important, were inconclusive. Additional robust longitudinal studies are recommended to be conducted to better identify these associations.
SYSTEMATIC REVIEW REGISTRATION
PROSPERO registration no. CRD42018086252.
Topics: Adolescent; Cardiovascular Diseases; Child; Cross-Sectional Studies; Heart Disease Risk Factors; Homocysteine; Humans; Pediatric Obesity; Risk Factors
PubMed: 33351941
DOI: 10.1093/nutrit/nuaa116 -
International Journal of Environmental... Mar 2022Sport participation provides a direct means to attain health-enhancing physical activity; however, sport participation declines during adolescence, and over 85% of... (Review)
Review
Sport participation provides a direct means to attain health-enhancing physical activity; however, sport participation declines during adolescence, and over 85% of adolescent females fail to meet the recommended 60 min of moderate-vigorous physical activity daily. Given the importance of overcoming barriers to sport and increasing equity in women's sports, the purpose of this systematic review was to identify factors associated with sport participation among adolescent girls and operationalize those factors into theoretical constructs to guide future research. Six databases were systematically searched, and 36 records were included for review. Factors impacting girls' sport participation were categorized as personal, peer, family, socioeconomic, environmental, or other factors. Of these categories, personal factors, including self perceptions and desirable personal outcomes related to sport, were most frequently associated with sport participation. Most research on girls' sport participation lacks theoretical framework, so to aid future studies, this review categorized important participatory factors into the constructs of the theory of planned behavior. Future research would benefit from theory-driven prospective approaches to make clear and consistent predictions about factors impacting sport participation, as well as mixed-method approaches aimed to provide more robust understanding of girls' experiences with and perceptions of factors impacting their participation in sports.
Topics: Adolescent; Exercise; Female; Humans; Prospective Studies; Sports
PubMed: 35329041
DOI: 10.3390/ijerph19063353 -
Trauma, Violence & Abuse Apr 2021Involvement in bullying perpetration or victimization could be risk factors for perpetration or victimization in early romantic relationships that emerge within an... (Meta-Analysis)
Meta-Analysis
Involvement in bullying perpetration or victimization could be risk factors for perpetration or victimization in early romantic relationships that emerge within an evolving peer group. Nevertheless, research on this topic is still in its early stages. This study was conducted to fill these gaps in knowledge through a comprehensive research synthesis. After systematic searches and application of inclusion and exclusion criteria, 23 projects that reported relations between bullying (perpetration and victimization) and dating violence (perpetration and victimization) were included in this meta-analysis. Bullying perpetration was related to dating violence perpetration (odds ratio [] = 1.98), and this relation held after adjusting for covariates ( = 1.29). Moderator analyses showed that this effect was significant for males and females and stronger in cross-sectional studies. There was also a significant relation between bullying perpetration and dating violence victimization ( = 2.59), but this was much weaker after controlling for covariates ( = 1.09) and stronger for males and in longitudinal studies. Bullying victimization was related to dating violence victimization ( = 2.51), also after adjusting for covariates ( = 1.96), stronger for females and longitudinal projects. The relation between bullying victimization and dating violence perpetration was not statistically significant (unadjusted = 1.43, adjusted = 1.01). More research is needed to confirm these results, but this meta-analysis suggests that bullying and dating violence could be different behavioral manifestations, in different evolutionary moments and in different contexts, of the same underlying antisocial or violent dispositions, although longitudinal studies are needed to confirm this. Tailored and comprehensive interventions could be useful to tackle both problem behaviors.
Topics: Adolescent; Bullying; Cross-Sectional Studies; Female; Humans; Intimate Partner Violence; Male; Schools
PubMed: 31185827
DOI: 10.1177/1524838019854460 -
Journal of Affective Disorders Jan 2021During adolescence, peer relationships take precedence and there is a normative increase in social anxiety. Although prospective studies have suggested peer functioning... (Meta-Analysis)
Meta-Analysis Review
BACKGROUND
During adolescence, peer relationships take precedence and there is a normative increase in social anxiety. Although prospective studies have suggested peer functioning and social anxiety can influence each other, their findings have not been examined systematically. We performed a systematic review and meta-analysis of prospective studies to examine the bidirectional relationship between peer functioning and social anxiety in adolescence.
METHODS
EMBASE, PsycINFO, Medline, and PubMed were searched to identify relevant articles. Meta-analysis was conducted to examine the mean effect sizes of prospective associations between social anxiety and four dimensions of peer functioning. Moderator analysis was performed, with age, gender, time interval between baseline and follow-up assessment, and publication year as moderators.
RESULTS
Meta-analyses of 23 studies showed that friendship quality (r =-.11), peer rejection (r =-.06), and peer victimization (r =.23) were each associated with later social anxiety, but peer acceptance was not (r =-.11). Social anxiety at baseline was associated with prospective levels of friendship quality (r =-.11), peer rejection (r=.09), and peer victimization (r =.17), but not peer acceptance (r =-.14). Age moderated the association between friendship quality and prospective social anxiety. Other moderator effects were statistically non-significant.
LIMITATIONS
Limitations include different classifications of peer functioning, the use of self-report measures, heterogeneity between studies, and underrepresentation of clinical samples.
CONCLUSIONS
A significant bidirectional association was found with social anxiety across three dimensions of peer functioning. Psychological prevention and intervention targeting peer functioning and social anxiety are indicated.
Topics: Adolescent; Anxiety; Bullying; Crime Victims; Humans; Peer Group; Prospective Studies
PubMed: 33190116
DOI: 10.1016/j.jad.2020.10.055 -
Frontiers in Public Health 2023Socioeconomic status affects individuals' health behaviors and contributes to a complex relationship between health and development. Due to this complexity, the...
Socioeconomic status affects individuals' health behaviors and contributes to a complex relationship between health and development. Due to this complexity, the relationship between SES and health behaviors is not yet fully understood. This literature review, therefore, aims to assess the association between socioeconomic status and health behaviors in childhood and adolescence. Preferred Reporting for Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis protocol guidelines were used to conduct a systematic literature review. The electronic online databases EBSCO Host, PubMed, Web of Science, and Science Direct were utilized to systematically search published articles. The Joanna Briggs Institute's critical appeal tool was used to assess the quality of included studies. Eligibility criteria such as study context, study participants, study setting, outcome measures, and key findings were used to identify relevant literature that measured the association between socioeconomic status and health behaviors. Out of 2,391 studies, only 46 met the final eligibility criteria and were assessed in this study. Our review found that children and adolescents with low socioeconomic status face an elevated risk of unhealthy behaviors (e.g., early initiation of smoking, high-energy-dense food, low physical activity, and involvement in drug abuse), in contrast to their counterparts. Conversely, children and adolescents from higher socioeconomic backgrounds exhibit a higher prevalence of health-promoting behaviors, such as increased consumption of fruit and vegetables, dairy products, regular breakfast, adherence to a nutritious diet, and engagement in an active lifestyle. The findings of this study underscore the necessity of implementing specific intervention measures aimed at providing assistance to families from disadvantaged socioeconomic backgrounds to mitigate the substantial disparities in health behavior outcomes in children and adolescents.
Topics: Humans; Child; Adolescent; Systematic Reviews as Topic; Meta-Analysis as Topic; Health Behavior; Social Class; Diet
PubMed: 37915814
DOI: 10.3389/fpubh.2023.1228632 -
Medicina (Kaunas, Lithuania) Nov 2023Menstruation is a natural occurrence marked by the periodic release of endometrial cells within the uterine lining from the female genital area. Menstruation knowledge... (Review)
Review
Menstruation is a natural occurrence marked by the periodic release of endometrial cells within the uterine lining from the female genital area. Menstruation knowledge remains highly essential for young adolescents. Inadequate awareness and understanding of menstruation have far-reaching consequences on the overall wellbeing and health outcomes of young adults worldwide. Adolescent girls make up a large percentage of high school students in Nigeria. Girls in countries with low to middle incomes are frequently misled or uneducated regarding menstruation. Menstrual health literacy (MHL) is the level of knowledge concerning matters related to menstrual health. It is observed that a lack of menstrual health literacy is seen among young adults. This systematic review aimed to examine menstruation literacy, attitudes, and adolescent girls' practices in Nigeria. This systematic review included quantitative, cross-sectional, quasi-experimental, and qualitative primary research studies relating to menstruation literacy, attitudes, and practices of adolescents in Nigeria. Articles for this study were searched for on databases such as PubMed and BioMed Central using keywords. These studies were subjected to stringent inclusion and exclusion criteria where the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines were used, and 13 articles were included after critical appraisal. Data extracted were analysed using narrative synthesis. Findings indicated that knowledge regarding menstruation among adolescents (82.6%) was poor. Menstruation information was obtained from mothers, which was positive as some adolescents reported their closeness to their mothers. Regarding attitudes towards menstruation among adolescents, it was reported that more respondents (70.3%) had negative attitudes towards menstruation. Most of the respondents in Nigeria were not adequately prepared for the onset of their first menstrual period. Knowledge and attitude levels were low regarding periods for adolescents. The only exception was their positive attitude towards using water and soap to wash their hands during menstruation. The review shows a significant gap between adolescents' menstruation knowledge and actual hygienic methods during menstruation. It is therefore required for educational awareness programmes and campaigns to be put in place to educate adolescents about menstruation.
Topics: Young Adult; Adolescent; Female; Humans; Menstruation; Nigeria; Cross-Sectional Studies; Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; Mothers
PubMed: 38138175
DOI: 10.3390/medicina59122073 -
Journal of Adolescence Oct 2022Emotional intelligence (EI) is a psychological protective factor that can improve subjective well-being (WB) in adolescents. This study aims to establish the overall... (Meta-Analysis)
Meta-Analysis
INTRODUCTION
Emotional intelligence (EI) is a psychological protective factor that can improve subjective well-being (WB) in adolescents. This study aims to establish the overall relationship between different EI models (performance-based ability model, self-report ability model, and self-report mixed model) and subjective WB in adolescents, analyze the affective WB and cognitive WB components, and examine the moderating effect of EI models on both types of subjective WB.
METHOD
We searched PsycINFO and WOS databases. Eligible studies reported an association between EI and subjective WB in adolescents aged 10-19 years using instruments that directly measure subjective WB. In addition, two meta-analyses were conducted, one for the relationship between EI and affective WB and the other for EI and cognitive WB.
RESULTS
A total of 41 studies were included, of which 37 were pooled in the meta-analyses. We found a significant positive relationship between EI and affective WB (estimated effect size = 0.35) and between EI and cognitive WB (estimated effect size = 0.27). Regarding EI models, self-report ability showed an estimated effect size of 0.33 for affective WB and 0.27 for cognitive WB. For the self-report mixed model, we obtained an estimated effect size of 0.42 for affective WB and 0.37 for cognitive WB.
CONCLUSIONS
Establishing a quantitative relationship between EI and subjective WB makes it possible to implement clinical and educational prevention measures. Introducing EI training in educational and clinical settings can increase subjective WB, significantly impacting the prevention of emotional disorders in adolescents.
Topics: Adolescent; Educational Status; Emotional Intelligence; Humans; Self Report
PubMed: 35860897
DOI: 10.1002/jad.12075 -
International Journal of Obesity (2005) Mar 2022The structured days hypothesis posits that 'structured days' (i.e., days with pre-planned, segmented, and adult-supervised environments) reduce youth obesogenic... (Meta-Analysis)
Meta-Analysis Review
BACKGROUND
The structured days hypothesis posits that 'structured days' (i.e., days with pre-planned, segmented, and adult-supervised environments) reduce youth obesogenic behaviors. Structured days may be especially important for adolescents', as adolescence (12-19 years) is a period of developmental milestones and increased autonomy. Therefore, the objective of this systematic review and meta-analysis is to evaluate the relationship between structured days and adolescents' obesogenic behaviors (i.e., physical activity, diet, screen time, and/or sleep).
METHODS
From February to April of 2020, four databases (i.e., Embase, PubMed, Web of Science, and PsychINfo) were searched for cross-sectional, longitudinal, and intervention (i.e., baseline data only) studies reporting obesogenic behaviors on more structured versus less structured days (i.e., weekday versus weekend or school year versus summer/holiday).
RESULTS
A total of 42,878 unique titles and abstracts were screened with 2767 full-text articles retrieved. After review of full-text articles, 296 studies were identified (sleep k = 147, physical activity k = 88, screen time k = 81, diet k = 8). Most studies were conducted in North America, Europe & Central Asia, or East Asia & the Pacific used self-report measures and compared school days to weekend days. Meta-analyses indicated that adolescents' physical activity (standardized mean difference [SMD] = -0.25 [95%CI - 0.48, -0.03]) and screen time (SMD = -0.48 [95%CI - 0.66, -0.29]) were less healthy on less structured days. Differences did not reach statistical significance for sleep (SMD = -0.23 [95%CI - 0.48, 0.02]) and diet (SMD = -0.13 [95%CI - 0.77, 0.51]), however, sleep timing (SMD = -1.05 [95%CI - 1.31, -0.79]) and diet quantity (SMD = -0.29 [95%CI - 0.35, -0.23]) were less healthy on less structured days. The review identified studies with large heterogeneity.
CONCLUSIONS
Findings indicate that adolescents' physical activity, screen time, sleep timing, and diet quantity are less healthy on less structured days. Interventions for adolescents to prevent and treat obesity may be more successful if they are designed to target times that are less structured.
Topics: Adolescent; Adult; Cross-Sectional Studies; Diet; Exercise; Humans; Schools; Screen Time
PubMed: 34987203
DOI: 10.1038/s41366-021-01040-9