Tuesday, December 7, 2010: Recent Teen Mental Health and Substance Abuse News
Teens who hit siblings more likely to hit their dates
“There’s an intriguing and troubling study out today by the Boston University School of Public Health that found adolescents who have used physical violence, such as hitting or punching, against a sibling or peer in the past month are more likely to engage in physical dating violence than non-violent adolescents.” Click here to read the rest of this study from the Boston Department of Public Health.
For LGBT teens, acceptance is critical
“Family acceptance of LGBT youth predicts positive outcomes in mental health, self esteem, and overall health status, finds a study in the Journal of Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Nursing. And nonheterosexual young people are more likely to receive punishments in a school or criminal justice setting, says a study in Pediatrics.” Click here to read the rest of this article from CNN. Click here to read a similar story from the San Francisco Chronicle.
Inside one boy’s anorexia: How can I burn the most calories?
“And more children like him are developing eating disorders early, researchers warned this week in a report in the journal Pediatrics. Between 1999 and 2006, the age group with the sharpest increase of hospitalizations from eating disorders was under 12 years old.The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality reported a 119 percent rise.” Click here to read the rest of this story from CNN.
Rate of eating disorders in kids keeps rising
Eating disorders have risen steadily in children and teens over the last few decades, with some of the sharpest increases occurring in boys and minority youths, according to a new report.” Click here to read the rest of this story from Health Day.
Teens Talk Stress
“Today’s teens feel stressed out. From school to relationships to college and beyond, high school students deal with pressure from a variety of sources. StageofLife.com, a teen blogging and writing resource, welcomed 2,733 students to its monthly blogging contest for teens to answer the prompt, “What stresses you out?” Click here to read the responses.