4 Troubled Teens Blog

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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Diagnosing a child with "severe mood dysregulation" or "temper dysregulation with dysphoria" may be a better idea than diagnosing them with bipolar disorder, according to an article in the Journal of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Mental Health.

If agreed upon, these terms would replace bipolar disorder in the new edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual used by physicians to diagnose and treat mental disease.

"Physicians do not know exactly what is wrong with these children or how to treat it," the authors wrote. "Facing up to these limitations could lead to better treatment recommendations and more accurate long-term prognosis."

Even children as young as two and three years old displaying severe mood swings and violent temper tantrums are being diagnosed with bipolar disorder, a disease that physicians formerly believed began in late adolescence.

Health insurance companies can demand certain diagnoses such as bipolar disorder in order to pay for treatment.

Labels: children, dsm-v, bipolar

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Three drug companies have asked the Federal Drug Administration's review board to approve the use of antipsychotic drugs for children as young as 10 years old who have bipolar disorder or schizophrenia.

A June 5 Reuters article by Lisa Richwine and Susan Heavey provided the following details about the request:

The Food and Drug Administration is considering whether to approve AstraZeneca's Seroquel, Pfizer's Geodon and Eli Lilly and Co's Zyprexa for children and teens with schizophrenia or bipolar disorder. All three are blockbuster medicines already sold for adults.

An FDA panel meets next week to make recommendations on the companies' bids to promote the drugs for children and teens.

Doctors can already prescribe them for children, but FDA approval would allow companies to promote the drugs, with combined sales of over $10 billion a year, more widely.

The request was followed by criticisms from organizations who are concerned about the effects of antipsychotic drugs on children.

"The studies done so far on these drugs provide almost no information about the long-term effects of them on children," said Diana Zuckerman of the National Research Center for Women and Families.

Labels: schizophrenia, children, bipolar, antipsychotic, medications, fda

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Younger children who are exposed to adult content on television are more likely to have sex at earlier ages, according to a study presented at the meeting of the Pediatric Academic Societies.

Dr. Hernan Delgado and his colleagues at Children's Hospital in Boston studied 754 12-year-old children, and then followed up when the subjects were 18 years old. The children had kept diaries of the television they watched over two-day periods. Every hour of adult television they watched as 12-year-olds increased by 33 percent their chances of having sex at a young age.

"Television and movies are among the leading sources of information regarding sex and relationships for adolescents," Dr. Delgado explained.

In addition to unplanned pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections, sexual behavior by young people may also indicate problems related to self-esteem, self-image, and teen substance abuse.

Labels: sex, children, teens, television

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Divorce is hard on every family it touches. Sometimes an unintended consequence is that the kids feel responsible -- thinking they did something wrong, something that caused one of their parents to want to leave.

Attorney-at-law Marjorie Shaw-Currie has seen instances like these as marriages dissolve in the divorce court. In fact, she said these situations are not rare and, when they occur, she prescribes counseling ... Divorce brings many changes, and changes are hard for children ... They may wonder, 'If my parents stop loving each other, can they stop loving me?' -- Source: Cleaner News (Jamaica)

Psychologist Karen Richards says parents should reassure their children of their love and ensure them that they are not to blame for their parents' divorce. During and after a divorce, every family member will need time to process and to grieve. Make sure kids have an opportunity to do this, whether it's through talking to a parent, confiding in a teacher, or attending sessions with a trained pediatric counselor.

Regardless of parents' marital status, keeping the lines of communication open is an important part of promoting healthy childhood development, and has even been cited as a means of reducing adolescent and teen depression.

Labels: parental_involvement, depression, children, divorce

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First and second graders who report above average levels of anxiety are more likely to be depressed as adolescents. Girls in primary grades who exhibit anti-social behaviors are particularly at risk.

Researchers from the University of Washington followed 800 children in first and second grade until they entered the eighth and tenth grades. Dr. James Mazza and his colleagues asked the children, their family, and teachers about their levels of depression, social skills, and anti-social behaviors.

"One finding from this study that is a mind-grabber is that young children can identify themselves as being anxious and depressed," said Dr. Mazza. "We were a bit surprised because we thought they'd say, 'My life is fun and I play a lot.'" This supports the notion that even children as young as 6 years old can provide valuable information about themselves.

Boys who display anti-social behaviors and anxiety as very young children often continue to "act out" in anti-social ways. Girls tend to turn their anxiety inward, and suffer from eating disorders, anxiety, and suicidal behaviors as adolescents.

This study appears in the Journal of Early Adolescence.

Labels: depression, children, teenagers

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Children under eight years old with mental health problems benefit from using support services, according to a new study from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA).

• Researchers found that 31 percent of the children showed decreases in their behavioral and emotional problems within the first six months of using a care system. 
• One-third of their caregivers reported fewer disruptions in family routines and fewer missed days of work within the first six months.
• The caregivers also said they had fewer feelings of sadness and isolation.

Previous government studies found that good social skills among kindergartners are linked to doing better in school, which can be another justification for early intervention. Young people who receive age-appropriate mental health services for issues such as adolescent depression are more likely to finish high school and less likely to get involved with legal authorities.
 

Labels: children, mental_health

Posted By: Jane St. Clair 1 Comment