4 Troubled Teens Blog

An 18-year-old freshman at Rutgers University in New Jersey jumped to his death from the George Washington Bridge, after his roommate posted a video on the Internet of his intimate encounter with another man.

Authorities are now determining how to charge Dharum Ravi and his friend Molly Wei, also a college student. So far Ravi faces five years in prison for invasion of privacy, but that could increase to ten years if his crime is deemed a "hate crime" against homosexuals. The case is very high-profile, with activists demanding that Ravi and Wei be charged with manslaughter.

The victim, Tyler Clementi, was a violinist majoring in music, whom friends described as "shy and brilliant."

This latest incident is among the higher-profile incidences of cyberbullying, but unfortunately is not the first suicide of a young person linked to that activity. A Massachusetts high school student, newly arrived from Ireland, hanged herself after being teased publicly on the Internet; in 2008, an 18-year-old girl committed suicide after her boyfriend circulated nude pictures of her; and 13-year-old Seth Welsh also killed himself after cyberbullying incidents.

Legal experts point out that the statutes in New Jersey and other states have simply not kept up with technology.

Ironically, Rutgers University officials were implementing a new course to teach students how to be civil while they are on the Internet.
 

The birth rate among Hispanic teenagers increased from 134.2 per thousand in 2004 to 140.6 in 2006, according to a new study from the Centers for Disease Control. Other demographic groups showed declines in the same period.

The highest number of births for teenagers, which was 533,483, occurred in 1990; the lowest number, 421,241, was in 2003.

The United States' teen birth rate is about 40 per 1000, the highest rate of among developed countries. In comparison, Japan, Korea, Switzerland, Netherlands, Sweden, and Italy have rates under seven per thousand.

The study appears in the Journal of Adolescent Health.
 

More teenagers today are suffering from mental health challenges than physical conditions, including diabetes and asthma, according to a new survey from the National Institute of Mental Health.

Psychiatric problems affect one in five adolescents, and about half will meet the criteria for some disorder at least once in their lifetimes.

• Dr. Kathleen Merikangas and her colleagues analyzed data from the National Comorbidity Study-Adolescent Supplement, which includes surveys of more than 10,000 teenagers ages 13 to 18 years old.
• They found that 11% had mood disorders such as depression or bipolar disorder, 10% had behavioral disorders such as attention deficit hyperactivity, and 8% had anxiety.
• All of these were considered "severely impaired."
• Most of these problems began before age 13 years old, except for substance abuse, which started around age 15. Children of parents with less education or who were divorced were at higher risk for mental disorders.

The study appears in the Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry.
 

What makes a teenager violent? A new study from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) found that teens with poor academic performance were more likely to engage in violence.

• The national study found that 31% of all teenagers participated in one of three violent behaviors last year, including getting into a serious fight at school or work, being involved in group fighting, and attacking someone with the intention of seriously hurting that person.
• Gender differences were eight percent with 27% of girls and 35% of boys engaging in such violence.
• About 55% of teenagers with "D" grade point averages were involved in violent acts, and this was true regardless of their family income levels. Only 17% of "A" students were violent.
• One in four teenagers from families whose annual incomes were $75,000 or more were involved in violence, compared to 41% of adolescence from families whose incomes were less than $20,000 a year.

"Youth violence has long-lasting, devastating consequences -- the alarming rates of violence found by the study reinforced the importance of our efforts to prevent it," said Pamela Hyde, SAMHSA administrator. "These rates also underscored the need to treat the psychological trauma that can result from youth exposure to violence."

People are just as prejudiced as they were 10 years ago against those who are mentally ill or who are dependent on alcohol and drugs, according to a new study from Indiana University and Columbia University.

• Prejudice and discrimination against former psychiatric patients or substance abusers remains about the same as it was ten years ago, even though more people are accepting the idea that these conditions are diseases like any other.
• However, the new study indicated that the new acceptance of biological or neurological explanations for these conditions may actually have made prejudice and discrimination worse.

"Prejudice and discrimination in the U.S. are not moving," said Dr. Bernice Pescosolido, and Indiana University professor and lead researcher. "In some cases it may be increasing. It is time to stand back and rethink our approach."

• Dr. Pescosolido and her colleagues asked nearly 2,000 adults in 1996 and then in 2006 to watch vignettes about people with major depression, schizophrenia or alcohol dependencies, and then to answer a series of questions.
• In 2006, 67% attributed depression to neurobiological causes compared to 54% ten years earlier.
• However, people who believed that depression and other psychiatric problems have a neurobiological basis were to participate in the community's rejection of a person described in the vignettes.

The study appears in the American Journal of Psychiatry.
 

A concerned mother recently wrote to psychiatrist Dr. Charles Raison regarding her son’s mental health. He’s been diagnosed with bipolar disorder and says he hears voices telling him to kill himself. The mom is understandably scared and unsure what to do.

“Of the problems you list, the two I worry about most as a psychiatrist are the suicidal thoughts and the psychotic symptoms (i.e. hearing voices)… So job one is to make sure your son is safe. I realize this is easier said than done, but I want to highlight that first and foremost.” [Source: CNN]

Dr. Raison goes on to encourage the mother to continue seeking treatment for her son, even if past treatments haven’t worked. There’s always hope that something else will work, and her son will get better. In the meantime, he advises her to keep an eye on her son and ask for as much help from family and friends as she needs.
 

The transition to college can be a stressful one. New city, new roommate, big campus... it’s a lot of change. For years, people have said that transition is harder at some schools than others; the classes are more challenging and expectations are higher, making kids at those schools more susceptible to mental illness and even suicide. But is that true?

“Suicide can be highly imitative in nature. That means it often occurs in clusters – both on and off college campuses. Any given school can go years without a single student suicide and then have half a dozen or more within a year or two.

But the idea that some schools are particularly prone to suicide – because they are too demanding or attract a certain type of student – is not supported by research.” - Source: Newsweek

Fortunately, most schools are equipped to help students who struggle with anxiety, stress, depression and other mental illnesses.

A Chicago-area mom feels like she’s at the end of her rope. Her 17-year-old son is robbing houses, breaking into cars and disappearing for days at a time. Now, some local gangs have coming looking for him, hoping to make him a new recruit.

The teen’s mom is now asking local authorities to lock him up, either in a juvenile detention facility, or a mental health ward. She fears it’s the only way to get him some help and keep him from hurting either himself or someone else.

“West Side Youth Network, an agency under contract with the state that specializes in crisis intervention, was unsuccessful in its efforts to help this family. ‘You have a deeply disturbed youth who is resistant to any kind of help, and that has been difficult,’ said Kendall Marlow, a spokesman for the Department of Children and Family Services.” - Source: Chicago Sun-Times

Anxiety disorders affect tens of millions of Americans, including many teenagers. Patrick McGrath, a Ph.D. and Director of Alexian Brothers Behavioral Health Hospital Center for Anxiety and OCD in Illinois says anxiety disorders are among the most common mental health disorders in the U.S.

“Anxiety disorders cause people to live in intense fear. They consequently withdraw from everyday activities, even activities they enjoy. Yet, according to the AADA, approximately two-thirds of those with an anxiety disorder don’t seek treatment, and as Dr. McGrath points out, those who do seek treatment may not go to the right specialist.” - Source: KTXL-TV (Sacramento, CA)

Dr. McGrath encourages people who seek treatment for anxiety disorders to find a therapist trained in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and Exposure and Response Prevention, which have been proven most effective in treating anxiety disorders.

Two Boys Towns locations in the state of Nebraska have stopped receiving referrals from the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services after concerns were raised regarding mistreatment of residents.

“HHS spokeswoman Jeanne Atkinson says referrals to both programs were suspended on Aug. 26, and Boys Town has already started addressing the problems cited in the review. [Kara] Neuverth says Boys Town expects the suspension to be lifted upon acceptance of its corrective action plan…” - Source: The Associated Press

Though the review detailed the type of mistreatment that was taking place, those details have not been released to the general public.

The best way to reduce teen violence is to target prevention programs at specific groups of teenagers, according to new study from the University of Texas.

Currently, 30% of all teenagers engage in violent behaviors, such as physical fights or taking actions with the intention to deliberately cause physical injury to another person.

Dr. Rashmi Shetgirl and her colleagues found that combinations of certain factors make it more likely for a teenager to become violent. Therefore, it may be more effective to design programs that target these specific populations, such as "Latino teenagers who are depressed," "Caucasian teenagers who consume alcohol," or "African-American teenagers who live below the poverty line."

"Our findings tell us that it is unlikely that traditional cookie-cutter violence prevention programs will be effective for everyone," said Professor Shetgirl.

The study appears in the journal Academic Pediatrics.
 

Teenagers with psychiatric disorders are more likely to be sexually active and at higher risk for HIV and sexually transmitted infections, according to a new study from Bradley Hasbro Children's Research Center.

• Lead author Larry Brown and his colleagues studied 840 teenagers, average age 15 years old, from Providence, Atlanta, and Chicago.
• Among the group were 150 teenagers with mania, 48 with internalizing disorders, 282 with externalizing disorders, 252 with more than one diagnosis, and 105 in mental health treatment for unspecified reasons.
• These teens were much more likely to be sexually active, to have more partners than any average, and to have sexually transmitted diseases.
• Over 30% had engaged in sex within the past three months, with 15% having four or more partners. Fourteen percent had a sexually-transmitted disease.

The main finding of the study was that teens with certain psychiatric disorders were more likely to engage in risky sex. These were teens in the manic stage of bipolar disorder, and teens with externalizing disorders such as attention deficit hyperactivity, conduct disorders, and defiant or hostile behaviors, like stealing.

"Increased sexual risk-taking may be linked to these disorders because they are often associated with impulsive or reckless behaviors, which could include multiple sexual partners or not using condoms regularly," said Dr. Brown. "... The sexual risk behavior of teens with these diagnoses should be carefully and routinely screened as part of their mental health treatment."

This study appears in the Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology.