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Filed under: In The News, Research Reveals: Teens
More of today's teens are reporting anxiety and depression. Credit: Getty Images
The study, which looked at responses to a psychological questionnaire used as far back as 1938, confirms that students are struggling with life's stresses now more than ever before, according to a story in USA Today.
Researchers at five universities looked at the responses of 77,756 high school and college kids who took the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) between 1938 and 2007. Their findings? Kids have a much higher rate of several mental health issues, including clinical depression (6 percent now, 1 percent in 1938) and "hypomania," a measure of anxiety and unrealistic optimism (5 percent in 1938 and 31 percent now).
"It's another piece of the puzzle -- that yes, this does seem to be a problem, that there are more young people who report anxiety and depression," Jean Twenge, a San Diego State University psychology professor and the study's lead author, tells USA Today. "The next question is: What do we do about it?'"
Twenge points out that the numbers may even be low, given that many students may be taking antidepressants or other psychotropic medications to alleviate the symptoms that the survey specifically asks about.
Another alarming result of the study is that more students showed increased "psychopathic deviation." This condition is loosely related to psychopathic behavior in a milder form, and is defined as feeling that rules don't apply to you and struggling with authority. The percentage of young people who scored high in that category went from 5 percent in 1938 to 24 percent in 2007.
Parents -- who may be part of the problem with the modern tendency to hover -- say they see the differences in today's culture. One mother from northern New Jersey, whose daughter is being treated for depression, tells the newspaper she doesn't remember her teen years being "this hard."
"We all wanted to be popular, but there wasn't this emphasis on being perfect and being super skinny," says the unidentified mom. "In addition, it's 'How much do your parents make?' I'd like to think that's not relevant, but I can't imagine that doesn't play a role."
Are helicopter parents responsible for this new trend, or is society at large to blame?
Related: Stress in Children and Teens
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ReaderComments (Page 1 of 1)
1-14-2010 @ 12:42PM
SKL said...Hmm, let's see. Assuming these figures are accurate (big assumption), what has changed since then?
A culture of free sex vs. don't you dare even think about it;
A culture that abhors spanking vs. just about every kid having been spanked;
A culture that does not acknowledge the inherent value of human life;
A culture that encourages kids to worry about things they CANNOT change or even verify or that aren't even real (e.g., alleged global warming, nuclear war, extreme video game violence), and not deal with things they CAN impact (e.g., working to help pull one's weight in the family / community, caring for younger siblings, accountability);
A culture that encourages and demonstrates self-reliance versus expecting to be the recipient of "compassion" or entitlements.
And the above have been pushed based on the misguided belief that these will actually alleviate kids' mental issues. Do you think we will ever get to the point where the mistakes are admitted and reversed?
Reply
5-17-2010 @ 3:22AM
Cher Lynn said...I love how your mind works, and wish we could make thinking and personal responsibility mandatory. It's not going to happen soon, but I have my fingers crossed on seeing it happen before I die.
1-14-2010 @ 1:19PM
Mihir said...is it that there are actual factors which increase the amount of stress? or is it that there is the same amount of stress, but they just don't have the same coping skills as teenagers of the past?
Reply
5-13-2010 @ 4:21AM
kitty F. Sauber said...SKL- the first contributor to this Comment List gave a superb
analysis , targetting many of the key elements in
in present day changes in thinking and behaviors.
The stresses of daily life csn't be compared even to 20 years
earlier.
Today, demands upon us are very "fast moving"/more exacting on our time and health , almost gone is the
friendly, easy human interaction and communication. Cities and
and buildings we live in are "anonymous environments". Our
neighbors change like musical chair games... It does take a
neighborhood to raise children and to reinforce social values.
Behaviors, communication ,what to think are dictated and
modeled by the advertisers, manufacturers ,radio talk shows TV shows, films, malls.
The misguided sense of entitlement with demands on others, to
dump on others with impunity all guided by a false sense of
anonymity, selfishness/dishonesty, watering down of civil
communication and the constant bombardment of news and
shows with violence and aggression on TV, films, Newspapers,
provide confusing input to the stressed teens and older.
The home and teachers lack significant influence which now
comes from outside sources.
Classrooms are overcrowded, teachers lack time
relating to the students on an individual basis.
It appears as the world is in a social Limbo. It stresses!
Even most of the popular music and words are harsh/shrill -no
melody. Even Mickey Mouse is being modified to be more
aggressive!
Change is life, and out of this chaos eventually
may spring a new set of patterns with civilized purpose, reason ,
accountability , mindfulness- respect for ourselves and the rights
and liberty of others. Hopefully there will be a renewal of the
popular arts and music to include the beauty of tone, melody,
gentleness.
5-16-2010 @ 10:53PM
Melanie said...All of Disney was waaay more frightening back in the day.
However...Honestly, I think if we all take a step back and look at the bigger picture here, aside from Mickey Mouse and Violence in video games, and on TV etc etc.... The accountability lies mainly on the parents. Parenting has become rediculous. The "helicopter parents" aren't really parenting. They are obsessing about things that have no real impact on kids, while the things that are impacting them are going unnoticed. That really kills me. People are so ready to blame, blame, blame. Blame the media, blame the video games, blame the music videos. Well here's an idea, if you disagree with the content, step in as a PARENT and tell your children they aren't to be watching/playing these things. You can't blame a kid for what they see if you as the parent aren't doing your job to help guide them in the directions they need to be looking in the first place. And on the vast other side of the spectrum (not really) are the parents that don't do the helicopter thing but something that is even more irritating. The "friend" approach to parenting. I don't know about you, but my parents didn't become my friends until after I was an adult. Only now do I have friend-like conversations with them, all the while maintaining the respect they deserve. I know my boundaries even now. When I was a kid, I did what I was told or I was reprimanded (i.e. spanked or grounded or whatever punishment fit the crime). IT IS OUR JOB AS PARENTS TO PARENT, NOT LET THE TEACHERS, AND THE MEDIA, AND THE VIDEO GAMES DO IT!!.
Reply