Adolescence is a critical developmental period in which youth grow, explore, learn, and develop important skills that prepare them for adulthood. While most youth navigate this period successfully, others may need additional support to be healthy and thrive. This support is often provided through prevention or intervention programs designed to promote healthy behaviors and outcomes from adolescence through adulthood. Accordingly, the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health (OASH) in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services requested that the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine convene an ad hoc committee to review key questions related to the effective implementation of the Teen Pregnancy Prevention (TPP) program using an optimal health lens. To carry out this review, the National Academies convened the nine-member Committee on Applying Lessons of Optimal Adolescent Health to Improve Behavioral Outcomes for Youth. In this report, the committee uses an optimal health framework to (1) identify core components of risk behaviour 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. 

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