In adolescents the use of e-cigarettes doubles the risk of starting to smoke traditional cigarettes, states a position paper.

Teenagers who tend to pay more attention to sad faces are more likely to develop depression, but specifically within the context of stress, according to new research from Binghamton University, State University of New York.

Cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) measurement provides insight into cardiovascular and overall health, including cognitive and academic functions, among children and teens. Healthy CRF is linked to better heart and blood vessel health, academic achievement, mental health and many other positive outcomes in youth. Most pediatric health care offices do not have the facilities to conduct CRF testing routinely in children.

Researchers analyzed National Survey on Drug Use and Health data to test the effect of the 2009 U.S. flavored cigarette ban. The study found the ban reduced underage smoking by 43% and smoking among young adults by 27%. Researchers call for more comprehensive bans of flavored tobacco products to reduce youth use of these dangerous products.

Study finds that teenagers utilize Long-Acting Reversible Contraception (LARC) at a rate five times higher than the United States as a whole.

California teen Sasha Ronaghi thought that maybe 15 people would respond to her idea of starting an Anti-Racism Education Project (ARE) on Instagram. In less than five days, she had 350 participants. Now Ronaghi has more than 470 participants and 115 organizers from 38 states and 16 countries. Ronaghi describes the ARE Project as a community “to connect teenagers — young people in high schools and colleges — with resources about raising awareness for the black community.”

The group is planning to create a content list every month that consists of a movie, podcast, article, and other mediums. The group will meet to discuss the content and amplify black voices throughout the month with a speaker series, too. Ronaghi attributes the immediate success of the club to three things — the rhetoric of education surrounding conversations on racism, COVID-19 forcing many teens to stay home, and the desire for dialogue. She hopes that participants will use their new knowledge to be advocates in spreading awareness in their communities and to step up in conversations.

Teenagers who prefer to stay up late and wake later in the morning are more likely to suffer with asthma and allergies compared to those who sleep and wake earlier, according to a new study.

As many as 7% of moms-to-be use marijuana while pregnant, and that number is rising fast as more use it to quell morning sickness. But new research suggests such use could have a lasting impact on the fetal brain, influencing children's sleep for as much as a decade.

Specific sleep problems among babies and very young children can be linked to mental disorders in adolescents, a new study has found.

In June 2020, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a landmark ruling for LGBTQ+ rights. The court ruled that the 1964 Civil Rights Act — which bans workplace discrimination based on sex, race, and religion — also applies to sexual orientation. Prior to this decision, it was legal in a majority of states for employees to be fired for being gay, bisexual, or transgender.

For many LGBTQ+ Americans, this is being celebrated as a major victory. Many are comparing it to the 2015 Supreme Court case that legalized same-sex marriage. However, some activists believe it is just one positive step in an ongoing effort that still has a long way to go. While the current ruling will provide them with legal protections from discrimination in the workplace, the hope is this will set a precedent for future LGBTQ+ rights in education, housing, government services, and other areas.

Teenagers who experience very poor sleep may be more likely to experience poor mental health in later life, as depressed teens in study slept 30 minutes less per night than other groups.

An experimental cancer drug can extend the life of mice with Rett Syndrome, a devastating genetic disorder that afflicts about one of every 10,000 to 15,000 girls within 6 to 18 months after birth.

On the first Tuesday of June 2020, many media users posted a black square to show their support for current protests and racial justice organizations. Many celebrities, corporations, and others participated by posting the black background to their Instagram, Facebook, or Twitter account. The day, called Blackout Tuesday, was promoted by activists to reflect and bring about policy change in the wake of the death of George Floyd during an arrest. Activists reminded social media users that while it’s good to participate and raise awareness of racial and social injustice, finding ways to be more vocal and learning how to support members of our black communities is also a great way to become an advocate.

For teens, reposting, retweeting, or expressing how you are feeling can be an active kind of coping response to the overwhelming amount of coverage about police brutality and protests on social media platforms. Teens are more likely to have feelings of unrest when viewing the protests online. Experts encourage teens to talk to an adult they trust about their feelings and to seek out reliable news sources for information about any questions they may have.

You may have seen or read about the historic wildfires in Australia and California over the last year. These natural disasters caused hundreds of billions of dollars in damage. A visit to the California area inspired 16-year-old Neil Suri of Virginia to develop a forest fire detection tool. The tool is a camera-based approach called the FireWatch. The device has four cameras on the camera hook, providing 360-degree coverage.

After installing 13 FireWatch devices near Virginia’s Shenandoah National Forest, Suri was able to detect a real fire in the 600,000 acres (242,811 ha) being monitored. His low-cost monitoring system won First Place Grand Prize at the Virginia State Science and Engineering Fair. Winning has helped him raise $35,000 for research development as he hopes to have devices installed on the west coast of the U.S. and overseas to help prevent wildfires from getting out of control.

Early exposure to anesthetics may make adolescents more susceptible to developing alcohol use disorder (AUD), according to new research.

One concern during the COVID-19 pandemic is the drastic increase in digital-use and amount of screen time among teens. According to a recent survey, 57 percent of American teens said their screen time has increased by one hour or more since stay-at-home restrictions were enacted. Also, 30 percent said they spend most of their time streaming movies or TV shows and 70 percent said they downloaded a new app to stay entertained, including games and entertainment.

While there are benefits with today’s technology for teens to connect with others and find new interests, it is still important to be careful with how much time is spent online. Researchers suggest that instead of using your devices to kill time you should focus on using your devices to learn something new or to connect with others in a positive, safe, and responsible way. As the weather begins to warm in many areas and people can start to get outside—while maintaining social distancing—it is advised to put down the screens and focus on interacting with the people and environment around you.

Resilience is a trait that allows you to adjust to a rapidly changing environment and to cope with high stress levels. A new study not only found that teens who repeatedly had a good night’s sleep had higher resilience scores, but also found that being able to fall asleep quickly contributed to high levels of resilience. Meanwhile, disturbed sleep and poor-quality daytime naps were linked to lower resilience.

This study supports other recent results calling for schools to adjust early morning classes to later start times. These adjustments have been tied to higher levels of alertness, safer driving habits, and higher grades. Combined with the findings on increased resilience in teens with more sleep, researchers encourage allowing teens to follow their natural body clocks that favor late nights and sleeping in.

Fifteen-year-old Hita Gupta of Paoli, Pennsylvania, is part of a growing number of teens who are finding ways to help their communities during the outbreak. Gupta had been volunteering at a local nursing home for about a year, organizing activities like bingo and trivia, and was disappointed when her visits were put on hold due to COVID-19. She worried that the residents would feel bored and lonely in isolation and decided to make care packages of puzzles and coloring books to cheer them up and keep them occupied. Gupta’s 9-year-old brother Divit helped her make the packages and wrote an uplifting note for each resident.

Gupta first purchased the items with her allowance and then created a GoFundMe account to raise money to make more packages. She’s also inspired other teens to do similar projects in their areas. “Loneliness is now a bigger problem than ever with our pandemic and social distancing guidelines,” she said. “We need to let nursing home residents know that they are not being forgotten, and that they are not alone. As a community, we need to work together to make seniors feel loved and valued.”

Children with long-term health conditions may be more likely to experience mental illness in early adolescence than healthy children, according to new research.

A recently completed study indicates that smoking by pregnant mothers caused roughly an 1.5-fold asthma risk in their offspring at the ages between 31 and 46.