Research into why adolescent drivers are involved in motor vehicle crashes, the leading cause of injury and death among 16- to 19-year-olds in the United States, has often focused on driving experience and skills. But a new study suggests that development of the adolescent brain -- in particular, working memory -- may play a critical role in whether a teenager is more likely to crash.

Researchers find that the presence of adult social support is linked to less violence among at-risk teen boys.

A new study found that adolescents who spend more than three hours a day on social media are more likely to report high levels of internalizing behaviors compared to adolescents who do not use social media at all.

Teens who misuse prescription or illicit opioids might benefit from opioid treatment medications, according to a new study. An estimated 900 adolescents started to misuse opioid painkillers every day in 2017, and some of them turned to cheaper and more potent illegal opioids like heroin. Yet little is known about the effectiveness of opioid medications -- the recommended treatment for adults with opioid use disorder -- in teens who are younger than 18.

The number of women with high blood pressure when they become pregnant or who have it diagnosed during the first 20 weeks of pregnancy has spiked in the United States since 1979. Women getting pregnant later in life contributes to this upward trend. High blood pressure during pregnancy affects black women at more than twice the rate of white women.

E-cigarette usage may impair fertility and pregnancy outcomes, according to a mouse study published in the Journal of the Endocrine Society.

The September issue of Entrepreneur magazine features 16 young people who have turned skills and interests into successful businesses. Some wanted to solve problems in their communities, while others were interested in monetizing hobbies or earning money for college. The businesses cover a wide range of products including cookies, robotics kits, landscaping, silly socks, and more.

Sanil Chawla discovered how hard it was to start a business under the age of 18, so he developed software to automate the process for teens to get started. Hack+ was started in 2017 as a nonprofit that provides free fiscal sponsorship to student-founded charitable organizations. His software and team have helped over 900 students launch their organizations. Chawla says, “If we can manage all the legal and financial stuff for these young founders to focus on their mission, their goals, it will open the door to so much impact.”

For the upcoming school year 1,200 districts have partnered with the student “safety solutions” company Gaggle to provide safety management for students online. Gaggle is a program that can alert the school when a student is struggling with self-harm, cyberbullying, substance abuse, unhealthy relationships, and other credible threats. Gaggle reports show that during the last school year its program helped school districts save 722 students from carrying out an act of suicide.

The company’s vision is to create products that will help schools create safe learning environments. Today, Gaggle’s safety management programs use a mathematical logarithm to identify high risk phrases and words when students are logged into their district’s server and are using the school’s communication and collaboration tools. Even the name “Gaggle” is a part of this vision. Company founder Jeff Patterson said, “Our goal was to give teachers an easy way to watch over their gaggle of students.”

Nearly one in four Arizona teens have used a highly potent form of marijuana known as marijuana concentrate, according to a new study. Among nearly 50,000 eighth, 10th, and 12th graders from the 2018 Arizona Youth Survey, a biennial survey of Arizona secondary school students, one-third (33%) had tried some form of marijuana, and nearly a quarter (24%) had tried marijuana concentrate.

A new app has been designed to help new parents become more 'tuned in' to what their babies are thinking and feeling.

Vitamin D deficiency in middle childhood could result in aggressive behavior as well as anxious and depressive moods during adolescence, according to a new study of school children in Bogotá, Colombia.

New research shows that brief parent-targeted interventions in the primary care setting can increase communication between parents and their teens about sexual and alcohol-related behavior. This method may serve as an important strategy for parents to influence adolescent behaviors and health outcomes.

A new study reports that bullying victimization may increase the risk of suicide attempts among young adolescents by approximately 3-times worldwide.

For children and teens with migraine, the pain and symptoms that accompany migraine attacks can be debilitating, resulting in missed school days, absence from social or sporting events, and affected home activities. Now the American Academy of Neurology (AAN) and the American Headache Society have developed two guidelines that include recommendations for preventing and treating migraine in children and teens.

Ruben Martinez, an 11-year-old boy from El Paso, Texas, has started the “El Paso Challenge” to help his community heal after a recent mass shooting. He and his mother started the social media campaign to encourage people to spread kindness and honor the people killed in their city.

The challenge began by asking those that live in El Paso to do 20 good deeds, one for each person who died in the shooting. Martinez shared a list of ideas to get people started, including mowing someone’s lawn, taking flowers to the hospital, paying for someone’s lunch or dinner, and even just telling someone how great they are. Now, the challenge has gone viral on social media as #elpasoCHALLENGE. People all over the world are participating and sharing the challenge to spread kindness.

A new study has linked bone strength to the timing of puberty.

Female adolescents are experiencing relationship abuse at alarming rates, according to a new study that specifically researched reproductive coercion - a form of abuse in which a woman is pressured to become pregnant against her wishes.

Exposure to C. difficile in infancy produces an immune response that might protect against this gastrointestinal infection later in childhood, according to a new study.

Eight cases of teens hospitalized with seriously damaged lungs were reported by the Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin in July. While the possible causes of these illnesses are being investigated, a news release stated that all the patients reported vaping in the weeks and months prior to being hospitalized. The officials have found the number of patients with similar damage and the link to vaping for such a short time concerning.

The eight patients were admitted for symptoms including shortness of breath, fatigue, chest pain, cough, and weight loss. Some of the teens wound up in the intensive care unit and needed significant therapy to help them breathe. While the teens showed improvement, the long-term effects are not known. Experts suspect the teens’ use of e-cigarettes could be the link to the lung damage. It is believed that prolonged or continued exposure to vaping chemicals can cause serious health problems.

A national team has just published the largest-ever examination of the state of research on all aspects of youth firearm injury - whether intentional, unintentional or self-inflicted. The bottom-line conclusion: Far more research, and better research, is needed on children, teens and the prevention and aftermath of firearm injuries and deaths. If translated into action, such new knowledge could help reduce death and injury rates, and other effects.