Adolescent Health

COVID-19 Parental Resource Kit – Adolescence

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention developed the COVID-19 Parental Resource Kit to help parents, caregivers, and other adults provide support and stability to children and young people facing social, emotional, and mental challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic.

This section focuses on how adolescents develop and the issues they may face as they mature.

  • National Teen Pregnancy Prevention Month (NTPPM): Get involved and celebrate NTPPM with the Office of Population Affairs (OPA)!
  • Adolescent Development Explained: Check out the OPA Adolescent Development Explained guide for information about the major developmental changes that occur in adolescence and how parents and caring adults can support adolescents.
  • Physical Health in Developing Adolescents: Learn about the importance of clinical preventive services, how adolescents can be involved in their healthcare, and healthy behaviors for adolescents.
  • Reproductive Health and Teen Pregnancy: Learn about trends in teen pregnancy, challenges and consequences in teen childbearing, strategies and approaches for prevention, and tips for parents and caring adults.
  • Positive Youth Development: Learn about this strengths-based approach to adolescent health, meaningful youth engagement, and key practices for enhancing youth-serving programs.
  • Mental Health for Adolescents: Learn about common mental health warning signs and disorders among adolescents, disparities in access to mental health services, and treatment resources.
  • Substance Use in AdolescenceGet information and resources about adolescent substance use and ways to prevent it.
  • Healthy Relationships in Adolescence: Learn about how adolescents form safe and healthy relationships with friends, parents, teachers, and romantic partners.
  • Adolescent Health Data Sheets: OPA has created several fact sheets on different health topics, based on available federal data for adolescents in each state as well as select island territories.

Promoting Positive Adolescent Health Behaviors and Outcomes: Thriving in the 21st Century

At the request of the HHS Office of the Assistant Secretary, the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine convened an ad hoc Committee on Applying Lessons of Optimal Adolescent Health to Improve Behavioral Outcomes for Youth. The committee reviewed key questions related to the effective implementation of the Teen Pregnancy Prevention (TPP) program using an optimal health lens. Promoting Positive Adolescent Health Behaviors and Outcomes: Thriving in the 21st Century - PDF (1.6 MB) presents an examination of the optimal health framework to (1) identify core components of risk behavior prevention programs that can be used to improve a variety of adolescent health outcomes, and (2) develop evidence-based recommendations for research and the effective implementation of federal programming initiatives focused on adolescent health.

Learn about Applying Lessons of Optimal Adolescent Health to Improve Behavioral Outcomes for Youth, a study to identify key components of youth-serving programs that have proved successful in improving health outcomes related to adolescent behavior.