4 Troubled Teens Blog

A new study from Australia finds that teenagers believe there are differences between being popular and being well-liked.

• Dr. Stephanie Hawke interviewed 200 teenagers, asking them what it means to be popular and how popular kids act.
• The teens told Dr. Hawke that popular teens were likely to be bullies who engage in risk-taking behaviors, such as sex and teen drug use.
• On the other hand, well-liked teenagers were described as people who were true to themselves.
• Being popular was related to what group you associated with, rather than how you were as a person.

The good news from the study was that as children in their late teens tended to find a balance between popularity and being well-liked.

By age 17 or so, Dr. Hawke said, teens develop their own sense of self rather than just going with the flow.

Labels: bullying, research, peers, drug_use, popular

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A new study from the University of Kentucky found that only 10% of the 1.4 million American teenagers with substance abuse problems receive treatment. One reason is that most teen treatment programs are of only medium quality.

Dr. Hannah Knudsen found that fewer than one-third of the addiction treatment programs have special teen components. Of the 154 programs she selected at random, only a small number scored high in nine areas of quality. The high-quality programs, fewer than 30% of those evaluated, offered more intensive treatment services, such as residential or inpatient treatment.

"For parents looking for high-quality programs that offer the most comprehensive array of services, a good indicator is whether the program has an inpatient or residential level of care," she said. "The lack of comprehensive services in substance abuse programs for teens raises questions about whether teens will get what they need since we know they are likely to have co-occurring psychiatric conditions and to engage in HIV high-risk behaviors."

This study appears in the Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment.

Labels: addictions, treatment_programs, drug_use

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Religious teens are less likely to use drugs, according to a study that was published in the Journal of Drug Issues.

The researchers found that individual religiosity is linked to a lowered likelihood of using alcohol or smoking, and decreases a teen's chances of using marijuana by half. However, religiosity did not affect cocaine or heroin abuse.

Researchers from Brigham Young University looked at answers to two questions that were posed to more than 14,000 teens: How often do you attend church? and How important is religion to you?

"Previously it was thought that if someone grew up in a religious community and went to church, then the community's religious strength would make a difference," said Professor Stephen Bahr, co-author of the study. "We basically found that was not the case. Individual religiosity is what makes the difference."

Labels: drug_use, influences, religion

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A concerned mom recently wrote into a Southern Utah advice column seeking help with her teenage daughter. At 16, her daughter's attitude and friends are beginning to change. While she doesn't want to judge either her daughter or her friends, she wants to make sure she's okay.

"Kids do change at this age and sometimes for the worse. In many cases, it's a phase, followed by another phase, and then another, and so on, until your child finds who they really are... One of the main purposes of adolescence is to form a personal identity that one can claim as their own."

Advice columnist Dr. Scott Jakubowski acknowledges the mom may have valid reasons for worrying. He suggests that she watch for signs - change in appetite, drop in grades, isolation, or defensiveness - that could indicate a problem with drugs. If the mom has reason to suspect her daughter is experimenting with drugs, Dr. Jakubowski urged her to get professional help as soon as possible. Source: The Spectrum

Labels: awareness, advice, drug_use

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A study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on teenagers and risky behavior was mostly good, with overall numbers down among the observed groups. But researchers noted a disturbing trend among Hispanic teens - that they're more likely to drink alcohol, use drugs, and have sex than are their Caucasian or African-American counterparts.

"Experts were unable to come up with an explanation for why Hispanic behavior trends differed. However, they speculated that school environments many Hispanics face may differ considerably from what adolescents of other races encounter."

Because the reasons for increased risky behavior were unclear, experts have yet to suggest solutions, but are working toward that end. The study's results come from surveys taken by about 14,000 U.S. high school students. Source: ABC News.

Labels: risky_behaviors, drug_use, drinking

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Anti-psychotic drugs do not control aggression in patients who have low IQs, even though such drugs have been used to do just that for over sixty years, according to a new study from Great Britain.

The new study is the first double-bind study that compares these drugs with placebos (sugar pills). Researchers divided 86 patients into two groups  one group took anti-psychotic drugs, and the other took placebos. Those who took the sugar pills actually showed less aggression than the ones who took the prescription drugs.

Psychiatrists and other physicians often prescribe drugs like Haldol and Risperdal to control tantrums and other behaviors in people with IQs below 70.

This study appears in the British science journal, The Lancet.

NorthStar Center offers adolescent drug treatment and a structured program to help teens and young adults in recovery.

Labels: aggression, treatment_programs, drug_use

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This year's Monitoring the Future survey has found that drug use among adolescents is continuing to decline. Reported use of some drugs declined significantly.

"Annual prevalence for the three grades combined [8th, 10th, and 12th] did fall significantly this year for both Ritalin and methamphetamine. Ritalin is a prescription amphetamine drug used to treat attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. Its use outside of medical supervision was first measured in the study in 2001; it has been falling since then, with total declines of between 25 percent and 42 percent at each grade level."

Though use of many drugs has decreased, some - unfortunately - have increased. Over-the-counter cold medication and ecstasy both increased, though neither increase was significant. Monitoring the Future is an annual study sponsored by the National Institute on Drug Abuse and conducted by the University of Michigan.

Labels: addictions, prescription_drug_abuse, drug_use

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At a recent gathering, Staten Island parents talked about the sharp drug use increase they've seen lately among their teenage children. Borough President James Molinaro expressed concern that most parents choose to ignore the early warning signs.

"Dr. Kipnis summarized the attitude of many parents he has spoken with as, 'We live in a great place. There's no one selling heroin on the corner, so I can't believe that my child is addicted.'"

Some parents also said that, because they grew up in the 1960s and 1970s - and may have used drugs themselves, they feel their authority as parents is compromised. However, Joe  the parent of a teen who started using marijuana but quickly progressed to harder drugs  says that's no excuse, explaining that a parent can't know if their kid will be the one who can't stop using. Read more at SILive.com.

Adolescent drug treatment programs can help get your teen's life back on track. Learn about the myth's of alcohol and teen drug abuse at AdolescentSubstanceAbuse.com.

Labels: drug_use, influences, role_models

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A new survey by the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse (CASA) has found that the presence of gangs and drugs is increasing in U.S. high schools. Gang participation has long been associated with increased risk of teen drug and alcohol abuse.

“According to the report, 66 percent of high school students said their schools were drug-infected, a steep increase from last year when 51 percent said their schools had drugs. In the newest survey, one in three middle-schoolers say drugs are used, kept, or sold at their school. Last year, 23 percent of children in middle school said they had drugs in their school.” [Source: CNN]

The report also found that kids who attend schools where both drugs and gangs are present were five times more likely to smoke marijuana, and almost five times more likely know someone who uses cocaine or other hard drugs. The study’s authors offered no explanation for the sudden increases.

Labels: drug_use, alcohol_abuse, gangs

Posted By: Jane St. Clair 2 Comments

Mentally ill people do not commit more crimes than anyone else. However, they are more likely to abuse drugs and alcohol, and substance abusers commit more violent crime, according to a new study from Europe.

• Dr. Seena Fazel analyzed records that went back thirty years of 8,000 people with schizophrenia and 3700 who have bipolar disorder.
• All participants lived in Sweden.
• The main finding of the study was "the relationship between violent crime and serious mental illness can be explained by alcohol and substance abuse. If you take away the substance abuse, the contribution of the illness itself is minimal."

People with mental illness who abuse substances have crime rates six to seven times higher than the general population. However, this rate is the same for all substance abusers.

"It's probably more dangerous walking outside a pub on a late night than walking outside a hospital where patients have been released," said Dr. Fazel, a lecturer and psychiatrist at the University of Oxford in Great Britain.

This study appears in the Archives of General Psychiatry.

Labels: violence, mental_health, drug_use, substance_abuse, alcohol_abuse

Posted By: Jane St. Clair 1 Comment