Breadcrumb
- Federal Resources
Federal Resources
Report: Racial and Gender Disparities in Suicide Among Young Adults
Using mortality data from the National Vital Statistics System, this report examines suicide rates and methods among young adults aged 18–24, by sex and race and Hispanic origin. Results show that young adult males were more likely than young adult females to commit suicide across racial and ethnic groups. The suicide rate was highest among the American Indian or Alaska Native (AI/AN) population, and likely to be underreported. Non-Hispanic black and non-Hispanic white young adults were most likely to use firearms, followed by suffocation. Hispanic, Asian or Pacific Islander (API), and AI/AN young adults were most likely to use suffocation, followed by firearms.
Resource: Narrative Writing Exercises for Promoting Health Among Adolescents: Promises and Pitfalls
This resource describes a literature review that explores the potential mental health benefits and concerns of using narrative writing with youth and young adults.
Resource: Helping Youth Prevent Suicide Among Their LGBTQ Peers
This article highlights free resources educators and youth service providers can use to implement the Trevor Project’s Lifeguard Workshop, a program encouraging young people to be “lifeguards” for one another by having the knowledge to help in a crisis. Professionals can request a free, in-person workshop or use the resources highlighted in the article to create personalized trainings.
Resource: Integrating Medical and Mental Health Care for Teen Moms
This article describes the mental health challenges teen moms face and highlights a Denver-based program that integrates mental health screening and treatment into their existing medical care.
Share with Youth: Advice to Young Adults from Young Adults: Helpful Hints for Policy Change in the Mental Health System
This resource (PDF, 8 pages) can guide youth- and young adult-led organizations that want to make policy changes in the mental health system. Developed bythe Research and Training Center for Pathways to Positive Futures and Portland State University, it contains recommendations and quotes from a series of interviews with young adult leaders from advocacy groups that focus on mental health challenges or living in foster care.
Resource: Understanding Neurobiology of Psychological Trauma: Tips for Working with Transition-Age Youth
This resource (PDF, 8 pages), developed by Pathways Research and Training Center, introduces service providers to scientifically-informed findings about brain development and trauma specific to young adults, and describes the implications for trauma-informed interventions and trauma-informed engagement of young people in services.
Report: Prevalence of Parent-Reported Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) Diagnosis and Associated Treatment Among U.S. Children and Adolescents, 2016
This study examines survey data from the National Survey of Children’s Health to estimate the prevalence of ADHD diagnosis and treatment. The results indicate that, as of 2016, 6.1 million children aged 2-17 years living in the U.S. had been diagnosed with ADHD, which is similar to previous estimates. Almost two thirds were taking medication, slightly less than half had received behavioral treatment in the past year, and nearly one fourth had received neither treatment.
Share with Youth: Changing the Rules: A Guide for Youth and Young Adults with Mental Health Conditions Who Want to Change Policy
This policy guide, developed by Pathways RTC (Research and Training Center), is written for youth- and young adult-led groups and organizations that want to make changes in policies related to mental health and other human services that affect them and other transition-age youth. The guide is intended for use by youth and young adults working together within a group or organization to make specific change, usually in partnership with other agencies, groups, or organizations.
2019 Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS) Results
The 2019 YRBS results present a promising picture for some behaviors and experiences among high school students; however, other areas reveal that teens are still engaging in behaviors that put them at risk. While these health risk behaviors vary by sex, race/ethnicity, sexual orientation and grade, the 2019 YRBS results show that there is more work to do to help all teens create lifelong healthy behaviors.
John H. Chafee Foster Care Program for Successful Transition to Adulthood
The John H. Chafee Foster Care Program for Successful Transition to Adulthood (the Chafee program) provides funding to support youth/ young adults in or formerly in foster care in their transition to adulthood. The program is funded through formula grants awarded to child welfare agencies in States (including the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands) and participating Tribes. Chafee funds are used to assist youth/ young adults in a wide variety of areas designed to support a successful transition to adulthood. Activities and programs include, but are not limited to, help with education, employment, financial management, housing, emotional support and assured connections to caring adults. Specific services and supports are determined by the child welfare agency, vary by State, locality and agency, and are often based on the individual needs of the young person. Many State or local agencies contract with private organizations to deliver services to young people.
The Relationship Between Bullying and Suicide: What We Know and What It Means for Schools
This resource from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, Division of Violence Prevention, provides school administrators, teachers and school staff with the most current research findings about the relationship between bullying and suicide among school-aged youth and action-oriented, evidence-based suggestions to prevent and control bullying and suicide-related behavior in schools.
Whole School, Whole Community, Whole Child Model
The Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development and CDC, in collaboration with key leaders from the education, public health, and school health fields, have developed and released the new Whole School, Whole Community, Whole Child (WSCC) model, which is recommended as a strategy for improving students’ health and learning in schools. The WSCC model, which builds on elements of the traditional coordinated school health approach and the whole child framework, will be integrated into CDC’s school health initiatives.
Report: Summary of School Safety Statistics
This report (PDF, 12 pages), developed by NIJ’s Comprehensive School Safety Initiative, draws on data collected by multiple federal agencies to examine common beliefs pertaining to school safety statistics and provides evidence to support or dispel each of them.
Resource: 2017 School Health Index
This self-assessment and planning tool can help schools improve their health and safety policies and programs at the elementary, middle, and high school level. School administrators and school wellness teams can use the tool to identify strengths and weaknesses in their policies and programs for promoting health and safety, to develop an action plan for improving student health and safety, and to involve stakeholders in improving school policies, programs, and services.
Resource: School Safety: By the Numbers
This resource (PDF, 2 pages), produced by the Comprehensive School Safety Initiative, examines statistics about school safety and violence, including the rates of school crime and school shootings, security measures in schools, the occurrence of traumatic events at school, and the role of social media in making threats. Education professionals, policymakers, and other stakeholders can use this information to develop responses to school violence.
CDC Teen Pregnancy
This website from CDC provides information and data about teen pregnancy. Sections of the site target resources for parents, guardians, and health care providers. It also includes videos, podcasts, reports, a social media tool kit and other resources focused on teen pregnancy and teen pregnancy prevention.
CDC's Teen Pregnancy and Social Media
CDC provides a range of social media tools to promote your teen pregnancy prevention efforts. This quick reference guide can be used as a companion to the CDC Social Media Toolkit for Health Communicators [PDF- 3.76MB], and specifically highlights a number of social media tools with credible, science-based teen pregnancy prevention messages from the CDC. These free, easy-to-use communication tools can help expand the reach of your health messages and help increase public engagement.
FYSB: New Video
Family and Youth Services Bureau (FYSB) provides news and resources related to issues such as homelessness, adolescent pregnancy, and domestic violence. Watch FYSB's new video “The Family and Youth Services Bureau — Join Us” to learn more about FYSB work and programs.
Little (PSBA) GTO: 10 Steps to Promoting Science-based Approaches to Teen Pregnancy Prevention Using Getting to Outcomes
This manual presents a summary of the teen pregnancy prevention strategy, Getting to Outcomes (GTO). GTO is a science-based approach for how to set goals, consider and plan for a prevention program, develop and conduct process and outcome evaluation, and learn how to improve and sustain a program’s intended outcomes.
Prepregnancy Contraceptive Use Among Teens with Unintended Pregnancies Resulting in Live Births, 2004–2008
Data from this Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report from January 2012 offers insight into current statistics about teens not using contraception, teens who give birth, the risks of early childbearing, and why this is a public health issue. The data was collected from the Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System (PRAMS), which collects state-specific, population-based data on maternal attitudes and experiences before, during, and shortly after pregnancy.
Trends in the Prevalence of Sexual Behaviors, 1991-2009
The National Youth Risk Behavior Survey (NYRBS) monitors priority health risk behaviors that contribute to health and social problems among youth and young adults. This report shows trends, from the data gathered from NYRBS, in sexual behavior among youth and young adults from 1991 to 2009.
Resource: Youth-Friendly Manual Shows New Fathers the Ropes
This NCFY article highlights a manual (PDF, 28 pages) that uses driving and car analogies and youth-friendly language to teach teen dads and expectant dads about topics such as establishing paternity, what to expect when the baby comes home, caring for the baby, and co-parenting.
Report: Preterm Births among Teens
This report illustrates the percentage of births among teens that were preterm, organized by race and ethnicity. Preterm births declined for each racial/ethnic group, except among non-Hispanic Asian or Pacific Islander teens, where the change was not significant. In 2014, the percentage of births that were preterm was higher among non-Hispanic black and non-Hispanic Asian or Pacific Islander teens than among other groups.
Report: Effects of Maternal Age and Age-Specific Preterm Birth Rates on Overall Preterm Birth Rates
This report highlights recent data that show, from 2007 to 2014, the preterm birth rate decreased for all age groups, and the overall birth rate for teens and women aged 20-24 years also decreased. The changing distribution of maternal age might indicate success of programs to prevent teen and unintended pregnancies.
CDC Pregnancy Prevention Web Page for Teens
CDC’s Division of Reproductive Health created a Web page especially for teens. Designed with input from teens, the Web page aims to motivate teens to make healthy choices about sex by providing empowering messages on specific actions that teens can take to prevent teen pregnancy. This effort is part of the Teen Pregnancy Prevention Communitywide Initiative, which is a partnership between CDC and the HHS, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health, Office of Adolescent Health.