Adolescents are exposed to food marketing through many routes, including television, movies, videos, print media, online games, and social media. The interplay between exposure to unhealthy food advertisements and food choices by adolescents is a field of special interest given the ongoing evolution of social media trends and marketing strategies. The purpose of this review was to synthesize the scientific findings in the last five years (2017–2022) regarding the possible influence of nutrition-related advertisements through television, social media, or video games on the choice and consumption of unhealthy foods and drinks in adolescents. Nineteen studies were included in this review. Adolescents exposed to unhealthy food and beverage advertising showed high desire and intention to consume the advertised foods, as evidenced by the majority of included studies. The effects of advertisements are reinforced by peer pressure and influencers and interact with socioeconomic, biological, and environmental factors. Food marketing represents part of the obesogenic environment of the present time.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors of Greek undergraduate students on hand hygiene and mobile phone hygiene, in relation to their mobile phones’ microbial load. An anonymous self-reported questionnaire was distributed among 100 students and swabs were taken from their devices for microbiological cultures and for an on-site bioluminescence microbial load assessment. Hand washing was considered the most effective personal protective behavior by the majority (89%), while spatial restrictions (40%) and forgetfulness (31%) were the main reasons for neglecting hand washing. Most students washed their hands 6–10 times/day (32%) for approximately 11–20 s (35%). Although most devices were cleaned/disinfected within the last week (28%), many were contaminated with Staphylococcus saprophyticus (84%), Staphylococcus aureus (13%), and Escherichia coli (39%), while 75% of the samples exceeded the “fail” threshold limit of the luminometer’s measurements. Moreover, statistically significant differences (p < 0.05) were found between the devices’ microbial load and certain hand hygiene behaviors and preferences. The median cfu/cm² of Escherichia coli was higher among first-year students of health sciences, while Staphylococcus aureus was more prevalent in females’ than in males’ mobile phones. It w therefore understood that undergraduate students’ knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors on hand hygiene and mobile phone hygiene are highly intertwined with the microbial load on their mobile phones.

Background: School violence is a major public health concern, with bullying alone affecting up to 50% of adolescents worldwide. Life skills-based programs have been proposed as a promising preventive approach, yet evidence for their effectiveness in secondary education remains limited. This systematic review and meta-analysis aims to synthesize the existing evidence on the effectiveness of life skills-based violence prevention programs among adolescents aged 12–18. Methods: A systematic literature search was conducted across five databases (PubMed, Scopus, ERIC, CINAHL, and PsycInfo) in accordance with PRISMA 2020 guidelines (INPLASY202650168). Interventional studies published between 2005 and 2025 that targeted secondary school students were eligible. Risk of bias was assessed using the Cochrane RoB2 (for RCTs/cRCTs) and ROBINS-I tools. A three-level random-effects meta-analytic model with Robust Variance Estimation was employed to pool Hedges’ g effect sizes. Results: Nineteen studies met the eligibility criteria, with 18 contributing 56 effect sizes to the meta-analysis. The pooled effect size was statistically significant (g = −0.2652, 95% CI [−0.4879, −0.0425], p = 0.0196), indicating an overall small reduction in violent behaviors. However, a high degree of variation in effects was observed across studies (Q(55) = 2263.58, p < 0.001; I² = 99.23%). None of the examined moderators—including outcome type, study design, and risk-of-bias tier—significantly explained this heterogeneity. The sensitivity analysis, excluding one highly influential study, yielded a smaller pooled effect (g = −0.1422, 95% CI [−0.2246, −0.00598]) while maintaining high heterogeneity (I² = 92.82%). Conclusions: Although life skills-based programs demonstrate a statistically significant overall average effect in reducing school violence among adolescents, this finding must be interpreted with extreme caution given the high degree of variation in effect sizes across contexts and the fact that prediction intervals span across zero. Because moderator analyses revealed no significant differences across intervention types, study designs, or outcome categories, no specific program type can be identified as consistently more effective. Future primary research must prioritize prospectively registered trials with multi-informant assessments to establish true intervention effectiveness.

The aim of this study is to assess the influence of the COVID-19 pandemic on undergraduate students’ knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors on hand and mobile phone hygiene. An anonymous self-reported questionnaire was distributed among 100 Greek male and female undergraduate students of all academic years who attended healthcare as well as non-healthcare curriculums. Descriptive statistics and statistical tests (chi-squared and Wilcoxon signed-rank test) were used (α = 5%). Students provided better responses during COVID-19, compared to the period before the COVID-19 pandemic, concerning their hand washing frequency (p < 0.001), hand washing circumstances, certain hand washing procedures, as well as their mobile phones’ cleaning/disinfection methods and frequency (p < 0.001). Statistically significant differences were observed between males and females in their knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors on hand and mobile phone hygiene, followed by faculty and year of studies. Overall, being a final-year female undergraduate student of health sciences has a positive influence on correct knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors on hand and mobile phone hygiene.