Only about 10 percent of adolescents needing help for substance abuse problems actually enter treatment, partly because of the lack of adolescent-only services in the nation's treatment system, according to a new study released today.

Chronic illness can lead to poorer quality of life—particularly for adolescents. New research shows that spirituality may help teens cope with their conditions.

Technology may be the key to identifying high-risk behaviors among adolescents. Injury risk, depressive symptoms and drug and alcohol use are the leading causes of adolescent morbidity and mortality; yet pediatricians often lack the time to screen for these behavioral concerns.

People who were already overweight in adolescence (14-19 years old) have an increased mortality rate from a range of chronic diseases as adults; endocrine, nutritional and metabolic diseases, cardiovascular diseases, colon cancer and respiratory diseases. There were also many cases of sudden death in this group. This comes from a new study from the Norwegian Institute of Public Health (NIPH).

Scientists at Duke University Medical Center have shown a connection between early drinking patterns and a tendency to be a heavy drinker in adulthood, in a study of adolescent rats.

Researchers at Mattel Children's Hospital UCLA have found that low-dose antidepressant therapy can significantly improve the overall quality of life for adolescents suffering from irritable bowel syndrome, or IBS.

As many as 20% of adolescents from 11 to 17 years of age smoke. This was the result of the nationwide German Health Interview and Examination Survey for Children and Adolescents (KiGGS), performed by the Robert Koch Institute and presented by the sociologist Thomas Lampert in the current edition of Deutsches Дrzteblatt International.

New drug research suggests that teens may get addicted and relapse more easily than adults because developing brains are more powerfully motivated by drug-related cues. This conclusion has been reached by researchers who found that adolescent rats given cocaine – a powerfully addicting stimulant – were more likely than adults to prefer the place where they got it.

The first prospective study investigating cultural identity and mental health status among adolescents living in a culturally diverse society has revealed that there is an association between the two, and that effects differ by gender and ethnic group. Researchers say the findings, published today (15 April 2008) in The Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, could inform policies affecting educational and social institutions caring for young people.

Documenting a “twofold to fivefold” increase in personal problems among adolescents with persistent sleeplessness, public health researchers at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston say they have completed the first prospective study demonstrating the negative impact of chronic insomnia on 11 to 17 year olds.

Children and adolescents at high risk for developing a substance-use disorder (SUD) tend to show deficits in executive cognitive function (ECF). A study using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to assess eye movements in adolescents has found a link between brain functioning and risk for developing an SUD.

There is a wealth of scientific literature available on the treatment of adults diagnosed with schizophrenia. However, there is a paucity of data to guide the treatment of children and adolescents with schizophrenia.