Results tagged “adolescents” from Heartland Happenings from www.heartlandcounseling.org
http://www.newsweek.com/id/137033
Perhaps no period of life is more fraught with obsessive worries about popularity, social hierarchies and reputations than that treacherous, three-year period known as middle school. The social anxieties of adolescence have driven plotlines from "The Wonder Years" to "Hannah Montana" where teens and pre-teens spend entire hours and episodes agonizing over what their peers think. Figuring out whether you'll end up being a cool prom king or queen bee--or the kid who eats alone in the cafeteria--is an integral part of becoming a teenager. Turns out, it doesn't necessarily matter. Whether or not your high class voted you "most popular," teenagers who perceive themselves as well liked are just as socially successful over time as the kids who actually are part of the in-crowd, according to a new study in the May-June issue of Child Development. In fact, the overlap between the kids who believe they're popular and those who are deemed popular by their peers is pretty small. "Certainly there's a subset that feels good about themselves and is also popular, but that isn't the majority," says Kathleen Boykin McElhaney, a research associate in psychology at University of Virginia who conducted the study. Her findings add to a growing body of research suggesting that our perception of how we fit into the social world is just as important--if not more important--than our real-life position in the social world. The researchers asked 164 students at a public middle school to tackle a nerve-wracking question: how well liked were they among their class? McElhaney gauged the students' popularity within the class with assessments from the teenagers' peers, asking them who they would "most like to spend time with on a Saturday night." She also had close friends rate the subjects' aggression and hostility, saying whether statements like "is mean to others" applied to the teen in question. The study began with a group of 13-year-olds; McElhaney checked back in with them a year later to gauge whether each teen was doing better or worse socially. "We were measuring their aggression and hostility, along with a peer rating of whether people want to hang out with the teen," she explains. Half of her finding wasn't particularly surprising: the popular kids fare great socially, with their peers becoming more interested in hanging out with them over the year. But the teenagers who felt good about their place on the social ladder did just as well; they became less hostile and their peers became more interested in spending Saturday night with them even if they weren't ranked as particularly well liked. "If you're popular, sure, you do well, but the same is true if you felt that you were socially accepted," says McElhaney. "And if you look at both of those effects together--popularity and self-perceived social acceptance, we found that either one was OK." The one group of teenagers who did not fare well socially were those who did not perceive themselves as well liked and were not ranked as popular by their peers. These kids were viewed as more hostile toward their peers as the year went on and they were less sought out by their classmates over time. "They're not at all on the radar screen," says McElhaney. "They don't see themselves as accepted and that's where it's most problematic, when you don't have either that popularity or sense that you're well liked."
Perhaps no period of life is more fraught with obsessive worries about popularity, social hierarchies and reputations than that treacherous, three-year period known as middle school. The social anxieties of adolescence have driven plotlines from "The Wonder Years" to "Hannah Montana" where teens and pre-teens spend entire hours and episodes agonizing over what their peers think. Figuring out whether you'll end up being a cool prom king or queen bee--or the kid who eats alone in the cafeteria--is an integral part of becoming a teenager. Turns out, it doesn't necessarily matter. Whether or not your high class voted you "most popular," teenagers who perceive themselves as well liked are just as socially successful over time as the kids who actually are part of the in-crowd, according to a new study in the May-June issue of Child Development. In fact, the overlap between the kids who believe they're popular and those who are deemed popular by their peers is pretty small. "Certainly there's a subset that feels good about themselves and is also popular, but that isn't the majority," says Kathleen Boykin McElhaney, a research associate in psychology at University of Virginia who conducted the study. Her findings add to a growing body of research suggesting that our perception of how we fit into the social world is just as important--if not more important--than our real-life position in the social world. The researchers asked 164 students at a public middle school to tackle a nerve-wracking question: how well liked were they among their class? McElhaney gauged the students' popularity within the class with assessments from the teenagers' peers, asking them who they would "most like to spend time with on a Saturday night." She also had close friends rate the subjects' aggression and hostility, saying whether statements like "is mean to others" applied to the teen in question. The study began with a group of 13-year-olds; McElhaney checked back in with them a year later to gauge whether each teen was doing better or worse socially. "We were measuring their aggression and hostility, along with a peer rating of whether people want to hang out with the teen," she explains. Half of her finding wasn't particularly surprising: the popular kids fare great socially, with their peers becoming more interested in hanging out with them over the year. But the teenagers who felt good about their place on the social ladder did just as well; they became less hostile and their peers became more interested in spending Saturday night with them even if they weren't ranked as particularly well liked. "If you're popular, sure, you do well, but the same is true if you felt that you were socially accepted," says McElhaney. "And if you look at both of those effects together--popularity and self-perceived social acceptance, we found that either one was OK." The one group of teenagers who did not fare well socially were those who did not perceive themselves as well liked and were not ranked as popular by their peers. These kids were viewed as more hostile toward their peers as the year went on and they were less sought out by their classmates over time. "They're not at all on the radar screen," says McElhaney. "They don't see themselves as accepted and that's where it's most problematic, when you don't have either that popularity or sense that you're well liked."
Getting the cool kids to talk to their peers about the dangers of
smoking cut the number of young people who started using cigarettes in
one study by nearly 25 percent, British researchers said on Friday.
The study published in the journal Lancet took a different approach than most tobacco cessation programs aimed at youths by asking students to nominate others they viewed as influential or leaders to spread the anti-smoking message.
This peer selection proved more effective than conventional programs and greatly reduced the number of students likely to start smoking, the researchers said.
http://www.reuters.com/article/healthNews/idUSL0811076420080508
Millions of teens report feeling hopeless and losing interest in everyday activities for weeks at a time. And many of these teens are making a bad situation worse by using marijuana and other drugs in an effort to make themselves feel better.
Research shows that using marijuana can worsen depression and lead to more serious mental health problems. In fact, teens who used marijuana at least once a month in the past year are three times more likely to have suicidal thoughts than teens who don’t use marijuana.1
For parents, this means it’s critical to pay closer attention to your teen’s behavior and mood swings, and recognize that marijuana and other drugs could be playing a dangerous role in your child’s life. Follow these steps to help prevent and recognize marijuana use in your home:
1. Talk to your teen -- Young people who learn about the risks of drugs at home are up to 50 percent less likely to try drugs than those who don’t get that same information from their parents.2 You are the most important influence in your teen’s life when it comes to drugs, so make sure your teen knows the facts about marijuana.
2. Set clear rules -- Discuss your expectations with your children, setting rules with clear consequences for breaking them, as well as praising and rewarding good behavior.
3. Recognize signs and symptoms -- There are a number of ways to identify whether your child is having psychological problems related to marijuana use. Look for signs of depression, withdrawal, hostility, etc.
If you think your child might be depressed, be on the lookout for these symptoms: loss of appetite, feeling blue, loss of interest in things that used to be of interest, being bothered by things that previously were not bothersome, and not feeling hopeful about the future.3
You should also note if your child is doing well in school, getting along with friends, or taking part in sports or other activities. If there have been marked changes in your teen’s activities, it’s time to do some more homework. Look for evidence of drug paraphernalia such as pipes, rolling papers and so on; missing prescription drugs—especially narcotics and mood stabilizers; and bottles of eye drops, which mask bloodshot eyes.
4. Get help -- Depression is one of the most common emotional problems for teens and the good news is that it’s also one of the most treatable conditions. If you recognize any of the above signs in your child’s behavior, there are many helpful organizations for families. Consult these resources for more information or turn to your family physician for advice.
http://www.theantidrug.com/drug_info/mjmh-depression.asp
http://www.theantidrug.com/drug_info/mjmh-depression.asp
Oregon Health & Science University psychiatrist Jerald Block, M.D., will present new research on the psychiatric factors that can lead to school shootings.There have been at least a dozen school shootings in American schools and universities within the past three years, resulting in the deaths of more than 50 students. In 1998 Oregon's Thurston High School in Springfield was the scene of a school shooting in which two students were killed and 25 others wounded.
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New drug research suggests that teens may get addicted and relapse more easily than adults because developing brains are more powerfully motivated by drug-related cues. This conclusion has been reached by researchers who found that adolescent rats given cocaine – a powerfully addicting stimulant – were more likely than adults to prefer the place where they got it. That learned association endured: Even after experimenters extinguished the drug-linked preference, a small reinstating dose of cocaine appeared to rekindle that preference – but only in the adolescent rats.
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Girls with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder stand a substantially greater risk of developing eating disorders in adolescence than girls without ADHD, a new study has found.
"Adolescent girls with ADHD frequently develop body-image dissatisfaction and may go through repeating cycles of binge eating and purging behaviors that are common in bulimia nervosa," said University of Virginia psychologist Amori Yee Mikami, who led the study.
http://www.virginia.edu/uvatoday/newsRelease.php?id=4502
Girls in high school take as many math courses as boys, influenced by close friends and peers who are doing well in school. More than boys, girls look to their close friends when they make important decisions, such as whether to take math and what math classes to take, confirming how significant peers are during adolescence.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/02/080207085618.htm
Adolescent girls who frequently eat meals with their families appear less likely to use diet pills, laxatives or other extreme measures to control their weight five years later, according to a new report.
A propensity for activities in the evening rather than in the morning may offer clues to behavioral problems in early adolescence, according to psychologists who have found that kids who prefer evenings are more likely to exhibit antisocial behavior, rule-breaking, and attention problems.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/07/070711001429.htm
