4 Troubled Teens Blog

Two new major studies found that being physically abused as a child significantly increases the risk for migraine headaches as a teenager or adult.

• Dr. Esme Fuller-Thomson of the University of Toronto analyzed data from a 2005 health survey of 13,000 Canadians.
  
• Seven percent of the studied youth reported having been physically abused as children.
• Among that group, 18 percent had migraines as adults, compared to 9 percent in the survey who had not been physically abused.
  
• Dr. Fuller-Thomson's team looked at other reasons for migraines, such as parental unemployment, drinking or drug use and found that even with such histories, there still was a 36 percent greater risk of migraine among adults who had been physically abused as children.

The second study was from Dr. Jong Ling Fuh and his colleagues at Taipei Veterans General Hospital in Taiwan, who looked at headache symptoms and histories of physical abuse among 4000 children ages 13 to 15-years-old.

• In this study, 30 percent of the teenagers who had been physically abused had migraines compared to 21% of teens who had not been abused.
  
• The more frequent the abuse, the greater the risk of migraine.

Both studies appeared in the journal Headache.

Labels: child_abuse, health, trauma

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The media is awash in stories about alleged sexual abuse by clergymen. Victims continue to come forward from communities around the world. However, in a March 27 article in The Oregonian, columnist Susan Nielsen notes that this may be just the tip of the iceberg:

At least one in five girls and one in 10 boys experiences unwanted sexual touching or other sex abuse, based on federal data and research cited by the National Center for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Most of the bad actors in these cases are not priests or pastors. They are stepfathers, family friends, fathers and neighbors.

The majority are never held accountable.

"I think of that as the hidden iceberg," says legal scholar Marci Hamilton, a national authority on child abuse at the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law and the author of Justice Denied: What America Must Do to Protect Its Children. ...

Traditionally, about 90 percent of victims dont speak out, and the reasons are as messy and common as the crimes themselves. It can take decades for victims to shake off enough of the shame to stop feeling responsible.

"Denial and survival play a huge part in the reason why victims of abuse 'wait' to come forward," or never say a word, says Kristi Kernal of Beaverton, a co-founder and board member of OAASIS, Oregon Abuse Advocates and Survivors in Service.

Labels: child_abuse, trauma, sexual abuse, children

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Two new studies reveal the degree to which being abused as a child can inflict serious long-term damage.

The first study was conducted by Dr. Magdalena Romanowicz of the Mayo Clinic.

• Dr. Romanowicz found that a history of child abuse is linked to an increase in suicide attempts, depression, earlier onset of mental illnesses, more psychiatric hospitalizations, and higher rates of personality disorders.
• Presenting her findings at the American Psychiatric Association meeting, Dr. Romanowicz said that her study shows a need for "a more aggressive approach" to stopping child abuse.

The second study was by Professor Lauren Wise of Boston University.

• Prof. Wise studied records of 35,000 African-American women ages 21 to 69 years old from the Black Women Health Study.
• More than 43 percent of the women Prof. Wise studied had been physically abused, and 18 percent had been sexually abused.
• The women who had been abused as children were 26 percent more likely to menstruate early (before age 12 years old).
• Prof. Wise's study was published in the American Journal of Public Health.

Child abuse and neglect remain serious problems both in the United States and throughout the world. Parents who were abused as children may grow up to become abusers themselves, which can continue a destructive cycle of youth mental health and substance abuse disorders.

Labels: child_abuse, mental_illness

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Child sexual abuse used to be an extremely taboo subject. But more people are willing to talk, and so are more children  which is a necessary first step if the child is going to heal from such a traumatic event.

"'Sometimes it can be very intense when a child is explaining a story, some of the allegations society can't even fathom,' said [Kristi] Turner. 'It's hard for me being in this profession being used to heard those stories, but people who aren't in this profession would be totally shocked by some of the things that we hear.'"

Children who are sexually abused are at an increased risk of developing eating disorders, abusing drugs or alcohol, failing in school and becoming victims of domestic violence. They need to know that it's ok to tell someone, so that they can get help.

A private boarding school, like the Academy at Swift River, can offer teens a safe environment where they can focus on academics and personal growth. Visit SwiftRiver.com for more information about their therapeutic boarding school program for troubled teens.

Labels: child_abuse, trauma, risky_behaviors

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