Violence is often defined as the use of physical force or power by humans to cause harm and degradation to other living beings, such as humiliation, pain, injury, disablement, damage to property and ultimately death, as well as destruction to a society's living environment. The World Health Organization (WHO) defines violence as "the intentional use of physical force or power, threatened or actual, against oneself, another person, or against a group or community, which either results in or has a high likelihood of resulting in injury, death, psychological harm, maldevelopment, or deprivation." There is growing recognition among researchers and practitioners of the need to include violence that does not necessarily result in injury or death.
Self-harm refers to intentional behaviors that cause harm to oneself. This is most commonly regarded as direct injury of one's own skin tissues, usually without suicidal intention. Other terms such as cutting, self-injury, and self-mutilation have been used for any self-harming behavior regardless of suicidal intent. Common forms of self-harm include damaging the skin with a sharp object or scratching with the fingernails, hitting, or burning. The exact bounds of self-harm are imprecise, but generally exclude tissue damage that occurs as an unintended side-effect of eating disorders or substance abuse, as well as more societally acceptable body modification such as tattoos and piercings.
According to a 2023 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention study, suicide is the second leading cause of death for adolescents between the ages of 10 and 14, and the third leading cause of death for those between 15 and 25
Childhood obesity is a condition where excess body fat negatively affects a child's health or well-being. As methods to determine body fat directly are difficult, the diagnosis of obesity is often based on BMI. Due to the rising prevalence of obesity in children and its many adverse health effects it is being recognized as a serious public health concern. The term overweight rather than obese is often used when discussing childhood obesity, as it is less stigmatizing, although the term overweight can also refer to a different BMI category. The prevalence of childhood obesity is known to differ by sex and gender.
Injury prevention is an effort to prevent or reduce the severity of bodily injuries caused by external mechanisms, such as accidents, before they occur. Injury prevention is a component of safety and public health, and its goal is to improve the health of the population by preventing injuries and hence improving quality of life. Among laypersons, the term "accidental injury" is often used. However, "accidental" implies the causes of injuries are random in nature. Researchers prefer the term "unintentional injury" to refer to injuries that are nonvolitional but often preventable. Data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control show that unintentional injuries are a significant public health concern: they are by far the leading cause of death from ages 1 through 44. During these years, unintentional injuries account for more deaths than the next three leading causes of death combined. Unintentional injuries also account for the top ten sources of nonfatal emergency room visits for persons up to age 9 and nine of the top ten sources of nonfatal emergency room visits for persons over the age of 9.
SafetyLit is a bibliographic database and online update of recently published scholarly research of relevance to those interested in the broad field of injury prevention and safety promotion. Initiated in 1995, SafetyLit is a project of the SafetyLit Foundation in cooperation with the San Diego State University College of Health & Human Services and the World Health Organization - Department of Violence and Injury Prevention.
Youth suicide is when a young person, generally categorized as someone below the legal age of majority, deliberately ends their own life. Rates of youth suicide and attempted youth suicide in Western societies and elsewhere are high. Female youth are more likely to attempt suicide than male youth but less likely to die from their attempt. For example, in Australia, suicide is second only to motor vehicle accidents as its leading cause of death for adolescents and young adults aged 15 to 25.
Joseph Biederman was an American academic psychiatrist. He was Chief of the Clinical and Research Programs in Pediatric Psychopharmacology and Adult ADHD at the Massachusetts General Hospital and a professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School.
Child sexual abuse (CSA), also called child molestation, is a form of child abuse in which an adult or older adolescent uses a child for sexual stimulation. Forms of child sexual abuse include engaging in sexual activities with a child, indecent exposure, child grooming, and child sexual exploitation, such as using a child to produce child pornography.
Bullying and suicide are considered together when the cause of suicide is attributable to the victim having been bullied, either in person or via social media. Writers Neil Marr and Tim Field wrote about it in their 2001 book Bullycide: Death at Playtime.
The Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry is a peer-reviewed scientific journal covering both child and adolescent psychology and psychiatry providing an interdisciplinary perspective to the multidisciplinary field of child and adolescent mental health, though publication of high-quality empirical research, clinically-relevant studies and highly cited research reviews and practitioner review articles.
David Allen Wolfe is an academic, psychologist and author specializing in issues of child abuse, domestic violence, children and youth. His work includes the promotion of healthy relationships through school programs, with a major focus on the prevention of child abuse and neglect, bullying, dating violence, unsafe sex, substance abuse and other consequences of unhealthy relationships.
The Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry is a peer-reviewed medical journal covering pediatric psychiatry. It is published by Elsevier and is the official journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. The editor-in-chief is Douglas Novins.
Pediatric psychology is a multidisciplinary field of both scientific research and clinical practice which attempts to address the psychological aspects of illness, injury, and the promotion of health behaviors in children, adolescents, and families in a pediatric health setting. Psychological issues are addressed in a developmental framework and emphasize the dynamic relationships which exist between children, their families, and the health delivery system as a whole.
Prevention science is the application of a scientific methodology that seeks to prevent or moderate major human dysfunctions before they occur. Regardless of the type of issue on hand, the factors that lead to the problem must be identified and addressed. Prevention research is thus focused primarily on the systematic study of these potential precursors of dysfunction, also known as risk factors; as well as components or circumstances that reduces the probability of problem development in the presence of risk, also known as protective factors. Preventive interventions aim to counteract risk factors and reinforce protective factors in order to disrupt processes or situations that give rise to human or social dysfunction.
Child and Adolescent Mental Health (CAMH) is a quarterly peer-reviewed medical journal published by Wiley-Blackwell in Britain on behalf of the Association for Child and Adolescent Mental Health. The journal publishes peer-refereed child and adolescent mental health services research relevant to academics, clinicians and commissioners internationally. CAMH publishes reviews, original articles, and pilot reports of innovative approaches, interventions, clinical methods and service developments. The journal has regular sections on Measurement Issues, Innovations in Practice, Global Child Mental Health and Humanities.
The Journal of Adolescent Health is a peer-reviewed medical journal covering adolescent health and medicine, including biological, psychological, and social aspects. The journal publishes original research articles, review articles, letters to the editor, commentaries, and case reports. It is published by Elsevier on behalf of the Society for Adolescent Health and Medicine, and was established in 1980 as the Journal of Adolescent Health Care, switching to its current name in 1991. Carol A. Ford has been the editor-in-chief since 2019.
Journal of Child and Family Studies is a quarterly peer-reviewed academic journal published by Springer Science+Business Media that focuses on family child, adolescent, and family psychology. The editors-in-chief are Cheri J. Shapiro and Anne F. Farrell.
Clinical Microbiology and Infection is a monthly peer-reviewed medical journal covering management of patients and the prevention of infectious diseases including research in clinical microbiology, infectious diseases, bacteriology, mycology, virology, and parasitology, including immunology and epidemiology as related to these fields. The journal also publishes editorials, commentaries, and reviews, as well as guidelines originating from European Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases study groups.
Susan Pardee Baker is a professor emeritus of health policy and management at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and an injury prevention expert. She served as the first director of the Johns Hopkins Center for Injury Research and Policy. She is also known for developing Injury Severity Scores.
