Health

The journal Media and Communication has published a special issue on "Adolescents in the Digital Age: Effects on Health and Development," edited by APPC research director Dan Romer.

Gun violence involving young people is a national problem that deserves greater attention and study, a group of national experts in violence said in a paper published in American Psychologist.

The Annenberg Public Policy Center has been awarded a grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation to identify a “Culture of Health” portrayed on popular TV shows. Studies will include Spanish-language shows.

After a four-year run in which most news stories falsely linked the holiday season with an increase in suicide, last year's coverage saw a turnaround, with most news stories debunking the holiday-suicide myth, according to an analysis by the Annenberg Public Policy Center.

Getting children to cut back on sugar-sweetened beverages like soda and energy drinks has been the goal of anti-obesity public service advertisements. A new study evaluates the effectiveness of persuasive techniques -- humor, fear and nurturance -- used in those PSAs.

Adolescents who have difficulty with impulse control may be more prone to risky sexual behavior, with consequences such as sexually transmitted diseases and unintended pregnancies. A study finds that individual differences in working memory can predict early sexual activity during adolescence.

A new study of public service advertisements (PSAs) to address obesity finds that appealing to fear – and the health consequences of too much sugar, such as diabetes and heart disease – had the greatest effect on teens’ intention to cut back on sugary beverages like soda and energy drinks.