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Understanding Your Teen Archives
-
Teens' Brain Growth
and Behavior Linked(2008)
Some Teens Emotions are
Developing Faster Than the Parts of Their Brains that Manage Those
Emotions.
- Key to Teen Social Success Found(2008)
A new study from the
University of Virginia suggests that
the way teens view their popularity is as equally important as their
true social standing.
- Adolescent Girls Who Feel Unpopular Are More Likely to Gain Weight
Adolescent girls who placed themselves on the
low end of the school subjective social status scale had a 69%
increased odds of having a 2-unit increase in BMI. (2008)
- Exposure to Smoking in Movies Predicts Risk of
Becoming an Established Smoker (2007)
Exposure to smoking in movies by adolescents predicts
a risk of becoming an established smoker, an outcome linked with
adult dependent smoking and its associated morbidity and mortality.
- Sexualization of Girls Has
Many Negative Consequences
The sexualization of girls, which occurs in a
variety of manners (including through media and toys), has negative
cognitive, emotional, physical, sexual, and social consequences.
(2007)
- Parents Make Teens Happy
Most young people find that their relationship
with their parents makes them happy and many also view one or both
of their parents as heroes. (2007)
- Teens: Sex Now Leads to
Unhappiness
Many young people indicate that being sexually
active leads to less happiness, especially in the long run.
(2007)
- Teenage Births May Run in
the Family
Adolescent girls whose sisters experienced a teenage birth are more
likely to also experience a teenage birth themselves.
(2007)
- TV's Family Hour Has More
Violence and Sexual Content than Ever
Primetime network family hour programming
contains an average of once instance of objectionable content every
3.5 minutes of non-commercial airtime. Since 2000-2001, violence in
the family hour has increased by 52.4% and the among of sexual
content has increased by 22.1%. (September 2007)
-
2hrs a Day of TV + No Parental Supervision =
Increased Teen Sex
Watching television for two or more hours per
day and a lack of parental regulation of television programming are
each associated with an increased risk of initiating sexual
intercourse among adolescents. (2006)
- Teens Desire for Sex Driven by
Expectation of Intimacy
Many teenagers think that sex will satisfy
their goals of intimacy, sexual pleasure, and social status.
Programs to prevent teen pregnancy and STDs may be more successful
if they acknowledge the relationship goals of adolescents and
address other ways to express sexuality and attain relationship
goals. (2006)
- Sex in Media Accelerates Sexual Activity
(2006)
Exposure to sexual content in music, movies,
television, and magazines accelerates white adolescents’ sexual activity and
increases their risk of engaging in early sexual intercourse.
- Friends' Religiosity
Associated with Delayed First Sex of Religious and Secular Youth
Study found that friends' religiosity is
associated with delayed first sex of religious and secular youth.
Additionally, the strength of the relationship between friends'
religiosity and first sex depends on the extent to which an
adolescent's friends are friends of each other. (2006)
- Sexual Content in Mass Media Accelerates
Sexual Activity in Many Adolescents
Exposure to sexual content in music, movies, television, and
magazines accelerates white adolescents’ sexual activity and
increases their risk of engaging in early sexual intercourse.
(2006)
- Many Teens Describe Relationship with Parents as
Excellent
In a
recent poll, a majority of teens described their relationship with
their parents as being excellent, better than with their teachers or
classmates or siblings. A majority described their parents as being
very involved in their lives and knowing just about everything that
went on, while fewer than 10% described their parents as uninvolved
and clueless. (July 31, 2005)
- Teens' Brain Not Fully Developed
What was once blamed on as being “raging hormones” in teens is now
being seen as the by-product of two factors: an excess amount of
hormones and a lack of the cognitive controls needed for mature
behavior. According to recent research findings, the brain isn’t
fully mature until a person reaches about 25 years of age.
(May
2, 2004)
- Sexual Content on TV Leads Teens to Initiate
Sex Sooner
Studies suggest that portrayals of sex on entertainment television
may contribute to adolescent sex and quicken adolescent sexual
initiation. Adolescents who view more sexual content on television
are more likely to initiate intercourse and progress to more
advanced non-coital sexual activities. (September 2004)
- Change in Family Situations and
Being Born Out of Wedlock Increases the Risk of First Premarital
Intercourse
Findings show that experiencing more family
transitions and being born out of wedlock place women at an
increased risk for first premarital intercourse. (2003)
- Sexual Content on TV Confusing Kids
There is an abundance of sexual content on television shows that air
during the early evening hours, often termed the “family hour,” a
time that is particularly popular with younger children. Children
appear to be picking up the sexual information presented to them on
television-taking away confused messages when programs send mixed
signals and clearer messages when shows offer a more straightforward
perspective. (2003)
- Third Leading Cause of Death for Teens
Suicide ranks as the third leading cause of death for young people
(ages 15-19 and 15-29).
Many teenagers may display suicidal signals
such as depression, aggressive behavior, family instability, and
thoughts of death and dying. (2003)
- Smoking in Movies Leads to Smoking Among
Adolescents
Viewing smoking in movies strongly predicts whether or not
adolescents initiate smoking, and the effect increases significantly
with greater exposure. Adolescents who view the most smoking in
movies are almost three times more likely to initiate smoking than
those with the least amount of exposure. (July 26, 2003)
- Divorce or Remarriage Increases
Teen Sex
Study found
that low levels of parental monitoring after a divorce or remarriage
are associated with higher levels of externalizing behaviors such as
the use of tobacco, alcohol, and marijuana, carrying a weapon,
physical fighting, and more frequent intercourse among teenagers.
(2002)
- Separation by Parents Effect Son's &
Daughter's Depression Differently
Both mothers and fathers make unique
contributions to their children's well-being. Increased attention
needs to be placed on these contributions and how parental
separation effects these contributions on children.
(2002)
-
Latino Mothers Generally Delay Talking to their Adolescents about
Sex
Latino-American children talk less about
sexual topics at home than European-American adolescents. Mothers
who were more worried that their children had come into contact with
HIV talked more about sexual intercourse and contraceptives with
their children than did mothers who did not share these concerns.
(2001)
- One-fifth of Teens Suffer from Social Anxiety
Disorder
Nearly one-fifth of the nation’s teens are suffering from emotional
disorders. About 15% of adolescents face social anxiety disorder
(SAD), which has a strong genetic link. Some of the triggers that
lead to SAD are 1) overly critical and controlling parents, 2) peer
rejection, 3) being bullied or teased, and 4) a traumatic social
situation. (2001)
- Youth Face Potential Health Risks During Developmental Stages
During a developmental stage of great physical health, many youth
are facing a number of problems that have negative health outcomes.
Violence, suicide, and teenage pregnancy continue to be a problem
for many young people (1997)
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