4 Troubled Teens Blog

About 19 million new cases of sexually transmitted infections occur every year, with half of them among young people ages 15 to 19 years old, according to new estimates from the Centers for Disease Control.

• There were 1.2 million new cases of Chlamydia and about 337,000 cases of gonorrhea in 2008, the year of the latest report.
• Young women ages 15 to 19 years old had the most new cases of any other age group.
• Girls are at higher risk, because these diseases, if left untreated, can cause infertility, pregnancy problems, and infections in newborns.

Dr. John Douglas, director of the division of sexually transmitted diseases in the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said that better sex education could help.

"We are not honestly and openly dealing with this issue and of the larger issue of sexual health," Dr. Douglas said.

Labels: teenagers, sexually_transmitted_diseases

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It's a dichotomy unique to raising a teenager: You don't want your child out drinking and partying, but if he has fewer friends and stays home a lot, you worry that hes anti-social and unhappy.

What's a parent to do with the teenager who likes staying home on a Friday night and isn't part of the "in crowd"?

You may want to fix your teenage child, but you also need to consider that he may not need fixing. ...

Were your son totally friendless, spending all his time alone in his room playing online video games, if he constantly seemed depressed or irritable -- then you would definitely want to intervene. (Source: The Globe and Mail)

Some kids are just more introverted. They like having a few close friends. They like being home. And while those concepts may run counter to our beliefs about teenagers, they're not necessarily bad.

Many parents would give just about anything for their teenage child to be home more often. A child who is less social but also happy and well-adjusted isn't one about whom parents should worry.

Labels: teenagers, social_pressures

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Teenagers runaway for a multitude of reasons. Some are trying to escape truly abusive and destructive homes. Others are simply frustrated, feeling like they can't meet their parents expectations; or perhaps they are dealing with something they don't feel they can share with their parents.

In a column in the Windsor Star, psychotherapist Barbara Burrows advised the mother of a teen runaway not to turn her back on her daughter:

Certainly parents will recognize how worried, guilty or upset they can feel about troubles with teenagers. Teenagers hide very well the fact that they usually feel as desperate as parents. Teens may even feel that they have ruined any hope that parents could ever love them again. ...

The more you can keep trying to reach her and approach this problem without getting too upset, the more you help her understand that whatever problems she faces, things are manageable. Teach her by your example, that through discussion, there is a solution to life's most difficult dilemmas.

Leaving home can be a traumatic experience for teens as well as parents. But responding to the problem in a calm, reasoned manner can help end the crisis and improve the substance and quality of the family members' relationships with each other.

Labels: runaways, teenagers, parenting_help

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Parents, school administrators, and other concerned individuals are searching for answers in the wake of two teen suicides and a suicide attempt by a third, all of whom were students at Gunn High School in Palo Alto, Calif. A June 5 article by NBC Bay Area reporters Owen Thomas and George Kiriyama provided the following details:

A month ago, JP Blanchard, a junior at Gunn, walked in front of a Caltrain. This week, 17-year-old Sonya Raymakers also killed herself by crossing in front of a commuter train. She was due to graduate in two weeks. Her parents are holding a funeral service on Friday.

At 8:30 p.m. [June 4], the third Gunn student, who has not been identified, was caught by his mother attempting to cross the Caltrain tracks. ...

This latest suicide attempt took place even as parents and students attended a meeting at a community center in Palo Alto to discuss suicide and depression.

"It sets up a kind of pattern where somebody has been having thoughts about it might find it easier to do," said Dr. Bruce Bienenstock, a child psychiatrist. "I think it puts us all higher on alert to be sensitive to what's going on with them right now."

Teen suicide has been associated with a number of causes, including teen depression, anxiety, poor self-image, bullying, and drug and alcohol abuse.

Labels: suicide, teenagers

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Law enforcement officials in the Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, are have seen enough cases of teenage prescription drug abuse to consider it a major threat. The fight against prescription drug abuse, however, is aimed at not at the teens themselves, but at their parents. A June 21 article by Daniel Victor of the Patriot News provides details:

"We're seeing more and more prescribed drug abuse among young people, and part of it is the accessibility," said Dennis McMaster, police chief at the East Pennsboro Police Department. "They're stealing it from mom and dad, grandma and grandpa." ...

Some teenagers tend to think the drugs are safer than street drugs because they've been prescribed to someone, said [Lt. Gary Seefeldt of the Lower Paxton Police Department]. But experts say they carry just as much risk.

"They sometimes carry the veneer of safety, but when kids are abusing them and using them recreationally, these are highly addicting medications," [Elizabeth Planet, who manages Columbia University's annual teen survey] said. "They're not safe when used not as prescribed."

A recent media campaign by the White House helped increase awareness of prescription drug dangers among parents from forty to eighty percent.

A 2008 survey by Columbia University found that teenagers feel prescription drugs are easier to get than beer. It also found that 65 percent of prescription drugs that teens abuse came from parents or parents of friends.

Labels: parental_involvement, prescription_drug_abuse, teenagers, police

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Most parents agree that keeping a close eye on their kids is important. Many insist that computers be kept in a common area when kids can't hide what theyre doing online. Parents get to know their kids' friends (and the friends' parents), and stay up-to-date on daily activities.

But is it ever OK for a parent to go behind his childs back? Search his room? Log on to his MySpace page? According to a number of parenting experts, the answer to these questions is "no."

Many experts feel that snooping on your child does more harm than good. Spying can destroy your childs trust and make it less likely for him to confide in you when hes in trouble. Its best to discuss your concerns with him, keep the lines of communication open and let him know he can talk to you about anything.(Source: MyOptumHealth)

Snooping should only be a last resort that follows numerous attempts to talk to your child and strong evidence that he is engaging in dangerous behavior but wont be honest about it. Before violating your child's privacy, be sure that you can defend your actions, and that youve exhausted all other options.

Labels: parental_involvement, teenagers, privacy

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A very popular TV show may be encouraging children and teenagers to smoke, according to a study in the Medical Journal of Australia.

Dr. Guy Eslick and his colleagues found that long-running prime-time cartoon "The Simpsons" contains a large number of references to smoking, and certain key characters on the program smoke. He also found, however, that most of the references to smoking were negative.

Dr. Eslick went through 18 seasons of the program and found almost 800 references to smoking. "Viewing 'The Simpsons' characters smoking may prompt children to consider smoking at an early age," he concluded.

Teen smoking has been associated with a wide range of health risks and behavioral problems. Studies have shown that teens who smoke are more likely to drink alcohol and abuse other drugs than are non-smoking teens.

Labels: television, teenagers, smoking

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Nearly two dozen cities in Minnesota have law about "social hosting." These laws hold adults accountable for providing alcohol to underage drinkers. But another Minnesota city may soon have a more serious regulation on the books.

Chaska was the first area city to pass such a law, in 2007. Adults there who host gatherings and "know or reasonably should know" that minors are drinking can be arrested.

But Minnetonka would prosecute adults who host gatherings where conditions are "ripe" for underage drinking but don't take steps to stop it." (Source: The Star-Tribune)

The challenge with the ordinance in Chaska, and others like it, is that the adult has to know an underage person could or would consume alcohol. The Minnetonka law removes that challenge, making adults easier to prosecute when they're complicit in allowing a situation to develop in which underage drinking is likely.

Though some parents mistakenly believe that alcohol is a relatively harmless substance, the truth is that teen drinking is a dangerous activity that puts young people at increased risk for a wide range of problems.

Labels: parental_involvement, laws, teenagers, alcohol_abuse

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Teens who drink when they are depressed are more likely to have suicidal thoughts, according to a study that was published in the Journal of Adolescent Health.

Dr. Elizabeth Schilling of the University of Connecticut Health Care Centerstudied 32,000 young people in grades three to 12. About 12 percent said they drank when they were depressed. Of this group, one in five had attempted suicide. "Drinking while down was associated with significantly greater risk of suicide attempts among those not reporting suicidal ideation in the past year," Dr. Schilling said.

With teen suicide rates remaining disturbingly high, experts advise parents to be on the lookout for any indications that their children are suffering from depression or are engaging in substance abuse as a means of dealing with stress and pressure.

Labels: suicide, depression, teenagers, substance_abuse, drinking

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A study that was conducted at the University of Oxford (England) has revealed that children whose fathers suffer from depression are at increased risk of developing anxiety, depression, and substance abuse disorders. In a May 3, 2009, article on British news website Telegraph.co.uk, medical correspondent Kate Devlin reported the following about the Oxford study:

Children whose parents suffer from depression in the weeks after their birth are twice as likely to go on to develop behavioural and emotional problems.

Teenage children of depressed fathers are also more likely to go onto develop depression themselves and even consider suicide, while alcoholic fathers are more likely to have children who suffer from mood disorders, depression and get hooked on drink and drugs.

The report also shows that teenagers whose parents suffer from manic depression, also called bipolar disorder, are up to 10 times more likely than their classmates to develop the condition themselves and between three and four times more likely to develop other psychiatric illnesses.

Previous studies have noted that as many as 20 percent of all teenagers suffer from depression, with more than 70 percent of teen depression cases going undiagnosed or untreated.

Labels: depression, mental_health, mental_illness, teenagers, fathers

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A study of more than 300 white middle-class teenagers found that most believe participation in civic activities is an obligation. However, girls in the study believed it should take the form of volunteer service, whereas boys thought political involvement, such as voting and taking part in public demonstrations, was more important.

Dr. Aaron Metzger of the University of Illinois in Chicago performed the research, which was published in the journal Child Development.

Dr. Metzger said that adolescent involvement in civic and community activities is thought to lead to increased civic activity in adulthood. Teens who participate the most often usually come to believe that such activity is an obligation, not a personal issue.

Community service is a component of many wilderness programs and therapeutic boarding schools -- not as a punitive experience, but rather as a means of connecting struggling students with the world around them, and fostering a sense of service to others.

Labels: teenagers, community, volunteering

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A study from Murdoch Childrens Research Institute in Australia has determined that there is no "safe and sensible" level of drinking for teenagers.

Elya Moore tracked 1,520 children for ten years, starting when the subjects were in their mid-teens. Moore's team discovered that even teens whose drinking would fall within the "low-risk" level for adults (no more than three drinks a day) were at increased risk for alcoholism, social and legal problems, and risky sexual behaviors.

Boys in particular were affected. The more a boy drank as a teenager, the more likely he was to develop alcohol-related problems as a young adult.

This is not the first research to establish a connection between teen drinking and other problems, as several studies have noted that relationship between teen alcohol use and depression. However, the Murdoch study emphasized the degree to which "safe" teen drinking may be little more than myth.

"We found that particularly for males that those who start drinking early had higher rates of alcoholic abuse and dependence, even if they started by drinking sensibly," said George Patton, director of adolescent health research at the Royal Childrens Hospital in Melbourne, Australia.

This study appeared in the Australia and New Zealand Journal of Public Health.

Labels: research, teenagers, alcoholism

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Your teenager's next visit to the doctor could include an emotional check-up as well as a physical one. The U.S. Preventative Services Task Force recently recommended that kids between the ages of 12 and 18 be regularly screened for depression -- a recommendation that has moved teen depression to the forefront of adolescent care.

Major depression affects more than 5 percent of teens and is linked with suicide, substance abuse and other serious problems. Yet it often goes undiagnosed and untreated. (Source: USA Today)

The Task Force has urged the screening for all teenagers, not just those who appear to be "troubled," and recommends a simple questionnaire as a starting point.

Regular screening should continue throughout adolescence, the task force recommended, even if no "red flags" are raised during the initial evaluation.

Labels: depression, mental_health, mental_illness, teenagers

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Officer Al Cruz spent 20 years as an Army Ranger. In 2003, he joined the police force, and last summer he started a soccer league, aimed at reaching out to at-risk youth. Every Monday evening he can be seen in a Springfield, Virginia gym, trying to hold his own against a group of middle school students.

After the match, he assembles the players on the bleachers. Each opportunity to connect may be his last ... He starts talking about drugs and gangs. Most of these boys aren't into drugs gangs, but a few are on the edge. (Source: The Washington Post)

Cruz worries that, as winter gives way to spring, Monday night soccer will lose its appeal and the kids will be back on the streets. The first day of summer soccer arrives, with torrential rain and gusty winds. But 40 kids show up anyway. Forty kids in the rain, Cruz calculates, means 200 kids on a sunny day. Two hundred kids staying out of trouble and learning to be part of a team.

Officer Cruz's effort is the latest in a long line of mentoring programs that have been established to provide guidance, direction, and motivation for troubled or at-risk adolescents and teenagers.

Labels: sports, mentoring, teenagers, adolescent

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Current statistics tell us that about one in five teenagers intentionally abuse prescription drugs. While parents and teachers may be aware of the problem of teen prescription drug abuse, they may not realize that it is so prevalent. What has caused such a dramatic increase in this type of drug abuse? An Oregon newspaper cited three causes for the rise in prescription medication abuse among teens and adolescents: availability, access, and awareness.

Availability: There are many prescription and over-the-counter drugs that have potential for abuse. They are being used more frequently and are readily available. Access: The drugs are easy to get ... Awareness: The visibility of these drugs has increased through television advertisements. (Source: Statesman Journal)

There is also a general attitude among teenagers that prescription drugs are less risky than illicit street drugs because they come from a doctor. Parents, teachers and other adults need to help raise awareness about the dangers of prescription drugs, and parents need to make sure that their medications are locked up and inaccessible.

Labels: prescription_drug_abuse, teenagers, adolescent

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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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A Canadian study of teenaged smokers found that most were trying to quit, but could not. The average boy who starts smoking at 16 years will smoke for another sixteen years; the average girl, for another twenty.

Researchers at the University of Montreal kept track of 319 teenagers for five years. Seventy percent tried to quit, but only 19 percent managed to remain smoke-free for a year. At the beginning of the study, the teens were 12 to 13 years old, and only occasional smokers. By the end of the study, the majority were smoking on a daily basis.

This study appeared in the American Journal of Public Health.

Learn more: Help for Teens Quitting the Smoking Habit

Labels: teenagers, smoking, smokers

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From 1997 through 2003, the number of teenage smokers in the United States dropped from 36.4 percent to 21.9 percent. But recent data shows that the percentage has remained largely unchanged over the past five years, prompting some to worry that anti-smoking campaigns are beginning to fail.

"[Terry] Pechacek [of the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention] blamed the trend in part on cuts on anti-smoking campaigns by states that had been funded by a nationwide 1998 settlement of a class-action lawsuit against the tobacco industry....At the same time, cigarette companies have continued to increase their spending on promotional activities...."

This data comes from the Youth Risk Behavior Survey, which is conducted every two years. The YRBS questions students in grades nine through 12 about various risky behaviors including the use of drugs, alcohol, and tobacco. Source: San Francisco Chronicle

Labels: prevention, teenagers, smoking

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