4 Troubled Teens Blog

A new study from Australia isolated three factors that put young people at higher risk for suffering from teen depression:

• Low levels of flexibility and positive mood
• Overprotective yet low-nurturing parents
• A pattern of suppressing the expression of emotions.

Researchers from Monash University compared 44 teenagers with self-reported depressive symptoms to 44 teenagers without such symptoms. The subjects were matched by age, gender and ethnicity. The depressed teens tended to be less flexible, less positive, and less emotionally expressive.

This study appeared in the British Journal of Developmental Psychology.

Researchers have found a connection between binge drinking among college students and a decline in their ability to pay attention and use working memory. The findings were particularly troublesome because no one knows if these effects last into later life.

• Researchers studied 95 male and female students from the University of Santiago in northwest Spain. The students were between 18 and 20 years old.
• Forty-two students were classified as binge drinkers; the others did not have a drinking problem.
• The students were hooked up to electrophysiological monitors as they performed tasks associated with attention and working memory.
• The ones who engaged in binge drinking had to put in more effort to complete tasks, although they were able to perform the tasks correctly.

Dr. Florence Kellner said the significance of the research "might be up in the air, because what we don't know really is the long-term impact, which is, will these differences endure in later life? One thing we do know is that young students when they drink heavily tend to clean up their acts quite a bit when they graduate, get jobs and have families, especially when they have children."

This study and Dr. Kellner's comment appeared in the journal Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research.

Early life experiences can "cascade" into violent behaviors in teenagers, according to a new study from Duke University. However, early interventions or positive life events can prevent such problems.

"Our findings indicate that these trajectories are not inevitable," said Professor Kenneth Dodge of Duke's Center for Child and Family Policy. "Successful early intervention could redirect paths of anti-social development to prevent serious violent behaviors in adolescence."

• Dr. Dodge and his colleagues studied 754 children from kindergarten to 11th grade.
• The researchers' goal was to understand how serious violent behavior develops.
• One of their key findings was that children from disadvantaged backgrounds were more likely to experience harsh and inconsistent parenting that impeded their cognitive development when they entered school.
• From that point, behavior problems worsened significantly. Some children managed to avoid these problems, depending on their life events.

This study appeared on the website of the journal Child Development.

A 20-year study of 800 people found that those who were violent as teenagers were more likely to engage in domestic violence as young adults.

• Researchers at the University of Washington/Seattle began their study in 1985 when participants were in fifth grade.
• Those who were violent teenagers were more likely to partner with someone who had a similar history, and create a household in which people kicked, bit, and hit one another.

"Most people think youth violence and domestic violence are separate problems, but this study shows they are intertwined," said Professor Todd Herrenkohl, lead author of the study.

Dr. Herrenkohl said his work indicates that society could prevent domestic violence by teaching teenagers to be less aggressive.

This study appears in the journal Violence and Victims.

A study suggests that teens can become dependent on cigarettes within just a few days of trying them, and that even infrequent smoking can lead to nicotine addiction.

About 40% of those in the study who tried cigarettes and began to smoke them every day developed tobacco dependence.

• Researchers studied 1246 sixth graders over a four-year period.
• The average age of experimenting with cigarettes was 12.8 years, and 217 of the students in the study tried smoking.
• One of the most surprising results of the study was how quickly some students began to experience cravings for cigarettes.
• About 10% lost autonomy within two days.

This study appeared in the journal Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine.

A new study from Brown University found that 46% of teen report "self-injury." However, the study included not only cutting or burning oneself, but also getting a tattoo, pulling out hair, or picking at a sore until it bled.

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• Elizabeth Lloyd-Richardson and her colleagues surveyed 633 high school students.
• Those who admitted to self-injury said that they did it to feel in control, to stop bad feelings or to get someone's attention.
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• Other studies have indicated that about 20% of girls and 17% of boys self-injure.
• This new study appears in the journal Psychological Medicine.

Need additional tips on how to help your child? ByParents-ForParents offer help for parents of troubled teens on a variety of topics including dating, cyberbullying and self-injury.

A study out of Oregon State University has found a surprising link between attempted suicide and abusive behavior in young men. Teenage boys who tried to kill themselves before reaching the age of 18 were significantly more likely to abuse their partners as young adults.

“When followed from their early teens, 58 percent of males studied who had attempted suicide went on to injure a partner, compared to 23 percent of young men who had not attempted suicide …

Even after controlling for other variables such as aggression, depression, substance abuse and a family history of abuse, there was still an association between attempted suicide and aggression toward partners.” [Source: Psychological Medicine]

Teenage boys who considered suicide but never acted showed no increase in violent behavior, leading some to speculate that a man’s ability to harm himself may increase his capacity for hurting other people.

Irregular sleep patterns are a predictor of increased risk for suicide in young people, according to a new study from Stanford University.

Dr. Rebecca Bernert and her colleagues studied 49 suicidal college students for three weeks. Sleep irregularity was a "stand-alone" risk factor for suicidal thoughts and attempts.

"Compared to other suicide risk factors such as a past suicide attempt, disturbed sleep is modifiable, often invisible and amenable to treatment," Dr. Bernert said. "The study of sleep may inform suicide risk assessment and represent a clinically unique opportunity for intervention."

The study was presented at the meeting of Associated Sleep Societies.
 

Drinking alcohol and smoking cigarettes is a deadly combination. In fact, it is the most preventable cause of death worldwide, according to the World Health Association.

Now a new study from University of Queensland in Australia found that the combination may actually change the structure of cells in a portion of the brain called the nucleus accumbens. The two drugs enhance the addictive qualities of one another, according to Professor Traute Flatscher-Bader.

Dr. Flatscher-Bader analyzed brain tissue from deceased people who had smoked, drank alcohol, or did a combination of the two. The ones who used the combination showed changes in the nucleus accumbens, a pleasure center in the brain.

The study appears in the journal Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research.
 

Seriously troubled children may have brain malfunctions that make it harder for them to make good decisions and avoid impulsive, destructive behaviors, according to a new joint study from the University of Colorado School of Medicine and the University of Maryland.

• The research team studied 20 teenage boys on probation who had a double diagnosis of both conduct disorder and substance abuse.
• The researchers compared them to 20 boys of similar backgrounds who had never been in trouble or used drugs.
• All 40 boys were connected to magnetic resonance imaging devices (MRIs) while they played a computer game that involved choices that could be risky or cautious.

"Brain responses to everyday rewards and punishments gradually guide most youngsters decisions to conform with society's rules," said lead author Thomas Crowley. "However, when seriously troubled kids experience rewards and punishments and make decisions, their brains apparently malfunction. Our findings strongly suggest that brain malfunction underlies their frequent failure to conform to rules, to make wise decisions, and to avoid relapses back to drug use and antisocial acts."
 

Gene Simmons, Kat von D, 50 Cent, Cindy McClain and Dr. Drew Pinsky are among the celebrities from the worlds of music, entertainment, business and politics who appear in a new anti-bullying video created by the NOH8 Campaign.

The YouTube page on which the video was posted also advises youth in crisis to call The Trevor Lifeline at 866-4-U-TREVOR (866.488.7386) or to visit the Trevor Project's website at www.TheTrevorProject.org.