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Tag: Adolescents
Dramatic Drop in Marijuana Use Among U.S. Youth Over a Decade: (2011 to 2021)
Among 88,183 U.S. high school students, marijuana use declined from 23.1% in 2011 to 15.8% in 2021, with first-time use before age 13 dropping from 8.1% to 4.9%. In 2021, use was highest among 12th graders (22.4%) and 11th graders (18.7%). Notably, girls (17.8%) surpassed boys (13.6%) in reported use in 2021, reversing past trends. While Asian, Hispanic, and white adolescents saw declines, Black adolescents had a higher usage rate of 20.5% in 2021, indicating ongoing racial disparities.
Dangers of the Metaverse and VR for U.S. Youth Revealed in New Research
Research of online victimization in the metaverse is sorely lacking. A new study examined harm in the metaverse among a sample of 5,005 U.S. teens aged 13 to 17. Findings show a significant percentage of youth reported harm in these spaces, including hate speech, bullying, harassment, sexual harassment, grooming behaviors (predators building trust with minors), and unwanted exposure to violent or sexual content. The study also revealed notable gender differences in experiences.
Black, Hispanic, and American Indian adolescents likelier than white adolescents to be tested for drugs, alcohol at pediatric trauma centers
Injured adolescents from marginalized groups treated at pediatric trauma centers are more likely to be tested for drugs and alcohol than white adolescents, even when accounting for injury severity.
Alarming Surge: Global Crisis of Childhood Overweight and Obesity
Since 1990, childhood obesity has nearly doubled globally, with the U.S. at the forefront. In Southern Europe, 10-15% of children are obese, while Asia has nearly half of all overweight kids under 5. Nearly 70% of the average U.S. child’s diet consists of ultra-processed foods, which are increasingly consumed by children under 24 months, raising obesity risks and reducing immunological protection. Addressing pediatric obesity requires a multifaceted approach from tackling the influence of social media and advertising on children’s food choices to increasing physical activity.
COVID-19 lockdowns prematurely aged teenage brains, UW study shows
New research from the University of Washington found lockdowns during the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in unusually accelerated brain maturation in adolescents. This maturation was more pronounced in girls. When measured in terms of the number of years of accelerated brain development, the mean acceleration was 4.2 years in females and 1.4 years in males.
Banning Friendships Can Backfire: Moms Who ‘Meddle’ Make Bad Behavior Worse
Bad behavior often occurs away from home, leading parents to blame and limit contact with peers. However, a new study shows that banning friendships can backfire, worsening behavior instead of improving it.
Mental Health-Related Emergency Room Trips Declined Significantly After Illinois Ended COVID-19 Lockdown
• After the COVID-19 pandemic shutdown, ER visits and admission rates fell to pre-2016 rates during the 39 months after the pandemic
• Lower rates of ER visits may be related to wider use of telemedicine, crisis hotlines and better mental health care, as well as increased awareness
Digital Self-Harm Surges Among U.S. Teens from 2016 to 2021
Digital self-harm, where individuals anonymously post or share hurtful content about themselves online, has increased more than 88% since 2016. Between 2019 and 2021, about 9 to 12% of 13 to 17 year olds in the U.S. engaged in digital self-harm. The study also explored whether teens who experienced cyberbullying were more likely to engage in digital self-harm.
Adolescents’ experiences with ambiguity in postdivorce stepfamilies
Abstract Objective Investigating what contributes to perceptions of ambiguity in stepfamily relationships among adolescents, and which strategies adolescents use to deal with ambiguity. Background Relational losses or acquisitions marked by ambiguity (i.e., ambiguous losses and gains) are taxing as they…
Alcohol-related blackouts during youth are markers of future neurocognitive risk
Alcohol-related blackouts (ARBs) are fairly common among younger, social drinkers – even considered a rite of passage by some. Yet new research has found that blacking out predicts unique, underlying brain changes involved with learning, memory, and the processing of visual information.
When mothers and children talk about problems, environment matters
Talking to their parents about daily stressors can help adolescents deal with their problems. This is particularly important during the transition to middle school, when youth often are faced with new peer and academic challenges. But does it matter where these conversations take place? That’s the topic of a new study from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.
Nearly 3% of Healthy Adolescents use Commercial CBD Products, Study Finds
Researchers at UC San Diego have found that nearly 3% of healthy adolescents use commercial CBD products, many of which contain higher levels of THC than advertised.
Alarming Rise of Electronic Vaping Use in U.S. Adolescents
A study among 57,006 adolescents shows daily electronic vapor use has significantly increased by more than three-and-one-half times from 2015 to 2019. In 2015, daily use was significantly higher in boys (2.8%) than girls (1.1%). By 2021, it was higher in girls (5.6%) than boys (4.5%).
$4.7 million award to help researchers prevent adolescent alcohol use
Indiana University School of Medicine researchers recently were awarded $4.7 million from the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) to further the study of caregiver intervention in reducing adolescent alcohol use and other substance use disorders (SUDs).
Johns Hopkins Children’s Center Study Shows Negative Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on Youth Minority Mental Health
Recent historical, political and public health events, most notably the COVID-19 pandemic, have collectively contributed to increased stress and mental health challenges among many groups of people — including adolescents in racial and ethnic minorities.
Teens benefit from “forest bathing” – even in cities
Youth mental health in urban environments is significantly better when more nature is incorporated into city design.
Psychologist Calls Attention to Social Media as a Public Health Hazard
In New York City Mayor Eric Adams’ State of the City speech, he discussed protecting kids’ mental health in the face of excessive social media usage. Dr. Anthony Anzalone, a clinical psychologist at Stony Brook Medicine, also agrees that social media…
Connectivity scans could serve as brain ‘blueprints’ for adolescents, researchers find
Researchers with the Translational Research in Neuroimaging and Data Science (TReNDs) Center at Georgia State have identified important new methods for accurately identifying possible biomarkers in adolescent brains that can reliably predict cognitive developments and psychiatric issues.
Social media giants send mixed signals on muscle-building supplements content
While social media platforms have strict policies on illegal muscle-building drugs, the policies around legal muscle-building dietary supplements vary
New research looks at life satisfaction in pandemic-era teens with mental health histories
New research from the NIH’s Environmental influences on Child Health Outcomes (ECHO) Program suggests that during the COVID-19 pandemic, some teens with a history of depression, anxiety, autism and ADHD experienced more severe impacts than those without. This research, titled…
fMRI study finds correlated shifts in brain connectivity associated with overthinking in adolescents
A new study from The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, University of Utah and University of Exeter (UK) substantiates previous groundbreaking research that rumination (overthinking) can be reduced through an intervention called Rumination-focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (RF-CBT).
A Quarter of Teens with Autism Go Undiagnosed, Rutgers Researchers Find
Analysis of records from four New Jersey counties provides crucial data on the condition in 16-year-olds.
SLU Study: Adolescents of Color With A Disability Experience More Racial Discrimination
Adolescents of color with a disability or special health care need (SHCN) were almost twice as likely to experience racial discrimination compared to peers of color without SHCNs, according to Saint Louis University research published in the Journal of Adolescent Health.
Research Details Perils of Not Being Attractive or Athletic in Middle School
Life is harder for adolescents who are not attractive or athletic. New research shows low attractive and low athletic youth became increasingly unpopular over the course of a school year, leading to subsequent increases in their loneliness and alcohol misuse. As their unpopularity grows, so do their problems.
Among Young People, Being Around Peers May Elicit Greater Drinking Cravings than the Presence of Alcohol
The presence of peers is a key prompt for alcohol cravings among young people, according to a new study in Alcohol: Clinical & Experimental Research. When certain settings, people, or items—a bar, a friend, a glass—are paired with alcohol, they can become conditioned cues, eliciting drinking cravings. These learned reactions are associated with alcohol use disorder (AUD), treatment outcomes, and relapse. Adolescents and emerging adults are particularly susceptible to peer influence. In real-world settings, studies have found that the presence of peers predicts young people’s intensifying drinking cravings at the moment. In laboratory studies, however, peer influence is largely absent, potentially limiting the usefulness of their findings. Better understanding peers as alcohol cues could inform more effective AUD prevention and treatment programs. For the current study, researchers from Brown University, RI, evaluated alcohol cravings among youth in the human laboratory, using drinking-
Social stress, problem-solving deficits contribute to suicide risk for teen girls
Teen girls who have greater difficulty effectively solving interpersonal problems when they experience social stress, and who experience more interpersonal stress in their lives, are at greater risk of suicidal behavior, suggests research published by the American Psychological Association.
Sedentary time may significantly enlarge adolescents’ heart
In adolescents, sedentary time may increase heart size three times more than moderate-to-vigorous physical activity, a paper published in the Scandinavian Journal of Medicine & Science in Sports concludes.
Prompt Treatment for Functional Neurological Disorder in Children Is Highly Effective
Treatment is scarce for functional neurological disorder (FND), which requires a multidisciplinary approach. A special report published in the March/April issue of Harvard Review of Psychiatry (HRP) aims to show clinicians and institutions around the world what is needed to establish effective community treatment programs for FND, as well as hospital inpatient and outpatient interventions, in their own health care settings. HRP is published in the Lippincott portfolio by Wolters Kluwer.
Preteens with problematic social media use more likely to hold positive beliefs about alcohol
A new national study published in BMC Public Health suggests that problematic social media use in early adolescents is associated with both positive and negative alcohol beliefs, which play a key role in predicting alcohol use and, potentially, the development of alcohol use disorder later in life.
Erratic sleep patterns linked to elevated blood pressure in teens with extra belly weight
Staying awake later into the night and sleeping in on the weekends are hallmarks of adolescent behavior, however, erratic sleep patterns may have consequences for future heart health by increasing blood pressure among teens who have more abdominal fat.
Physicians Should Screen Youth for Cyberbullying, Social Media Use
Researchers recommend primary care physicians screen adolescents and young adults for inappropriate or misuse of social media and cyberbullying utilizing screening tools developed for use in the health care setting. Physicians also can ask about the many symptoms that could be warning signs of cyberbullying such as sleep disorders, mood disorders, eating disorders, suicidal thoughts, self-harm behaviors, academic problems, fatigue and headaches. They also can undergo training to detect bullying and ensure that their staff is trained appropriately.
Excessive screen time linked to suicidal behaviors in US preteens
Amidst the worsening teen mental health crisis and new legislation proposing to ban children under 16 from using social media, a new study finds that greater screen time among children 9-11 is associated with a higher risk of developing suicidal behaviors two years later.
Gender dysphoria in young people is rising—and so is professional disagreement
More children and adolescents are identifying as transgender and offered medical treatment, especially in the US. But some providers and European authorities are urging caution because of a lack of strong evidence.
Study Finds Computer-Based Intervention Is Cost-Effective at Reducing Binge Drinking among Adolescents
A computer-based intervention associated with reduced binge drinking episodes among high school students could yield a cost savings of eight thousand euros, according to a Spanish study published in Alcohol: Clinical and Experimental Research. The study found the computer-based intervention cost-effective, resulting in societal savings of €8,000 for each binge drinking episode averted. Computer and web-based interventions can potentially reach a far larger number of students than face-to-face screening and intervention.
Copy-cat? Youth with Few Friends Conform to Stay in a Friend’s ‘Good Graces’
What gives one friend influence over another? Considerable attention has focused on who influences whom; much less is known about why one partner is prone to be influenced by the other. A study tested the hypothesis that within a friend dyad, having fewer friends than one’s partner increases susceptibility to influence, because it reduces dissimilarity and promotes compatibility. Results showed that partners with fewer friends were influenced by children with more friends. In each case, the partner with fewer friends became more similar to the partner with more friends. Academic engagement was the only domain where partners with fewer friends also influenced partners with more friends.
Young chimpanzees and human teens share risk-taking behaviors
Adolescent chimpanzees share some of the same risk-taking behaviors as human teens, but they may be less impulsive than their human counterparts, according to research published by the American Psychological Association. The study gets at age-old nature/nurture questions about why adolescents take more risks: because of environment or because of biological predispositions?
Using games to promote women’s health and wellbeing in India
A new paper in Oxford Open Digital Health, published by Oxford University Press, indicates that it may be possible to use mobile game apps to induce young women to make active decision choices to improve their health and welfare.
Problems with Alcohol Increase After Weight-Loss Surgery in Adolescence
Youth who underwent metabolic and bariatric surgery as teenagers are at heightened risk for alcohol use, according to the first study to document long-term alcohol use and associated issues in this population. Researchers found that after eight years, nearly half of study participants had alcohol use disorders, symptoms of alcohol-related harm, or alcohol-related problems. Results were published in the journal Annals of Surgery.
Study compares adverse events after two types of bariatric surgery in adolescents
Adolescents who underwent sleeve gastrectomy, a type of weight-loss surgery that involves removing part of the stomach, were less likely to go the emergency room in the five years after their operations than those who had their stomachs divided into pouches through gastric bypass surgery, according to new research.
Teens with COVID-19 knowledge reported better well-being
A pandemic survey found that adolescents who answered more COVID-19 test questions correctly also reported lower stress, anxiety and depression as well as lower loneliness and fear of missing out, also known as FOMO.
Which student-athletes can be safely released to an athletic trainer after concussion?
When a high school or college student consults a physician about a sport-related concussion, their age, severity of symptoms, number of previous concussions, and family history of psychiatric disorders predict whether they can be released to supervision by an athletic trainer or will need additional medical care, according to an article in the Clinical Journal of Sports Medicine. The journal is published in the Lippincott portfolio by Wolters Kluwer.
Researchers Find Ways to Help Teens Get More Sleep
Newly published research from RUSH in the journal SLEEP sheds light on how adolescents can get more shut-eye.
Teen Alcohol Use Decreasing, But More Slowly among Girls
Teen use of alcohol and alcohol in combination with cannabis is decreasing, but use by girls is decreasing more slowly than it is for boys, according to a study published in Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research. And, rates of cannabis use among teens who didn’t use alcohol, which more than doubled in the last decade, are increasing more rapidly in female students than in their male counterparts. Despite the declines in alcohol use, teen alcohol use remains high, and far more prevalent than cannabis use. The simultaneous use of cannabis and alcohol amplifies the health risks for teens, including risk of intoxication, injury, impairment and other short- and long-term consequences for adolescents. As one in five students reports simultaneously using both substances, continued public health efforts to reduce teen alcohol and cannabis use, as well as interventions specifically aimed at female students, are important.
‘Years of Life Lost’ to unintentional drug overdose in adolescents spikes during pandemic
COLUMBUS, Ohio – The first year of the COVID-19 pandemic saw a 113% increase in the “Years of Life Lost” among adolescents and young people in the United States due to unintentional drug overdose, according to researchers at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center and College of Medicine.
With Back to School Comes Back to Sleep: Third Annual Student Sleep Health Week to be Held Sept. 12-18
The American Academy of Sleep Medicine is holding the third annual Student Sleep Health Week Sept. 12-18, 2022, to educate students, parents and educators about the importance of sleep for success, well-being and overall health.
Greater Empathy in Adolescents Helps Prevent Bias-based Cyberbullying
Little is known about cyberbullying and empathy, especially as it relates harming or abusing others because of race or religion. A study is the first to examine general cyberbullying, race-based cyberbullying, and religion-based cyberbullying in young adolescents. Results show that the higher a youth scored on empathy, the lower the likelihood that they cyberbullied others. When it came to bias-based cyberbullying, higher levels of total empathy were associated with lower odds of cyberbullying others based on their race or religion.
Under 30 Percent of U.S. Kids Have High Scores for Heart Health
Most children and adolescents living in the U.S. have suboptimal scores for cardiovascular health (CVH), according to the first study to use the American Heart Association’s new “Life’s Essential 8” metrics and scoring algorithm for quantifying CVH levels in adults and children. Overall, under 30 percent of 2-19-year-olds had high CVH. The proportion of children with high CVH declined markedly with older age: 56 percent of 2-5-year-old children had high CVH, compared with 33 percent of 6-11-year-olds and 14 percent of 12-19-year-olds.
Mistaken views of peer drinking can increase risk of dating violence among LGBTQIA2S+ teens
Research shows that adolescents and young adults frequently overestimate the extent to which their peers drink alcohol, and that these overestimations increase risk for problem drinking behaviors, as well as dating violence. A recent study found that LGBTQIA2S+* teens likewise overestimate the frequency and quantity of alcohol use of other LGBTQIA2S+ teens, but also drink alcohol and experience dating violence at disproportionately higher rates than heterosexual, cisgender teens.
When reality fails: What to know about psychosis
More awareness of the symptoms of psychosis, and the availability of treatment, could mean more young people with psychosis get care quickly. And that can make a big difference in their immediate mental health and their long-term futures.