Jim Liebelt's Youth Culture Watch

Study Links Adolescent Bullies to Later Criminal Beahvior

Adults who say they bullied others when they were adolescents may have a higher likelihood of engaging in criminal behavior later in life, according to new research from UT Dallas.

The study, which appeared in the Journal of Youth and Adolescence, examined data gathered on a group of more than 400 men over the course of several decades.

"This is the largest long-term study of bullying behavior," said Dr. Nadine Connell, assistant professor of criminology and co-author of the paper. "This is important because it helps us gauge whether bullying is a risk factor for determining continued adverse behavior well into late-middle adulthood."

The authors looked at a data set of men in their mid-50s who had grown up with similar backgrounds in Britain. All came from comparable, working-class socio-economic backgrounds, typically from two-parent families.

Of those who reported that they bullied others as teenagers, nearly half went on to engage in some form of criminal behavior including theft, burglary and assault.

"We also found that these men were more likely to be repeat offenders and at a much higher rate," said Dr. Alex Piquero, Ashbel Smith Professor of Criminology at UT Dallas and co-author of the study.

Although much needed attention has been given to victims of bullying, this research indicates that early intervention on behalf of children who are at risk of exhibiting bullying behavior may also stem the tide of criminal behavior years down the road.

Source: MedicalXpress
http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-links-adolescent-bullies-criminal-behavior.html

Teaching Teens That Bullies Can Change Reduces Aggression

Teenagers who believe people can’t change react more aggressively to peer conflicts than those who think people can change. And teaching them that people have the potential to change can reduce these aggressive reactions, according to a new psychology study from The University of Texas at Austin.

The study, published in the February 2013 issue of Child Development, has important implications for bullying interventions in public schools.

“When adolescents believe the world is full of ‘good’ and ‘bad’ people, with nobody in between, they are then quick to classify people as one or the other,” said David Yeager, assistant professor of developmental psychology at The University of Texas at Austin. “We found that teens in this ‘fixed’ mindset — even after a minor offense like getting bumped in the hall or being left out of a game of catch — relegated peers to the ‘bad person’ group, decided that they had offended on purpose and wanted aggressive revenge.”

The researchers developed and tested a brief intervention that taught the teens about the potential for change in people. The intervention reduced the respondents’ tendency to see the offense as having been done on purpose and reduced their desire for aggressive revenge even eight months after the students took part in the study.

Source: University of Texas at Austin
http://www.utexas.edu/news/2013/02/14/teaching-teens-that-bullies-can-change-reduces-aggression-in-school-study-shows/

Study Finds Alcohol Use as a Common Link Between Bullies and their Targets

A new study out of the University of Cincinnati finds that both school bullies and their victims are likely to abuse alcohol after a bullying episode.

The study examined bullying, recent alcohol use and heavy drinking episodes among more than 54,000 7th-through-12th grade students in schools across Greater Cincinnati, including the Tristate regions of Ohio, Kentucky and Indiana.

Results of the analysis found that more than 38 percent of students were involved in school violent victimization, defined as ranging from verbal intimidation to threatening with and using a weapon.

The study found that school violent victimization was associated with increased odds of recent alcohol use and heavy drinking among males and females and across 7th-12th grades.

Further, the study found junior high and high school students were one-and-a-half times more likely to have abused alcohol if they had been bullied.

"Bullies and their victims are reporting similar types of activity in relation to their drinking patterns. We believe the alcohol abuse may often be an effort to escape problems and to self-medicate," said Keith King, a University of Cincinatti professor and a lead author of the study.

Source: MedicalExpress
http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-10-common-bond-school-bullies-alcohol.html

Bullied Kids More Likely to Contemplate Suicide

Teens who are bullied by their peers are 2.5 times more likely to have suicidal thoughts than those who haven't had any recent harassment, according to a new study.

But, that risk jumps to between 3.4 and 4.4 times more likely when the child is sexually assaulted or mistreated by a parent, respectively. Suicide risk increases to six-fold for kids who have experienced seven or more individual types of victimization in the past year, the study found.

"Exposure to multiple forms of victimization is especially detrimental," study author Dr. Heather Turner, professor of sociology at the University of New Hampshire, in Durham, N.H., said to HealthDay. "These kids may be exposed to crime and violence at home by witnessing their parents fighting and other types of domestic violence, and they may witness violence in their neighborhoods and be bullied on the Internet. These are kids that are clearly experiencing a huge amount of adversity in multiple areas of their lives."

The study was published online on Oct. 22 in the Archives of Pediatric Medicine.

Source: CBS News
http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-204_162-57538401/bullied-kids-more-likely-to-contemplate-suicide/

Poll: Kids' Lack of Activity is Top Health Concern

A recent national poll finds that the top health concern of adults across the United States for children is they are "not getting enough exercise."

The annual University of Michigan C.S. Mott Children's Hospital National Poll on Children's Health comes up with a top 10 list of adults' biggest health concerns for kids in their communities.

For the first time, not enough exercise was rated by most adults, 39%, at the top of the list, according to a release from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor.

Thirty-eight percent of those polled listed childhood obesity as the top concern. Smoking and tobacco use was cited by 34% as the biggest concern.

The remaining top concerns are:
 4. Drug abuse (33%)
 5. Bullying (29%)
 6. Stress (27%)
 7. Alcohol abuse (23%)
 8. Teen pregnancy (23%)
 9. Internet safety (22%)
10. Child abuse and neglect (20%)

Source: USA Today
http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/story/2012-08-22/child-health/57219420/1

Cyberbullying [INFOGRAPHIC]

Infographic looks at how bullies have moved from the playground to the web.

Source: OnlineCollege
http://www.onlinecollege.org/cyberbullying/

 

CDC Study: 2011 Youth Risk Behavior Survey Results

Since 1991, The U.S. Centers for Disease Control has surveyed teens every two years in order to identify trends in risky adolescent behaviors. The results of the 2011 Youth Risk Behavior Survey have recently been released. Highlights of the current survey:

Results from the 2011 National Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS) show that significant progress has been made in improving behaviors related to motor vehicle safety.  Since 1991, the percentage of high school students who never or rarely wear seat belts has declined from 26% to 8%, and the percentage of high school students who rode with a driver who had been drinking alcohol during the past 30 days has declined from 40% to 24%.  In addition, since 1997, the percentage of high school students who had driven a car when they had been drinking alcohol during the past 30 days decreased from 17% to 8%.

Though notable progress also has been made in reducing alcohol use, alcohol remains the most commonly used drug among high school students.  Since 1999 the percentage of high school students who drank alcohol during the past 30 days decreased from 50% to 39% and, since 1997, the percentage who reported binge drinking (having 5 or more drinks of alcohol in a row during the past 30 days) decreased from 33% to 22%. Yet, more than 1 in 3 high school students reported current alcohol use in 2011, and 1 in 5 high school students reported binge drinking. Furthermore, marijuana use during the past 30 days decreased from 27% in 1999 to 23% in 2011, but it is now more prevalent than cigarette use during the past 30 days (23% vs. 18%).

The 2011 National YRBS showed for the first time that 1 of every 3 (33%) students had texted or e-mailed while driving a car or other vehicle during the past 30 days, and 1 of every 6 (16%) had been electronically bullied through e-mail, chat rooms, instant messaging, Web sites, or texting during the past 12 months—documenting unsafe practices and a troubling public health issue.

Other notable findings:

Lifetime alcohol use (at least one drink of alcohol): 70.8%, down from 72.5% in 2009.

Lifetime marijuana use (at least one use of marijuana): 39.9%, up from 36.8% in 2009.

Lifetime cigarette smoking (those who have tried cigarette smoking): 44.7%, down from 46.3% in 2009.

Have had sexual intercourse: 47.4%, up from 46% in 2009.

Seriously considered suicide during the 12 months before the survey: 15.8%, up from 13.8% in 2009.

Attempted suicide during the 12 months before the survey: 7.8%, up from 6.3% in 2009.

Rarely or never wore a seat belt: 7.7%, down from 9.7% in 2009.

Source: CDC
http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/pdf/ss/ss6104.pdf

Culture Surfing - May 31, 2012

Came across these culture stories of interest...

New York City to Ban Sales of Sugary Drinks over 16-Ounces.
http://newyork.cbslocal.com/2012/05/30/here-he-goes-again-bloomberg-set-to-ban-all-sugary-drinks-over-16-ounces/

Not sure how this helps fight obesity. I'm guessing it won't take long for New Yorkers to figure out how to purchase two medium-sized drinks.


Teen Cosmetic Surgeries Skyrocket
http://www.thedaily.com/page/2012/05/31/053112-news-teenage-plastic-surgery-1-3/

In 2011, about 250,000 teens oped for plastic surgery. Nose jobs and breast surgeries were the top two procedures performed.


Florida Mom Allegedly Chokes Teen Boy Over Facebook Comments About Daughter
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/05/30/debbie-piscitella-chokes-teen-facebook-florida_n_1556485.html

Mom has been charged with child abuse. Protective instincts are good, but assault is probably not the best method for addressing Facebook bullying.


Millennials Switch Mediums 27 Times an Hour
http://www.ypulse.com/post/view/redefining-social-as-millennials-switch-mediums-27-times-an-hour

By the time you say "attention deficit," millennials have already moved from a laptop to an iPhone.

Bullied Children at Greater Risk for Self-Harm

Children who are bullied are three times more likely than others to self-harm by the time they are 12 years old, according to a new study.

A team of researchers from the United States and the United Kingdom said its findings, published in the British Medical Journal, could help identify those at greatest risk for this type of behavior.

Examples of self-harming behaviors included cutting and biting arms, pulling out clumps of hair, head-banging and attempted suicide by strangulation, the study said.

The researchers examined sets of twins born between 1994 and 1995 in England and Wales. Six months before their 12th birthday, the twins' risk for self-harm was assessed. This information was available for 2,141 participants.

The investigators found that 237 of the children were the victims of bullies. Of these kids, 8 percent engaged in self-harm. In contrast, of the 1,904 children who had not been bullied, only 2 percent had self-harmed.

Among the bullied children, the study authors pointed out several factors that further increased their risk for self-harm, including:

• A family history of self-harming behavior
• Maltreatment
• Behavioral and emotional problems.

The researchers also noted in a journal news release that girls were more likely to self-harm than boys.

Source: U.S. News & World Report
http://health.usnews.com/health-news/news/articles/2012/04/27/bullied-children-at-greater-risk-for-self-harm-study-finds

Bully-Victims 3x More Likely to Have Suicidal Thoughts by Age 11

In a paper published in the latest issue of the Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, the researchers found children who are both victims and bullies ('bully-victims'), are at highly increased risk of considering suicide, or have planned and engaged in suicidal or self-harming behavior by 11-12 years of age. These increased odds were not explained by other factors family circumstances or pre-existing emotional problems.

The study used information collected from parents and teachers, as well as children, to see how common bullying or victim behavior was.

They found that, compared to children who were never bullied, 'bully-victims' were three times as likely to have suicidal thoughts, and that those who were bullied over a long period of time were six times more likely to consider suicide.

Those who bully others but never become victims (pure bullies) were also at increased risk for suicide thoughts and suicidal or self-harming behaviour but the findings were not as consistent.

Source: MedicalXpress
http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-02-bullies-victims-suicidal-thoughts-age.html