Childhood abuse has severe and lasting effects throughout an individual's life, and may even have long-term biological effects on individuals who suffer it. To learn more about the effects of abuse in childhood, Li and Yearwood analyze gene expression data to look for genes differentially expressed genes in individuals with a history of childhood abuse.

The global mental health crisis has led to increased substance abuse among youth. Prescription drug abuse causes approximately 115 American deaths daily. Understanding intergenerational transmission of substance abuse is complex due to lengthy human studies and socioeconomic variables. Recent FDA guidelines mandate abuse liability testing for neuro-active drugs but overlook intergenerational transfer. Brown planaria, due to their nervous system development similarities with mammals, offer a novel model.

To explore the parent-child relationship during college planning, authors surveyed high school juniors from two private schools (boarding school vs. non-boarding parochial school). After coding, survey answers indicate students at boarding schools were found to have greater fear of parental control and disappointment, while students at non-boarding parochial schoolexpressed a greater need for parental assistance.

The Scripps National Spelling Bee (SNSB) is an iconic academic competition for United States (US) schoolchildren, held annually since 1925. However, the sizes and geographic distributions of sponsored regions are uneven. One state may send more than twice as many spellers as another state, despite similar numbers in child population. In 2018, the SNSB introduced a wildcard program known as RSVBee, which allowed students to apply to compete as a national finalist, even if they did not win their regional spelling bee. In this study, the authors tested the hypothesis that the geographic distribution of SNSB national finalists more closely matched the child population of the US after RSVBee was implemented.

Due to the susceptibility of adolescent age groups to opioid misuse, here the authors sought to determine if there was a difference in the perception and knowledge between 9^th and 12^th graders regarding the opioid crisis. An educational intervention trial was done with the 9^th graders and surveys were used to identify its effects. Although the authors acknowledge a small sample size, their results suggest that their are gaps within the knowledge of adolescents in regards to opioid misuse and its long-term effects that could be addressed with further education.

Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, people are missing important appointments because they are viewed as nonessential, possibly including children's pediatric dentist appointments. This study aims to determine how the COVID-19 pandemic has effected parents' willingness to allow children to visit pediatric dental practices and what safety measures would make them feel more comfortable visiting the dentist. The authors found a weak positive correlation between parents' unwillingness to allow their child to visit the dentist, however overall anxiety towards visiting the dentist during the pandemic was low.

In this article, the authors investigate the RNA expression differences between groups of chronic cocaine abusers and drug-free subjects.

Mortality from opioid abuse has risen dramatically in the United States over the last two decades and has become a national health crisis. Bernstein and Chisesi explore whether revised pain management standards for hospitals contributed to this epidemic.

While the genetic basis of hip fracture risk has been studied extensively in adults, it is not known whether parental history of bone fractures affects their children's fracture risk. In this article, the authors investigated whether a parental history of bone fractures influences the rate of fractures in their children. They found that adolescent children whose parents had a more extensive history of fractures were more likely to have a history of fractures themselves, suggesting that parents' medical histories may be an important consideration in future pediatric health research.

COVID-19 has officially been downgraded from the status of a global health emergency, but have COVID-19 safety practices become a new way of life for students? The authors collected survey data on COVID-19-related knowledge and behaviors of high-school students in Punjab, Pakistan and Santa Clara County, California, USA, so see where high-schoolers stand on pandemic safety today.