Categories
Physical Problems Troubled Teen Issues

Underage Drinking

Even though drinking by anyone under the age of 21 is illegal in the U.S., people aged 12 to 20 years drank 11% of all alcohol consumed in the United States this year. Of this amount more than 90% was consumed in the form of binge drinking. Binge drinking is typically defined as five or more drinks consumed on one occasion and is one way to determine heavy alcohol use. On average 28.3% of underage drinkers (10.8 million persons aged 12 to 20) used alcohol in the past month. Research has shown that underage youth drink more than those of a legal age (4.9 drinks vs. 2.8 drinks).

Legal Drinking Age

  • The legal drinking age for different countries varies dramatically, from 0 to 21
  • 10 countries have no minimum drinking age
  • 13 countries have a minimum drinking age of 16
  • 43 countries have a minimum drinking age of 18
  • 1 country has a minimum drinking age of 19
  • 2 have a minimum drinking age of 20
  • The U.S. has the highest minimum drinking age at 21, but there are many exceptions to this general rule, that lead to underage drinking. 

Drinking and Driving

A yearly average of 4.2 million young people between the ages of 16 and 20 reported driving under the influence of alcohol or illegal drugs during the past year.

Among high school students in the last 30 days:

  • 45% drank some amount of alcohol.
  • 26% binge drink.
  • 11% drove after drinking alcohol.
  • 29% rode with a driver who had been drinking alcohol.

Underage, teen drivers are more likely than older drivers to ride with an intoxicated driver and are more likely to drive after drinking alcohol or using drugs. The number of deaths in motor vehicle accidents involving alcohol, account for 38.6% of all traffic deaths. Reports show 6,002 young people ages 16-20 died in motor vehicle crashes in 2003.

Underage Drinking Deaths

Approximately 5,000 deaths of people under the age of 21 are the result of underage drinking each year:

  • 1,900 deaths from motor vehicle crashes
  • 1,600 as a result of homicides
  • 300 from suicide
  • Hundreds more die from other injuries such as falls, burns, and drownings while they are intoxicated 

This is a big concern because reports show there were approximately 7.2 million people under the legal drinking age who were binge alcohol users in the last month.

Categories
Physical Problems

Teen Alcohol Use

Teen alcohol use, underage drinking, and teen alcoholism info from : SAMHSA National Household Survey on Drug Abuse Stats

 

Underage Drinking Stats for all youth, ages 12-17:

7.2 million adolescents drank at least once in the past year
2.7 million teens drank alcohol about once a month or more in the past year
1 million youths drank at least once a week or more in the past year
Girls were as likely as boys their age to drink alcohol
Hispanic youth were as likely as white non-Hispanic youth to be current drinkers
Black non-Hispanic youth were the least likely of the racial/ethnic groups to be current drinkers
66% thought drinking 4 or 5 alcoholic drinks nearly every day was a great risk
47% thought drinking 4 or 5 alcoholic drinks once or twice a week was a great risk

Teen Alcohol Use for all youth, ages 12-17:

13% had at least one serious problem related to underage drinking in the past year
6% had built up tolerance to the effects of alcohol
3% reported psychological problems related to their teen drinking
1% reported health problems related to their teen alcohol use

Youth, ages 12-17, who drank any alcohol in the past year:

39% had at least one serious problem related to drinking in the past year
18% had built up tolerance to the effects of alcohol
8% reported psychological problems related to their teen drinking
4% reported health problems related to their teen alcohol use

Youth, ages 12-17, who drank alcohol heavily (5 or more drinks on 5 or more occasions in the past month):

77% had at least one serious problem related to underage drinking in the past year
63% had built up tolerance to the effects of alcohol
20% reported psychological problems related to their teen drinking
12% reported health problems related to their teen drinking

Young adults, ages 18-20, who drank heavily (5 or more drinks on 5 or more occasions in the past month):

66% drove under the influence of alcohol in the past year
42% often drove or rode without wearing a seat belt

Young adults, ages 12-20, rates of teen alcohol use in 1998:

Among youth ages 12-20, the rates of teen alcohol use were highest among those 18-20, among whites, male and among those living in the North Central region of the United States. The lowest rates of teen alcohol use were among blacks, females, and youth living in large metropolitan areas.

The rates of current, binge, and heavy teen alcohol use did not change significantly between 1994-1998. Rates were 30.6%, 15.2%, and 6.9%, respectively, for current, binge, and heavy alcohol use.

Categories
Physical Problems

Teen ADD/ADHD

What Is ADD/ADHD?

The current understanding of Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) and Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (AD/HD—this is the current favored spelling) is that the first is a subset of the second, which is an overarching category that describes three specific disorders and others that have not been typed. The placement of the slash is meant to indicate that hyperactivity is not a manifestation in every type of AD/HD.

There are three distinct categories of symptoms in AD/HD, and the particular symptom or combination of symptoms is what leads to the diagnosis of a particular type of AD/HD. The three symptom categories are hyperactivity, impulsivity, and inattention. This is true for teens as well as younger children.

Parents should be aware that each of these symptoms may be present to a lesser degree than in AD/HD as a component of normal behavior at particular stages of child development. The fact that impulsivity, for example, is a characteristic of AD/HD subtypes does not mean that all impulsivity is abnormal or indicative of a disorder. But whereas children in the normal range learn to limit their impulsivity children with AD/HD need additional help and attention to control and direct their impulsivity.

The way that these symptoms appear with AD/HD is as follows:

• Children with predominantly hyperactive-impulsive subtype have symptoms of hyperactivity and impulsivity, but do not have issues with attentiveness.

• Children with predominantly inattentive subtype (the name that is now used to mean the same thing as Attention Deficit Disorder was in the past) are inattentive, but not hyperactive or impulsive.

• Children with combined subtype exhibit hyperactivity, impulsivity, and inattentiveness—all three of the symptoms.

• Children may also have AD/HD not otherwise specified. This is used when a child has issues with one or more of the three symptoms to a degree that is not developmentally appropriate but does not meet the diagnostic criteria for any of the three defined subtypes.

Statistics on AD/HD

In 2008, the Center for Disease Control (CDC) issued a report stating that approximately five percent of American children age 6 to 17 have been diagnosed with AD/HD, according to parental reports. Because the study only covered diagnosed cases, the incidence is likely to be higher. The study found that boys were twice as likely to be diagnosed with AD/HD as girls, and that teens were more likely to have been diagnosed than were younger children.

Diagnosis of AD/HD for Teens

The diagnostic criteria for AD/HD is not different for teens than for younger children. The criteria require the existence of six symptoms of either inattention or  six symptoms of hyperactivity-impulsivity.

In either case, the symptoms must have been present for a minimum of six months, and be present to a degree that is developmentally inappropriate and causes some impairment of function. At least some of the symptoms must have been present prior to age seven, and the effects must be apparent in at least two settings, such as both at home and at school. In the case of hyperactivity-impulsivity, the symptoms must also be disruptive.

These limitations help to avoid diagnosing temporary behaviors that might be a response to a particular finite situation and resolve in several months. They also help differentiate AD/HD from an athletic, exuberant, or occasionally day-dreaming child.

The symptoms of inattention include careless mistakes, trouble focusing, seeming not to listen, lack of follow through, trouble with organization, avoidance of long tasks, frequent losing or misplacing of possessions, distractibility, and forgetfulness.

The symptoms of hyperactivity-impulsivity include fidgeting or squirming, inability to stay seated for long periods, restlessness, inability to do activities quietly, “Energizer Bunny” energy, excessive talking, interrupting, difficulty waiting, and intrusive behavior.

Help for Teen AD/HD

If you suspect that your child may have AD/HD, the first thing you need is a diagnoses to make sure that the symptoms are not indicative of some other issue. This can be done by a health care provider, such as a pediatrician or psychologist.

Treatment of AD/HD will vary somewhat depending on which of the types is diagnosed. Depending on the situation, a combination of medication and behavioral therapy may be suggested.

If you live in Florida, you might be interested in the study of Teen ADHD at the Florida Clinical Research Center in Bradenton/Sarasota LI. If so, you can get more information here: http://www.flcrc.com/Landing-Pages/Studies/Bradenton-Sarasota-Studies/ADHD/Teen-ADD/ADHD-Study-Bradenton/Sarasota-LI.html

Categories
Emotional Problems

Teen Stress

Stress is a natural feeling when something important is on the line. In such circumstances, stress can assist with focus and provide energy for the task to be done or the situation to be dealt with. With the situation resolved, the stress dies out.

But not all stress is healthy stress: stress can get out of hand. Understanding teen stress can help identify and help a teen whose stress has gotten out of control.

Causes of Teen Stress

Teen stress can come from many different areas: it depends on what contexts the child moves in and what the expectations are for him or her. Here are some causes of teen stress.

• The Changes of Adolescence—Developing faster or slower than most of one’s friends can cause tensions because the teenage years are a time when being like others and liked by others is so important. As the teen transitions and hormone changes take place, teens can be stressed by feeling out of control and losing a sense of self.

• Family Issues—Tensions between parents, separation or divorce, parental infidelity, alcoholism or drug abuse in the family, poverty, or parents who are not involved with their children’s lives may all cause stress for teens. If a child is being verbally or physically abused or is a victim on incest, stress will be only one facet of a much larger set of issues.

Another family issue that causes teen stress is parents living vicariously through their children. When children have to not only fulfill their own dreams but have all their family’s hopes resting on their shoulders, this can weigh heavily on them.

• School—For students who have difficulty in school, whether or not they have a learning disability, school can cause a lot of stress. For students who aspire to goals beyond school that depend on excellent grades may also feel very pressured.

• Social Issues—The ins and outs of friendship and dating often cause stress for teens. Hoping for acceptance, and even love, and trying to balance one’s own developing personality with other teen’s perceptions and expectations is challenging. Teens worry not only about their own problems, but about their friends’ problems, and this can cause stress. If a teen is bullied, whether in person or via cyberbullying, this is likely to cause both stress and distress. Having an argument with someone can also cause stress.

• College Applications—The whole future lies open before the teen graduating high school, but so does the task of persuading a college to help the teen get there. This is a critical activity, and one for which many teens feel unprepared. The long waiting period for replies causes stress for both teens and their parents.

• Transition—All the transitions of adolescence can cause stress. From making the transition to high school to learning to drive to holding down one’s first job to—in many cases—sharing a room with a stranger when starting college and dealing with the increased responsibility to moving to a different city or town to the pile of responsibilities that fall on a teen’s shoulders when they turn 18 even the normal, expected transitions of adolescence can cause teen stress.

• Fear—Living in a neighborhood with a high crime rate or a drug problem, or living in a generally safe neighborhood, but having been mugged or robbed can cause fear, and fear causes stress.

• Sorrow—The loss of a loved person or a pet can lead to both grief and stress.

• Responsibility—Having to care for others when one is still growing up oneself can cause stress. This can result from caring for younger siblings, a disabled or substance abusing parent, or a failing grandparent.

Signs and Symptoms of Teen Stress

People young and old react differently to stress. Some get physical symptoms like diarrhea and tension headaches, while others show it in their mood, growing snappy or withdrawn or angry. Teens may develop healthy coping strategies on their own or need help to direct their activities when they feel stress. For example, temporary avoidance of something that is stressful could be taking a break from a difficult problem set in math to shift focus. Long-term avoidance may lead to failing to hand in the assignment on time. Even though the same strategy is employed, in the first case it is useful, but in the second, detrimental.

Other signs of teen stress include withdrawal; crying; picking fights; loss of focus and diminishing accomplishment;, change in eating or sleeping patterns, particularly loss of appetite and disturbed sleep; moodiness or anger. Extreme stress can lead to thoughts of suicide.

Help for Teen Stress

The first level of help for teen stress is simply having a way to express what is going on. This means both having language to name the feelings and having a safe place to vent one’s feelings. The first can be gained most easily from parents who discuss their feelings openly, telling their children when they feel stressed and, as appropriate why, and what they do about it. The second can be provided by a parent, sibling, friend, mentor, or even a journal or diary that the teens knows is a private place for reflection.

Certain activities may help relieve stress. Playing a sport can help, but so can other physical activities that one can do alone, like practicing a tennis serve, or just throwing a ball against a wall. Distraction can also help, whether playing a video game or something else that requires concentration, like chess.

Sometimes professional help is needed. This may start with the child’s pediatrician or school guidance counselor. For stress issues that are not responding, a therapist may be the next step.

Source

Confronting Teen Stresshttp://www.jhsph.edu/adolescenthealth/_includes/Teen_Stress_Guide.pdf

Categories
Emotional Problems

Teen Suicide

This page has statistics on teen suicide as well as general suicide statistics. We are trying to educate the public about the teen suicide warning signs. We will be adding more teen suicide prevention resources very soon. If you know someone who exhibits teenage suicide warning signs – please call a suicide hotline ASAP! 1-800-273-8255

Teen Suicide Deaths, U.S., 2001

Suicide was the 11th leading cause of death in the United States.

It was the 8th leading cause of death for males, and 19th leading cause of death for females.

The total number of suicide deaths was 30,622.

The 2001 age-adjusted rate** was 10.7/100,000 or 0.01%.

1.3% of total deaths were from suicide. By contrast, 29% were from diseases of the heart, 23% were from malignant neoplasms (cancer), and 6.8% were from cerebrovascular disease (stroke) – the three leading causes.

Suicides outnumbered homicides (20,308) by 3 to 2.

There were twice as many deaths due to suicide than deaths due to HIV/AIDS (14,175).

Suicide by firearms was the most common method for both men and women, accounting for 55% of all suicides.

More men than women die by suicide.

The gender ratio is 4:1.

73% of all suicide deaths are white males.

80% of all firearm suicide deaths are white males.

Among the highest rates (when categorized by gender and race) are suicide deaths for white men over 85, who had a rate of 54/100,000.

Teen suicide was the 3rd leading cause of death among young adults and adolescents 15 to 24 years of age, following unintentional injuries and homicide. The rate was 9.9/100,000 or .01%.

The adolescent suicide rate among youth ages 10-14 was 1.3/100,000 or 272 deaths among 20,910,440 children in this age group. The gender ratio for this age group was 3:1 (males: females).

The teen suicide rate among youth aged 15-19 was 7.9/100,000 or 1,611 deaths among 20,271,312 teenagers in this age group. The gender ratio for teenage group was 5:1 (males: females).

Among young people 20 to 24 years of age, the youth suicide rate was 12/100,000 or 2,360 deaths among 19,711,423 people in this age group. The gender ratio for this age group was 7:1 (males: females).

Attempted Teenage Suicides
No annual national data on all attempted teenage suicides are available.
Other research indicates that:
There are an estimated 8-25 attempted suicides for each teen suicide death; the ratio is higher in women and youth and lower in men and the elderly.
More women than men report a history of attempted suicide, with a gender ratio of 3:1.
Four out of five teens who attempt suicide have given clear warnings.

Pay attention to these teen suicide warning signs: 
Suicide threats, direct and indirect
Teen depression
Obsession with death
Poems, essays and drawings that refer to death
Dramatic change in personality or appearance
Irrational, bizarre behavior
Overwhelming sense of guilt, shame or reflection
Changed eating or sleeping patterns
Severe drop in school performance
Giving away belongings

Categories
Troubled Teen Issues

Delinquent Teens

Teens are the group most at risk for delinquency, and parents with delinquent teens may quickly feel like they are in over their heads. Luckily, there are ways parents can help delinquent teens, and resources for families who need help.

The teen years are a time when young people experiment with their identity and try to achieve independence from their parents. Most teens do this is relatively harmless ways, but there are some types of behavior that are illegal and may have negative long-term consequences for teens, such as:

  • Truancy or skipping school
  • Underage drinking
  • Using or selling illegal drugs or abusing prescription drugs
  • Vandalism
  • Shoplifting
  • Burglary or theft
  • Fighting
  • Breaking curfew
  • Running away
  • Arson
  • Less commonly, sexual assault and homicide 

Some parents may think these problems are confined to kids who are poor, male, urban, or from racial minorities, but in fact delinquent teens come from all kinds of neighborhoods and families. There are, however, some risk factors that make it more likely that teens will engage in illegal or delinquent behaviors:

  • A history of anti-social or aggressive behavior
  • Abuse of drugs or alcohol by a family member
  • Illegal behavior by another family member
  • Problems or stresses at home, such as loss of a family member, divorce, or family conflict
  • Not feeling attached to or secure in their family
  • Having friends engaged in illegal behaviors
  • Doing poorly in school
  • Lack of positive goals and activities
  • Unsupervised, unstructured time, especially right after school
  • Rules and consequences that are too strict or too lenient
  • A history of abuse
  • Having a mental illness or traumatic head injury 

The most important way to help a teen who may be at risk for delinquency is to help him or her feel connected to his or her family, school, and community. Though many families and parents are very busy and have trouble finding time to spend on positive activities, even spending a small amount of time talking to a teen every day can help. Some things that may help a struggling teen or delinquent teen include:

  • Spend at least a few minutes everyday talking to your teen and listening to what they have to say. They may not always open up to you or agree with your opinions, but this will help show them that you care and may encourage them to talk to you if they have a problem later.
  • Tell teens often that you love them, and try to accept them for who they are as they experiment with different identities and interests.
  • Eat at least one meal together as a family every day, with the TV and cell phones turned off. This has been shown to reduce teens’ risks for delinquent behavior and improve their general health and well being. This may mean having breakfast or a late dinner together if parents’ schedules are not convenient for other meals.
  • Get help for teens who are struggling in school. Many schools offer after school tutoring for students. Emphasize the importance of getting a good education.
  • Encourage teens to be involved in positive activities. This can include clubs, sports, community groups, church groups, music, theater, a part-time job, volunteering, or even unstructured activities like art. This is especially important for teens who spend time unsupervised after school.
  • Set clear rules and expectations with reasonable consequences and enforce the consequences when the rules are broken. A good way to do this is through a behavior contract that clearly states what the rules and expectations are and what will happen when a rule is broken. The parent(s) and teen both sign the contract. Make sure rules and consequences are reasonable and not overly harsh, and pick your battles – don’t try to make a rule for everything, just the things that are important for a teen’s or family’s well-being.
  • Ask questions when a teen goes out about what they are doing, where they are going, and whom they will be with. Require them to call you if their plans change.
  • Monitor a teen’s use of electronic devices, such as by keeping TVs and computers out of bedrooms or installing parental controls. Don’t do this secretly – tell teens that you can see what they are doing online and that you want to make sure they’re not posting things online or visiting web sites that might cause problems for them.
  • Get treatment for any illnesses a teen may be suffering from, including ADD/ADHD, depression, or drug or alcohol addiction. 

When teens have already gotten into serious trouble or have developed patterns of illegal or delinquent behavior that are not easy to change, parents should seek outside help for their teen and family in addition to the above suggestions. Delinquent teens may have problems that parents cannot be expected to handle on their own. A doctor or counselor is a good place to start, and most communities have programs to help families who don’t have insurance to cover the costs of counseling.

Teen Delinquency Sources:

MassGeneral Hospital for Children, Adolescent Health, “Delinquency” [online]
WebMD, “5 Teen Behavior Problems: A Troubleshooting Guide” [online]
Nemours, KidsHealth, “A Parent’s Guide to Surviving the Teen Years” [online]

Categories
Parenting Articles

Preteen Help

Preteens, children aged 9 to 12 and also called preadolescents, can have many of the same issues as adolescents, but because of their age and stage of development, a different approach than that used with adolescents may be more fruitful. For that reason as well as because the influence of older kids with the same problem may not be conducive to recovery, preteen help is offer provided separately from help for teens by organizations that assist both children of both age ranges.

There are a variety of issues that can affect preteens to the point that their parents seek help for them and a variety of types of help. Matching the assistance to the issue starts with a clear identification of what the issue is, if the root cause is not clear.

Because health issues and mental health issues can have so many and so varied results, from bad moods to failing grades to acting out to defiant behavior, it’s always a good idea to have a preteen seen by his or her pediatrician when a problem arises without a clear cause.

If a child’s pet dies, and the child acts moody and sad for several weeks, parents can feel fairly certain about the cause. But things are not always so clear-cut. Nutritional issues, a mood disorder, or a debilitating physical condition can have results that look like an attitude problem, and jumping to a conclusion about the origins of what looks like laziness, uncooperativeness, or moodiness could lead punishments or other actions that a parent would later regret when the true source of the problem became known.

You can alert the pediatrician in advance to the issue in order not to have to discuss it in front of the child. Even if the cause is not a matter of physical or mental health, but something like bullying, an experienced pediatrician with whom the preteen is familiar may be able to get an explanation from the child.

Types of Preteen Issues

Here is an overview of some of the types of issues for which a parent might wish to seek assistance for a preteen:

• dramatic change in mood or demeanor
• social withdrawal
• trouble sleeping
• change in appetite
• insufficiently explained injuries
• smelling of alcohol or tobacco
• sudden desire for privacy and secretive behavior
• unexpected failures to be where he or she says he will be when he or she has promised to be there
• a sudden change in dress in which the child’s body is quite a bit more or less covered than it used to be or in which style of dress or any slogans on clothes are worrisome
• dramatic change in the amount of time spent texting or using technology, including the telephone
• objects or clothes in your child’s possession that you didn’t purchase and that he or she cannot satisfactorily explain the origins of
• behavior that leads you to believe you are not being told the truth
• breaking of house rules with insouciance
• the presence of any clues of sexual activity
• reports from teachers that do not match the attention to schoolwork that you are seeing at home
• obvious difficulty in completing school assignments

Usually, the first step is a conversation with the preteen about the change or behavior that you’ve noticed. There may be a perfectly legitimate explanation and the behavior may be passing. It may also have a health-related source, as noted below. It may be something you can deal with as a family, or something for which you need or want outside help. If you do want outside help, keep reading.

Types of Help for Preteens

Besides your preteen’s pediatrician, these are some other sources of help for preteens:

• the preteen’s guidance counselor
• the school special education teacher
• the school psychologist
• a social worker
• your minister, priest, rabbi, or other spiritual counselor
• a leader of any organization your child attends regularly, such as a coach, mentor, or scout leader
• a therapist, such as a cognitive behavioral therapist
• a psychologist
• a psychiatrist
• organizations that provide counseling and education and healthcare, alone or in combination:

  • hospitals
  • boarding schools
  • residential treatment centers
  • outdoor therapeutic programs
  • specialty psychiatric and behavioral hospitals
  • wilderness programs
  • small residential programs