Journal of Applied Research on Children

Informing Policy for Children at Risk

Current Issue: Social Determinants of Health

Volume 14, Issue 2 (2025)Read More

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Articles
7 August 2025

Examining the Associations Between Racial Identity and Suicidal Ideation Among Black Youth

Aashna Shah, Kennedy Balzen, Ryan Hill, Danielle Busby, Jennifer Brown, Estefania Fernandez, Ntsoaki Tadi, Carla Sharp
Against the background of increasing rates of suicide among Black youth, researchers have identified the relation Black youth have to their identity as an important factor that may provide insight into the risk of suicide in this population. Preliminary work suggests that racial identity might serve as protective factor for psychological distress, though the literature is somewhat mixed, especially when suicidality is an outcome. Moreover, this research has predominantly concentrated on adults and/or community samples of youth. As yet, the extent to which Black youth’s attitudes and beliefs regarding their Black identity associate with current or past suicide ideation (SI) or behavior is under-investigated. The current study uses the Multidimensional Inventory of Black Identity-Teen (MIBI-t) to assess the relationship between aspects of Black identity with depression and suicide ideation. Data was collected from a sample of 90 Black youth between the ages of 11-17 with a current or history of suicidal behaviors and/or moderate levels of depression. Results indicate that youth with greater centrality (i.e., the centrality of race to one’s overall self-concept) were more likely to endorse greater symptoms of depression and SI. However, the association between centrality and SI was moderated by perceived racism as a risk factor for suicide, such that this link was only significant at moderate and high levels of endorsement of racism as a risk factor. Overall, findings suggest that racial centrality and racism together play a role in SI among Black youth, and future work is needed to further explore these associations.
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Articles
31 July 2025

Cross-Sectional Study: Factors Associated with having a Medicaid Waiver at Transfer to Adult Care for Individuals with Developmental Disabilities

Ellen Fremion, Ananth Panchamukhi, Kristen Staggers, Taylor Mann, Ambrielle Davis, Tiffany Castenell, Samuel Garcia
Abstract: Background: Home and Community-Based Service Medicaid waivers may reduce unmet healthcare needs for individuals with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (IDD). However, whether certain groups of individuals are relatively disadvantaged in accessing Medicaid waivers is unclear. Objectives: This cross-sectional study aimed to identify factors associated with having an active state waiver at the time of establishing adult care in a medical home for adults with IDD. Methods: Electronic medical records of individuals with IDD aged 19 and up including templated social work and clinician notes at the time of establishing care with a single-center medical home for adults with IDD were reviewed to determine if they had an active waiver and record clinical and demographic variables. Logistic regressions were used to test the associations between patient factors and having an active waiver. Results: 1042 patients were included with 524 (50.3%) having an active waiver. Older age (adj. OR 1.91, 95% CI: 1.47, 2.47), having Medicaid (adj. OR 7.29, 95% CI: 3.55, 14.98), and requiring a feeding tube (adj. OR 2.16, 95% CI: 1.45, 3.23), ventilator (adj. OR 3.35, 95% CI: 1.21, 9.28), wheelchair (adj. OR 1.65, 95% CI: 1.20, 2.26), or vagal nerve stimulator (adj. OR 2.53, 95% CI: 1.16, 5.55) were more likely to have an active waiver. Hispanics (adj. OR 0.46, 95% CI: 0.34, 0.64) and Asians (adj. OR 0.43, 95% CI: 0.21, 0.89) were both less likely to have an active waiver than Non-Hispanic Whites. Individuals with Down syndrome (adj. OR 0.67, 95% CI: 0.45, 0.98) and those with intellectual disability (adj. OR 0.52, 95% CI: 0.34, 0.81) were also less likely to have an active waiver. Conclusions: This study highlights the need to identify barriers and facilitators influencing access to waiver enrollment for individuals with IDD.
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Current Issue: Social Determinants of Health

Most Popular Articles

Articles
15 March 2011

Human Trafficking, Sex Tourism, and Child Exploitation on the Southern Border

Jim Walters, Patricia Davis
Human trafficking and various other forms of child sexual exploitation on the United States-Mexico border are described from social science and law enforcement perspectives, including current laws and definitions, case examples, and descriptions of victims and traffickers. The Southern Border Initiative of the AMBER Alert Project is outlined as one effort to combat trafficking through collaboration between law enforcement agencies and programs in the United States and Mexico.  Policy recommendations include increasing knowledge and collaboration between law enforcement, social service agencies, and judicial systems across the border region and between the United States and Mexico.
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Articles
6 December 2013

Sexual Violence against Girls in Schools: Addressing the Gaps between Policy and Practice in Awaso, Ghana

Geneviève Proulx, Andrea Martinez
Despite the established relationship between girls' education and several social development outcomes, gender disparities in education remain particularly concerning. Among the many obstacles that still hinder girls’ access to quality education, sexual violence against girls in schools (SVAGS) is one of the most worrying but also one that has received the least attention in light of recent efforts to increase girls’ attendance in school. This article explores the interface between the seemingly solid Ghanaian legal and policy framework to protect children in educational institutions and the high incidence of SVAGS in such institutions. Its purpose is twofold: to identify the major barriers to fighting SVAGS in Awaso, a rural Ghanaian town, and to highlight strategies for lifting those barriers. Using classroom observation, focus group discussions and interviews with students, teachers, parents, NGO staff and government representatives, it explains how lack of knowledge, lack of financial resources, deep-set values and popular perceptions of masculinity, femininity and violence against women and girls contribute to SVAGS.
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Articles
27 March 2013

Examining the Relationship Between Media Use and Aggression, Sexuality, and Body Image

Temple Northup
Objectives: The primary purpose of this research is to understand the media's impact on individual attitudes and behaviors related to aggression, sexuality, and body image. This research is of particular importance because it uses up-to-date data reflecting effects based on the current media environment. Additionally, it includes a racially diverse sample. Methods: A survey of 407 students at a large, public university was conducted. The survey instrument contained general measures related to media consumption, including overall television, video game, and internet use, as well as more specific questions related to particular types of media, such as pornography. For the dependent variables, questions were included that measured both attitudes and behaviors related to aggression, sexuality, and body image. Results: Consistent with predictions, media use impacted both attitudes and behaviors related to aggression, sexuality, and body image. Specifically, overall television consumption led to increased levels of aggression (r=.18, pr=.20, pr=.24, pr=.42, pr=.40, p Conclusions: The media continue to play an important role in the development of attitudes and behaviors. It is warranted, therefore, to continue to investigate what media can cause negative outcomes, as well as to determine how those outcomes vary based on race and gender.
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Articles
3 October 2012

For Safety’s Sake: A Case Study of School Security Efforts and Their Impact on Education Reform

Rachel Garver, Pedro Noguera
Several studies have shown that the need to create safe and orderly schools has increasingly been addressed in a manner that disconnects these priorities from broader concerns related to student success, school culture, and child development. In this paper, we explore the consequences of expanding security procedures in response to an incident involving interracial conflict at an urban high school in the United States. We offer this case study to demonstrate how the primacy placed on safety and security resulted in the neglect of other important educational goals, such as academic engagement and a positive school culture. Through an analysis of observational, interview, focus group, and survey data, we show that while it is essential for schools to take measures that ensure the safety of students and staff, it is equally important for safety to be recognized as part of a larger set of goals that schools must concurrently pursue in order to meet the educational and developmental needs of the students they serve.
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Articles
27 March 2013

Addressing the Challenges of Child and Family Homelessness

Kerri Tobin, Joseph Murphy
Homeless children in families comprise the fastest-growing group of homeless persons in the United States. Indeed, the American Academy of Pediatrics considers homelessness to be an issue with which pediatricians should be concerned. In this article, we review existing literature to provide a background for researchers, policymakers, and social service providers hoping to understand the phenomenon of child and family homelessness and various strategies used to address it. We begin with a definition and description of the population of homeless families with children. We then offer a broad consideration of the effects of child and family homelessness, from physical health problems like malnutrition and increased incidence of infection to emotional and academic impacts. We end with a platform of policies and other action steps for addressing the problems of homelessness for children and their families.
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Articles
15 March 2011

Sex Trafficking of Minors in the U.S.: Implications for Policy, Prevention and Research

Kimberly Kotrla, Beth Ann Wommack
Context: Information currently available on the trafficking of minors in the U.S. for commercial sexual exploitation includes approximations of the numbers involved, risk factors that increase the likelihood of victimization and methods of recruitment and control. However, specific characteristics about this vulnerable population remain largely unknown. Objective: This article has two distinct purposes. The first is to provide the reader with an overview of available information on minor sex trafficking in the U.S. The second is to present findings and discuss policy, research, and educational implications from secondary data analysis of 115 cases of minor sex trafficking in the U.S. Design: Minor sex trafficking cases were identified through two main venues - a review of U.S. Department of Justice press releases of human trafficking cases and an online search of media reports. Searches covered the time period from October 28, 2000, which coincided with the passage of the VTVPA through October 31, 2009. Cases were included in analysis if the incident involved at least one victim under the age of 18, occurred in the U.S., and at least one perpetrator had been arrested, indicted, or convicted. Results: A total of 115 separate incidents involving at least 153 victims were located. These occurrences involved 215 perpetrators, with the majority of them having been convicted (n = 117, 53.4%), The number of victims involved in a single incident ranged from 1 to 9. Over 90% of victims were female who ranged in age from 5 to 17 years. There were more U.S. minor victims than those from other countries. Victims had been in captivity from less than 6 months to 5 years. Minors most commonly fell into exploitation through some type of false promise indicated (16.3%, n = 25), followed by kidnapping (9.8%, n = 15). Over a fifth of the sample (22.2%, n = 34) were abused through two commercial sex practices, with almost all (94.1%, n = 144) used in prostitution. One of every five victims (24.8%, n = 38) had been advertised on an Internet website. Conclusions: Results of a review of known information about minor sex trafficking and findings from analysis of 115 incidents of the sex trafficking of youth in the U.S. indicate a need for stronger legislation to educate various professional groups, more comprehensive services for victims, stricter laws for pimps and traffickers, and preventive educational interventions beginning at a young age.
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