With all those raging
hormones, every teenager is bound to “lose it” at one time or another. But a
recent study suggests that adolescents’ attacks of anger may indicate something
more serious than your standard puberty-related mood swings: nearly two-thirds
of youth report having had a bout of uncontrollable anger that involved
threatening violence, destroying property or engaging in violence toward
others, and nearly 8% — or close to 6 million teens — meet the criteria for
intermittent explosive disorder (IED), which is characterized by persistent,
out-of-control anger attacks that can’t be explained by a mental or medical
disorder or substance use.
The findings, by
researchers at Harvard Medical School, came from national surveys of nearly
6,500 American teens, aged 13 to 17, and their parents. The researchers found
that IED was more common than thought, and that it is severe and persistent;
kids usually start showing signs of IED in late childhood and the disorder
persists through adolescence, the authors say. IED in teens is also linked with
later problems, like depression and substance abuse in adulthood.
The study found,
however, that many teens weren’t getting the help they needed. Among the study
participants, 38% of those with IED received treatment for emotional problems
in the year prior to the survey, but only 17% of these teens — or just 6.5% of
all teens who had diagnosable IED — had received treatment specifically for
anger.
If IED could be detected
and treated early, however, clinicians could help prevent a substantial amount
of future violence and related mental harms, said senior author Ronald Kessler,
professor of health care policy at Harvard Medical School.
To meet the definition
of IED, according to the Diagnostic
and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, a person must have
three episodes of “impulsive aggressiveness grossly out of proportion to any
precipitating psychosocial stressor,” at any time during their lives. In the
current study, the researchers also used narrower definitions of IED that required
attacks of anger within the previous 12 months and found that many teens met
the standard. (The study excluded teens with other mental or emotional
disorders like bipolar disorder, ADHD, oppositional defiant disorder and
conduct disorder.)
“It’s a problem because
it really gets in the way of your life,” says Kessler. “There are lots of
things people don’t get treatment for because it doesn’t really impact them.
This does. The problem is an awful lot of people have it — more than I thought
— it’s awfully chronic, and it’s impairing.”
The authors find that
IED is not only underdiagnosed, but understudied as well. They write: “The
number of PubMed research reports dealing with panic attacks is roughly 60
times the number dealing with anger attacks even though the lifetime prevalence
of IED is considerably higher than the prevalence of panic disorder.”
Part of the problem may
be that overly angry or aggressive people fail to acknowledge their own
behavior. “I think one reason [IED] is understudied is that people who have
these anger problems very often do not consider it a problem. They don’t go in
for help. They may get arrested, but they don’t seek help on their own,” says
Kessler. “Some things like this and other social disorders can fall through the
cracks, and this is one of them.”
The authors say further
research is needed to understand the risk factors for IED in teens and to
improve diagnosis, screening and treatments.
The findings are published in the journal Archives of General Psychiatry.
Televison Shows
Which, Through Mind Altering Messages,
Turn
Our Youth Into Rebellious, Sexually Promiscuous, Self-Centered, Disrespectful
and Desensitized.
The young
cast members are paid to do nothing but party and create drama. With partying,
comes drinking, mistakes, and confusion and this show is designed to “appeal” to
the young viewers. MTV is glamorizing a lifestyle of drunken mistakes.We see out own everyday teen aged girls with their
hair done up in the famous snookie hairstyle (The poof), trying to talk like
Snookie, and even act like Snookie. These
young girls must think that the Jersey Shore cast are just the coolest. I look at them and see changes in her
personality. Why? Because look who their role models are! People who drink
their problems away and let their hormones do the talking.
Another
effect is that children begin to show bad behaviors, like fighting, using
profanity, etc. For example, a reality TV show that airs on MTV called The Real
World, majority of the roommates fight a lot and use profanity over the most
idiotic and unnecessary things due to either misunderstanding or high intake of
alcohol.
Pay close attention to what you see,
because you have no idea how much it impacts you and your children as people.
"Noneducational" reality TV includes shows like Keeping
Up With The Kardashians, Teen Pregnancy, and My Sweet Sixteen. These prime time shows
target youth, but they do not teach lessons. In fact, they do the opposite,
since many young people think it okay to emulate these reality show stars.
These shows promote drinking and heavy sexual content. Nonetheless they air in
the time slot that targets youth. Kids seem to be growing up faster than just
20 years ago; perhaps disrespect and aggression can be blamed on the influence
of the shows they are watching.
Instead of fighting and being rude to each other, it would be nice
if the characters in these shows could, for example, reflect how ten ordinary
people come into a house and work together to make the quality of life better
for everyone. They could show the reality of working together to pay the bills
and keep food on the table. They could teach how to step in when something bad
happens to someone else and help them get back on their feet in one way or
another.
Video Games:
A study of video games found that the few female
characters in those games are often highly sexualized—wearing tight revealing
clothing and having unrealistically large breasts and distorted small waists. (Girls
and Gaming, Children Now; 2000)
Video games and
other media sometimes use prostitutes as characters that are targets for
the male hero. In a game from the Duke
Nukem series, prostitutes are forced to strip and are then killed. In the
number one selling video game for 2001, Grand
Theft Auto III, the player can "clobber" a
prostitute with a baseball bat, with a new game technique, that allows the
player to feel he or she is really doing this. In other popular media,
prostitutes and strippers are often included to add scenes of female
breasts and rear-ends on camera. These "games" offer viewers
images of women and female sexuality associated with exchanging sex for
money, and sex with violence.
Non-realistic
and unhealthy body image:
The women seen
most often in the media are fashion models, pop stars (singers) and
actresses. (We don’t like the word "supermodel," ‘cause they
really don’t do anything that super.) Many women seen often in the media,
especially models and increasingly actresses, are seriously underweight,
and many diet and smoke to keep their natural weight off. (A girl or woman
who diets and is underweight can be undernourished, sometimes even losing her
menstrual period. Prolonged loss of periods can lead to fertility
problems---while constant or extreme dieting also carries health risks and
can actually lead to long-term weight gain.) (Body Wars, by
Margo Maine, 2000)
In a 1992 study
of female students at Stanford University, 70% of women reported feeling
worse about themselves and their bodies after looking at magazines. (A
British study also had a similar finding.) Roughly 50% of teen girls in
the U.S. read teen or adult fashion magazines. (Body Wars)
In movies, body
doubles are often used to substitute for "imperfect" female
movie stars (such as America’s favorite actress Julia Roberts, in one of
America’s favorite movies, Pretty
Woman). Eighty-five percent of these body doubles have breast
implants. (Jean Kilbourne, Can't Buy My Love, 2001)
Scientific
evidence suggests many women with breast implants have some adverse
affects: pain, permanently deformed skin if implant is removed, loss of
sensation in breast, interference with early detection of a tumor, and
potential links with serious auto-immune disorders. (National
Research Center for Women and Families.ca: Wash., D.C.)
Studies show
that all plastic surgeries among teens increased by almost 50% from
1996-1998, mostly for girls. At the same time there have been more
advertisements for breast implants and other surgeries, and more models,
actresses, and singers as "advertisements" for the surgeries
(think Cher, Pamela Anderson, Demi Moore, Mariah Carey, and some have
suggested, Britney). (newswecanuse.com; 1/9/01)
Hate and violence directed at women:
Words expressing hate and disrespect toward girls and
women are used frequently in popular media, and especially on TV and
radio. Use of words derogatory to girls and women like "bitch,"
"slut," "whore," and "ho" can be heard on
many TV and radio programs, especially those watched and listened to by
kids, including WWF (wrestling) programs, That 70’s Show, and Boston
Public, as well as on the radio.
Advertisements from some segments of the fashion
industry use images of violence against a woman and try to make it
fashionable or erotic. An ad for jeans in Elle shows three men physically
attacking a woman; an Italian edition of Vogue shows an ad with a man
pointing a gun at the face of a naked woman wrapped in plastic; from an
American skateboard manufacturer, an ad aimed at young men shows a man
pointing a gun at the head of a female, along with the slogan
"bitch." (Jean Kilbourne, Can't Buy My Love, 2001)
Dragon Age: Origins Video Game- City Elf Trailer Depicts Violence Against Women
Some Things You Should Know About Media Violence and Media
Literacy
Media violence
can lead to aggressive behavior in children. Over 1,000 studies confirm
this link.
By age 18, the
average American child will have viewed about 200,000 acts of violence on
television alone.
The level of
violence during Saturday morning cartoons is higher than the level of
violence during prime time. There are 3 to 5 violent acts per hour in
prime time, versus 20 to 25 acts per hour on Saturday morning.
Media violence
is especially damaging to young children (under age 8) because they cannot
easily tell the difference between real life and fantasy. Violent images
on television and in movies may seem real to young children. They can be
traumatized by viewing these images.
Media violence
affects children by:
a)Increasing
aggressiveness, rage and anti-social behavior.
b)Increasing
their fear of becoming victims.
c)Turning
them against their parents, making them disrespectful to their parents, elders and
authority figures; sometimes even violent.
d)Making
them less sensitive to violence and to victims of violence.
e)Increasing
their appetite for more violence in entertainment and in real life.
Media violence often fails to show the consequences of violence.
This is especially true of cartoons, toy commercials and music videos. As a result, children learn that there are few if any repercussions for committing violent acts.
Parents can reduce the effect media violence has on children by:
Limiting the amount of television children watch to 1 to 2 hours a day. Monitoring the programs children watch and restricting children's viewing of violent programs. Monitoring the music videos and films children see, as well as the music children listen to, for violent themes. Teaching children alternatives to violence.
Parents can help children develop media literacy skills by:
Helping children distinguish between fantasy and reality.
Teaching them that real-life violence has consequences.
Watching television with children and discussing the violent acts and images that are portrayed.
Ask children to think about what would happen in real life if the same type of violent act were committed. Would anyone die or go to jail? Would anyone be sad? Would the violence solve problems or create them?
I have added a post (above) of an article which I found to be interesting regarding teen anger/rage
and am including the link to it below;
it suggests that overwhelming anger /rage may be a disorder.
Cardinal
Tarcisio Bertone (shown here May 31 at the Vatican gardens) is Pope Benedict's
hand-picked deputy. Vatican watchers say it was Bertone's sacking of a top
administrator who denounced corruption inside the Holy See that triggered the
documents leak.
Vatican
analysts agree that the pope's butler, the mild-mannered 46-year-old Paolo
Gabriele, could not have acted alone and is not the whistle-blowing mastermind.
Gianluigi
Nuzzi, the Italian journalist who published the leaked letters, will not reveal
his sources. And he's is not at all convinced about Gabriele's guilt.
"It's
the Vatican press office that announced that many documents were found in the
butler's home," Nuzzi says. "Now, if he is the whistle-blower he must
be really stupid to hold on to all stuff. And it's very disturbing that the
trial will be held in secret."
But even if
Vatican trials are closed to the public, analyst Politi says, news of the proceedings
will leak out and provide further embarrassment for Benedict.
"The
pope in the last six to seven months has let happen so many scandals about
money and [transparency], that now the Roman Curia and Catholic public opinion
is in great disarray, everybody asking, 'What's going on?' " Politi says.
The Way I C It .....There is much more going on than we will ever know.
