Violence & Risky Behaviors

This section of the website includes essential information about treatments for a wide range of risky behaviors including smoking, violence, alcohol, and drug abuse.

If you’re interested in how to prevent a specific medical problem, including risky behaviors such as alcohol, drug use, or violence, there is a separate section of the website for that information.

The National Center for Health Research reviews important new research as soon as it is published. We cut through the hype regarding various medical treatments to let you know what is proven and what is unknown about the risks and benefits of various treatment options.

We do not accept funding from the companies that make medical products, so you can trust that our information is based on science, and not biased by financial ties to the treatments we’re evaluating.

To find the information you need, please use our search box to search for exactly what you are looking for or browse through our various topics on the right. →

If you don’t see what you’re looking for on any health topic, contact us through our online health helpline at info@center4research.org. We’ll try to get the information you need within a few days.

Dating Violence Inspires Other Problems

There is a link with high-risk behaviors such as drug use according to a study of dating violence published in September 2003.

Tale of Two Studies: What Causes Teen Pregnancy, Violence, and Drug Use?

This study has important implications for all parents and adults who work with youth. To get the whole picture, we describe two versions of the study: one that was published in a public health journal, and another that was aimed at the media and the public.

How to Help? Reaching Out to Homeless and Runaway Youth

What is the best way to reach out to troubled youth who have run away and are homeless? This article examines a study of previously homeless youth and the ways in which they were able to alter their behavior in order to successfully mature and escape trouble. Find out which forms of help previously runaway adolescents found most beneficial.

Violent Songs

Previous studies have found that enjoying or listening to music with violent messages correlates with hostile attitudes, negative attitudes toward women, lower academic performance, behavior problems in school, drug use and arrests.

Linking Spouse and Child Abuse

There has been a growing interest in the relationship between spouse abuse and child abuse and a growing consensus that if a woman is abused by her husband, the children are likely to also be abused.