Health

The Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education - in collaboration with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Massachusetts Department of Public Health - conducts the Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS) in randomly selected public high schools in every odd-numbered year. The YRBS focuses on the major risk behaviors that threaten the health and safety of young people.Read more

This study was conducted in order to determine whether being both vigorously active and a team sports participant or being vigorously physically active but not a team member is associated with substance use and sexual risk behaviors. Nationwide, 41.9% of the students were both physically active and participants on a sports team, 22.1% were physically active but not sports team members, 12.6% were physically nonactive sports team members, and 22.3% were physically nonactive and not sports team members.Read more

The national Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS) monitors priority health risk behaviors that contribute to the leading causes of death, disability, and social problems among youth and adults in the United States. The national YRBS is conducted every two years during the spring semester and provides data representative of 9th through 12th grade students in public and private schools throughout the United States.Read more

With a decline in physical activity and increasing rates of both obesity and diabetes, it is important to focus on athletic participation in schools. “High school girls exhibit higher levels of vigorous activity if they participate in single-sex, non-traditional gym classes that include aerobics, dance, and other activities tailored to meet their interests...” The researchers looked at students in intervention groups and control groups.Read more

Sarah Perez of ReadWriteWeb, reported on some recent research that linked Facebook usage with adolescent female anxiety and depression. According to Dr. Joanne Davila and  doctoral candidate Lisa Starr, girls that use texting, instant messaging and social networking, have an easier way to keep stuck rehashing the same topic over and over without a sense of resolution.Read more

The mission of Strong Women, Strong Girls is to utilize the lessons learned from strong women throughout history to encourage girls and young women to become strong women themselves. By building communities of women committed to supporting positive social change, Strong Women, Strong Girls works to create cycles of mutual empowerment for women and girls.

Strong Women, Strong Girls is built on a foundation of six core values:

* Love & Support: Building positive and consistent relationships that support each other, even when we make mistakes.Read more

Taking place in Western New York with a sample size of 611 adolescents, this study tests hypotheses about the effects of sports and sexual behavior. The researchers find a correlation between levels of adolescent sexual outcomes and levels of athletic participation: female athletes reported significantly lower rates of sexual activity than female nonathletes; male athletes report slightly (though not significantly) higher rates than male nonathletes.Read more

The National Women's Law Center recently filed a complaint against Worcester public schools and 11 other districts nationwide claiming that they offer fewer sports opportunities to high school girls than boys and that there is a large gap in the percentage of female athletes in the district and the percentage of female students as a whole. The complaint also argued that Worcester does not offer all the sports it could at all of its school.Read more

"This guide is designed for healthcare providers, social service agency employees, and other practitioners who connect young people with the medical care they need. While the age of consent for all medical treatment in Massachusetts is generally 18, those younger than 18 may consent to a wide range of services—even without parental authorization—depending on the circumstances. This guide also highlights the special consent issues that may arise for youth who are involved with the Department of Social Services and/or the Department of Youth Services."

In response to an open request for proposals and review process, the Hyams Foundation awarded $800,000 to eight community based grantees to focus programming and advocacy on system-involved girls in Boston and Chelsea from January, 2003, through December, 2005. Based on the success and promise of Phase I, the Hyams Foundation is supporting Phase II of the Girls’ Initiative from January, 2006 through December, 2008.Read more