The Journal of adolescent health : official publication of the Society for Adolescent Medicine
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Measuring sexual orientation in adolescent health surveys: evaluation of eight school-based surveys.
To examine the performance of various items measuring sexual orientation within 8 school-based adolescent health surveys in the United States and Canada from 1986 through 1999. ⋯ Specific recommendations include standardizing wording across future surveys, and pilot testing items with diverse ages and ethnic groups of teens before use. All three dimensions of orientation should be assessed where possible; when limited to single items, sexual attraction may be the best choice. Specific wording suggestions are offered for future surveys.
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To determine: (a) the prevalence of physical fighting while under the influence of alcohol or drugs, and (b) the associations among demographic factors, other risk behaviors, and physical fighting while under the influence of substances. ⋯ A significant proportion of adolescents who use substances also engage in physical fighting while under the influence. Health providers should counsel their patients about the potential for injury and be mindful that concurrent fighting and substance use may be markers for other more high-risk delinquent behaviors.