4 Troubled Teens Blog

Gwenn Schurgin O’Keefe, a pediatrician and mother of two, knows that her children have been bullied -- and that they're not alone. Conservative figures estimate that 25 percent of kids are physically bullied at some point, and as many as 42 percent endure cyberbullying -- being harassed via the Internet or cell phones.

In an article for Gatehouse News Service, Dr. O'Keefe urged parents and other caregivers to make sure that they are paying attention to children who are -- or are at risk of -- being bullied:

What we fail to realize as parents it that kids don't categorize situations as we do. Situations we view as "not bad" or "mild" are still incredibly painful. In fact, in the case of bullying, it all hurts, and it's extremely challenging to categorize it.

We can look back after the fact in some cases, such as the tragic suicide death of Phoebe Phoenix of South Hadley High School in South Hadley, Mass., and recognize how intense that was with nothing being done.

However, all bullying is intense and does escalate. That means we have to pay attention to each and every report of bullying and stop it before it gets to the point of no return for the victim and before they feel so helpless that he or she reaches for some extreme cry for help ... Those extreme cries for help mean that the system and adults within that system have let that child down and failed to protect that child.

Labels: parental_involvement, bullying, cyberbullying

Posted By: Aspen/CRC 0 Comments

A new study out of Finland has found that teens who engage in cyberbullying, and the teens they bully, are more likely to suffer from emotional and mental health issues. The research team surveyed over 2,200 teenagers for their study.

“Compared to teens who didn’t engage in [cyberbullying], they were also more prone to suffering from emotional, concentration and behavior problems. In addition, they had trouble getting along with others and often suffered from hyperactivity and conduct problems. Cyberbullies also frequently smoked or got drunk, reported headaches, and were more prone to not feeling safe at school…” [Source: Health Day News]

Cyberbullying victims have similar behavioral and emotional issues, and are also more likely to come from broken homes. Though the study found a connection between these issues and cyberbullying, it didn’t find a conclusive cause-and-effect relationship.

Labels: bullying, cyberbullying, mental_health

Posted By: Aspen Education Group 0 Comments

An 18-year-old freshman at Rutgers University in New Jersey jumped to his death from the George Washington Bridge, after his roommate posted a video on the Internet of his intimate encounter with another man.

Authorities are now determining how to charge Dharum Ravi and his friend Molly Wei, also a college student. So far Ravi faces five years in prison for invasion of privacy, but that could increase to ten years if his crime is deemed a "hate crime" against homosexuals. The case is very high-profile, with activists demanding that Ravi and Wei be charged with manslaughter.

The victim, Tyler Clementi, was a violinist majoring in music, whom friends described as "shy and brilliant."

This latest incident is among the higher-profile incidences of cyberbullying, but unfortunately is not the first suicide of a young person linked to that activity. A Massachusetts high school student, newly arrived from Ireland, hanged herself after being teased publicly on the Internet; in 2008, an 18-year-old girl committed suicide after her boyfriend circulated nude pictures of her; and 13-year-old Seth Welsh also killed himself after cyberbullying incidents.

Legal experts point out that the statutes in New Jersey and other states have simply not kept up with technology.

Ironically, Rutgers University officials were implementing a new course to teach students how to be civil while they are on the Internet.
 

Labels: suicide, cyberbullying

Posted By: CRC Health 1 Comment