Conduct Problems in Pre-teens Leads to Greater Problems in Teenagers

It's probably not a surprise that preteen with Conduct Problems evenutally leads to serious violence in the teenage years.

Well that's what a study by the Université de Montréal found recently.

They found that preteens who steal, destroy property, fight and bully are:

Six times as likely to sell drugs
Nine times as likely to join a gang
Eleven times as likely to carry a weapon
Eight times as likely to be arrested as a teenager

The study examined three groups of 12 and 13-year-old Canadian kids over a span of two years. The group consisted of 4,125 test-subjects who were classified according to precise symptoms of conduct disorders.

"Children with conduct disorders who are not violent are also more likely to adopt serious delinquent behaviors as teenagers," said the researchers.

Researchers for this study believe that the definition of conduct disorders in the DSM should be reviewed as it currently defines the disorder as a combination of any three symptoms on a list of 15, but it doesn't apply to all cases and allows for a possible 30,000 possible combinations.

Like I said, it's not a surprise, but maybe it is time to steop in early and stop the evolution of conduct problems to more serious crimes later in life.

Link to Paper

With A Little Help From Your Friends

"The long-term effects of being a withdrawn child are enduringly negative," says lead author William M. Bukowski, "Over time, we found that withdrawn kids showed increasing levels of sadness and higher levels of depressive feelings."

In this recent study, 130 girls and 101 boys took part in the three-year study, where they were asked to rate whether they felt shy or whether they preferred being on their own.

Compared with friendless children, those who had friends were less likely to report depressed feelings.

The researchers believe that "Friendship disrupts the negative and long-term effects of withdrawal. Friendship promotes resilience and protects at-risk kids from internalizing problems such as feeling depressed and anxious."

They concluded that the key to avoid peer rejection is to make at least one friend.

Link to full article on 'Science Daily'

Video games and Violence

The verdict is still out on Video Games - Do violent games cause aggression in children?

Well this recent study found that, no, in this case they showed no significant effect on children!

So this study recruited 302 (mainly Hispanic) children between 10 and 14 as part of a larger study of youth violence. They were interviewed twice - once at the start of the study and again 12 months later.

Their exposure to violence both in video games and on television as well as negative life events, including neighborhood problems, negative relationships with adults, antisocial personality, family attachment, and delinquent peers were all taken into account, as well as the styles of family interaction and communication, adolescents' exposure to domestic violence, depressive symptoms, serious aggression, bullying and delinquent behavior.

One year later they found that only 7% of the children who played violent videogames reported engaging in at least one criminally violent act. Only 19% reported engaging in at least one non-violent crime.

The researchers concluded that violent video games were not a good predictor of violent behaviour.

But what they did find was that depressive symptoms were a strong predictor for youth aggression and rule breaking, and their influence was particularly severe for those who had pre-existing antisocial personality traits.

This evidence doesn't end the argument about video games, but it's another step towards finding out the truth!

Link to Article

Marijuana use and its cognitive effects

Although recent papers have been released suggesting that it is Alcohol and not Marijuana that is the most harmful drug, this study by Staci Gruber highlights the risks that are still present in long term, young-starting marijuana use.

Cognitive flexibility - the ability to switch behavioural responses according to feedback from your surroundings, was found to be highly affected after long-term marijuana use.

Using a Wisconsin Card Sorting Task, the participants are shown four cards that differ in color, symbol, and value. The participants are asked to sort the cards, but not told what the rules are, leaving them to work out what the rules must be when receiving 'correct' or 'incorrect' feedback. Half way through the rules are changed and the participant must change their behaviour accordingly. This is an indicator of how strong a participant's cognitive flexibility is.

But what did they find?

Habitual marijuana users made more repeated errors than those that started after 16 and who did not habitually use marijuana and also had difficulty maintaining rules once they were set.


I guess it's not particularly new, and kind of obvious - but the study concluded that the younger you start, and the more you use, the greater effect Marijuana has on your cognitive functioning.

Those that claim Marijuana has no long term on them be warned! You may be killing your brain without even knowing it!

Link to Article

Does Adolescent Stress Lead to Mood Disorders in Adulthood?

As depression in young people is increasing in successive generations, we have to wonder what is the cause for this increase? With people suffering earlier in life is stress the problem?

Researcher Mark Ellenbogen is particularly interested in the link between childhood stress and the development of depression.

"Previous studies have shown that kids from at-risk families are at higher risk of having a psychiatric disorder in their lifetime," says Ellenbogen. "We know that they're not just inheriting these traits but they are also being raised in environment that is stressful, chaotic and lacking in structure. Our goal is to tease out how this type of environment influences these children's mental health in adolescence and adulthood."

Ellenbogen's findings have shown that the adolescents of "at-risk" families have higher stress levels than kids from families without disorders, which continues into adulthood.

Ellenbogen says, "We have not yet confirmed that these children then go on to develop mood disorders of their own. However, we have some exciting preliminary data showing that high [stress levels] in adolescence doubles your risk for developing a serious mood disorder in young adulthood."

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Although this study focuses on the home life of children generating stress, if stress in childhood can indeed lead to the increase in mood disorders then perhaps stress through examinations, competition or homework (for some individuals) could also lead to mood disorders later in life?

Clearly, Ellenbogen is planning further study, so once there is evidence that's slightly more concrete, perhaps we will be able to say better the link between childhood stress and mood disorders in adulthood

Link to Article

Depression and the Percentage of Relapse

"A study of adolescents who had a major depressive disorder found that nearly all recovered from their episode after treatment. But within five years, nearly half of them had relapsed, and females were at much higher risk of another major episode, researchers at Duke University Medical Center found."

"After the initial 12-week treatment, the subjects were then followed for five years. They found that 96.4% of the participants had recovered for at least 8 weeks after short-term treatment. Those who responded to the short-term treatment rather than partially or not at all were significantly more likely to recover by the two-year follow-up mark. The most effective treatment was a combination of the antidepressant fluoxetine (Prozac) with CBT."

"Reaching recovery within two years was not significantly related to being in the group that received the combination therapy. Instead, it mattered whether the patients responded to treatment, as opposed to being partial responders or nonresponders."

"Of the 189 patients who recovered, 88 of them had a recurrence of major depression. Recurrence couldn't be predicted by the child's full short-term treatment response or by original treatment. Gender played a significant role in recurrence, with a majority of females (57.6 percent) having another major depression versus just 32.9% of males."

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This study may be confirming what we already know, that those who recover from depression are likely to relapse, but what is interesting about it is the overwhelming percentage of relapse and the gender difference as well. Transtheoretical models such as John Norcross' stages of change wouldn't see relapse as a problem however, more of an expected, and possibly necessary part of change. More study in this area in the future may prove even more fruitful and maybe go on to explain even further the reasons behind the relapse and gender differences.

Link to article

The link between popularity, friends and drug consumption

"Our study highlights a correlation between popularity and consumption," says Jean-Sébastien Fallu, lead researcher and professor at the Université de Montréal's School of Psychoeducation. "The teenagers we studied were well-accepted, very sensitive to social codes, and understood the compromises that it takes to be popular."

The findings showed an increase in consumption, as the child got older regardless of their popularity level. However, the more popular a child and their friends were, the greater this consumption was.

"Teenagers don't consume to belong to the group or to increase their popularity level, they do it to remain well-liked," says Fallu. "It's more about keeping their status than increasing it."

Teenagers who aren't considered popular are more inclined to develop violent behaviors than consume alcohol or drugs.

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Is drug taking cool? Maybe it was just the area I grew up in, but popularity in my school wasn't measured in the amount of drugs consumed! This study highlights a motivation for drug consumption that maybe hadn't been considered previously.

But what are your thoughts? Is social popularity the cause of drug consumption in teens? Or is the level of popularity the result of the drug consumption? Is level of social status enough motivation for teenagers to consume drugs? Is this type of peer pressure overt or just expected?

Why is drug taking considered 'cool' behaviour? Is it just because rules are being broken? Or is there another reason?

Let us know what you think.

Link to Article

Teasing about weight and its affect on pre-teens

"We tend to think of adolescence as the time when kids become sensitive about their body image, but our findings suggest that the seeds of body dissatisfaction are actually being sown much earlier," said Timothy D. Nelson.

For the study, Nelson and his colleagues surveyed hundreds of public school students whose average age was 10.8 years. They collected participants' heights and weights and calculated their Body Mass Index, then examined the relationships between weight-related criticism and children's perceptions of themselves.

Their results showed that overweight pre-teens who endured weight-based criticism tended to judge their bodies more harshly and were less satisfied with their body sizes than students who weren't teased about their weight.

Because children who develop such negative views of their bodies are at higher risk for internalizing problems, developing irregular eating behaviors and ongoing victimization, researchers said these results should be a signal for more early identification and intervention efforts at schools.

"There's often a sense that overweight people 'deserve' it, or that if they are continually prodded about their weight, they'll do something about it," said Nelson

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So what do you think?

Do children think about their body weight as much as this study suggests? Are weight-related criticisms found more in groups of girls or boys? Can pre-adolescent taunting really affect children for the rest of their lives?

And what should be done to try and stop this happening in schools?

Are weight issues a problem generated by the media? e.g. super skinny people in magazines and on the tv.
Or are they now being generated by the Health Authority by chastising those who are overweight?

What's your opinion?

Link to Article

The Pain of Discrimination

"In a new study, researchers found that adolescents from Latin American and Asian backgrounds experienced more discrimination than their peers from European backgrounds and that the discrimination came not only from other adolescents but from adults as well. The level of discrimination also impacted these teens' grade-point averages and their health and was associated with depression, distress and lower levels of self-esteem.

601 Teens (equal males and females) kept a daily diary for 2 weeks to record any discriminatory events or comments they experienced. They were also asked to separately record on a four-point scale any physical symptoms, such as headaches, stomach-aches or general pain.

Among the teens in the study, nearly 60% reported experiencing discrimination from other teens, and 63% reported discrimination from adults; 12% reported experiencing discrimination on a daily basis.

The researchers found that teens who reported higher levels of peer or adult discrimination also reported more aches, pains and other symptoms, as well as a lower overall grade-point average. Thus, discrimination may not only tax adolescents' physical and psychological resources but may also affect their ability to achieve in school, the researchers said.

"Discrimination significantly predicted lower GPAs, higher levels of depression, higher levels of distress, lower self-esteem and more physical complaints," Fuligni said. "So the bottom line? Discrimination is harmful."

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This interesting study highlights the link between the personal world, i.e. one's own wellbeing and health, and the social world. This link can be good, in terms of positive interactions and suppport, but, as this study shows, negativity in the social world can create bad results in the personal world.

Although people may think the discrimination is only small, it can mount up on a single individual, much like in the story 'An Inspector Calls' by J.B Preistley, and can manifest itself in a number of physical and psychological problems.

The modern world already seems to be accelerating the number of people that are being diagnosed with depression and ADHD and personality disorders etc, and people are quick to blame the fast paced life and music and videogames. This study is an interesting wake-up call that shows how our interactions with each other, although seemingly harmless, may be commiting more pain than we realise.

Link to article

Benefits of Video Games

We all hear how computer games are bad for youth. They sit inside, are less active, can affect social skills, can affect school work or, in some extreme cases, violent video games have been connected with mass murders. Whether or not these accusations are true is still up for debate - but what is interesting is a study released recently proclaiming the positive benefits of video games, in particular - action games.

"Cognitive scientists from the University of Rochester have discovered that playing action video games trains people to make the right decisions faster. The researchers found that video game players develop a heightened sensitivity to what is going on around them, and this benefit doesn't just make them better at playing video games, but improves a wide variety of general skills that can help with everyday activities like multitasking, driving, reading small print, keeping track of friends in a crowd, and navigating around town."

The researchers tested dozens of 18- to 25-year-olds who were not ordinarily video game players. They split the subjects into two groups. One group played 50 hours of the fast-paced action video games "Call of Duty 2" and "Unreal Tournament," and the other group played 50 hours of the slow-moving strategy game "The Sims 2."

After this training period, all of the subjects were asked to make quick decisions in several tasks designed by the researchers. In the tasks, the participants had to look at a screen, analyze what was going on, and answer a simple question about the action in as little time as possible (i.e. whether a clump of erratically moving dots was migrating right or left across the screen on average).

The action game players were up to 25% faster at coming to a conclusion and answered just as many questions correctly as their strategy game playing peers.

"It's not the case that the action game players are trigger-happy and less accurate: They are just as accurate and also faster," Bavelier said. "Action game players make more correct decisions per unit time. If you are a surgeon or you are in the middle of a battlefield, that can make all the difference."


In short, they concluded that as the brain makes hundreds of calculations every second based on the visual and audial data provided. This is 'Probabilistic inference.' An example provided: "As you drive, for instance, you may see a movement on your right, estimate whether you are on a collision course, and based on that probability make a binary decision: brake or don't brake."

The sci-fi world often talks about humans of the future being faster or stronger or taller - perhaps a future of action-gamers will make this, at least partially possible - just another thought: maybe cars will be faster, to match our faster reflexes or time limits for 'spot the difference' games will have to be reviewed?

Link to article

Mindfulness Meditation Increases Well-Being in Adolescent Boys

'Mindfulness', the process of learning to become more aware of our ongoing experiences, increases well-being in adolescent boys, a new study reports.

Researchers from the University of Cambridge analyzed 155 boys from two independent UK schools, Tonbridge and Hampton, before and after a four-week crash course in mindfulness. After the trial period, the 14 and 15 year-old boys were found to have increased well-being, defined as the combination of feeling good (including positive emotions such as happiness, contentment, interest and affection) and functioning well.

Professor Felicia Huppert of the Well-being Institute at the University of Cambridge said: "More and more we are realising the importance of supporting the overall mental health of children. Our study demonstrates that this type of training improves well-being in adolescents and that the more they practice, the greater the benefits. Importantly, many of the students genuinely enjoyed the exercises and said they intended to continue them -- a good sign that many children would be receptive to this type of intervention.

"Another significant aspect of this study is that adolescents who suffered from higher levels of anxiety were the ones who benefitted most from the training."

The success of this initial study has recently led to the creation of an exciting 8 week mindfulness curriculum for schools in both the state and private sectors. This new curriculum, which includes games and video clips, should have even greater benefits.

(More information by clicking HERE)

Another link: mindfulnessinschool