Boarding Schools for Girls

Modern American teen girls and young women may have more opportunities than ever before, but a May 9 article by Jackie Burrell of the Contra Costa Times notes that these options are often accompanied by an unhealthy pressure that can have a debilitating effect those who feel forced to achieve "supergirl" status:

In what may be the ultimate irony, there's never been a better time to be an American girl -- or one that's as risky. Teen suicide, depression, cutting and eating disorder rates are soaring.

In 2004-05 suicide rates jumped 76 percent for tweens and 32 percent for teenage girls ages 15-18, according to the Centers for Disease Control. And some experts say the troubling mental health statistics have much to do with the crushing burden society puts on teenage girls.

It's no longer enough to do well in school and be a caring, devoted friend. Today's young women are expected to combine high-caliber academic, athletic and extra-curricular performance, with the style and looks of "Gossip Girl's" Serena van der Woodsen.

In their efforts to meet "supergirl" expectations, many girls "confess they're practically mainlining caffeine and Red Bull," Burrell reports. "They're using Aderall, the ADHD medication that's misused on college campuses to sharpen focus and pump up test-taking ability."

Depression, anxiety, and the abuse of energy drinks and prescription pills can have devastating effects on teen girls and young women, many of whom may require residential substance abuse treatment in order to overcome their self-defeating behaviors and pursue a healthier and more satisfying future.

Labels: depression, girls, suicide, drug_use

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An annual survey from the Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse found that teens are drinking and smoking less but abusing more prescription painkillers, stimulants, and marijuana.

According to the CASA report, smoking and drinking have been on a steady decline since 1997. For example, the percentage of 12th graders drinking decreased from 19% to 11%; among 10th graders, the decline was 43% to 29%.

However, more teenagers are using prescription drugs, especially painkillers OxyContin and Vicodin, and stimulants Ritalin and Adderall. The number of prescriptions written for these drugs has doubled in the past 10 years.

The annual survey, called "Monitoring the Future," was conducted by the University of Michigan, using data on 46,000 students in grades eight to 12.

Labels: abuse, drug_use, prescription_drugs

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A survey conducted by the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse (CASA) indicates that "problem parents" are to blame for increased rates of smoking, drinking, and drug use among U.S. teens.

According to an Aug. 14, 2008, release on the CASA website, the organization's 13th annual "National Survey of American Attitudes on Substance Abuse" reveals that parents who are lax in their supervisory responsibilities or who model inappropriate behaviors put their children at greater risk for engaging in unhealthy activities:

Problem parents - those who fail to monitor their children's school night activities, safeguard their prescription drugs, address the problem of drugs in their children's schools, and set good examples - increase the risk that their 12- to 17-year old children will smoke, drink, and use illegal and prescription drugs.

"This year's survey reveals that too many mothers and fathers are problem parents who fail to take essential steps to prevent their kids from smoking, drinking or using drugs. By their actions - and inactions - by failing to become part of the solution, these parents become part of the problem of teen alcohol and drug abuse," said Joseph A. Califano, Jr., CASA's chairman and president and former U.S. Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare.

"Indeed, these problem parents enable - some even encourage - their 12- to 17-year olds to use and abuse tobacco, alcohol, and illegal and prescription drugs."

The release included the following findings that CASA personnel said were indicative of poor parenting:

• Though 46 percent of 12- to 17-year-olds reported leaving the house on school nights to hang out with friends, only 14 percent of parents said their children did so.
• Thirty-four percent of teens with knowledge of prescription drug abuse said the abusers got the medication from home.
• Twenty-five percent of students who were surveyed said they know another teen whose parent smokes marijuana - and 10 percent said that the parent has smoked marijuana in the presence of teenagers.

"Every mother and father should look in the mirror and ask themselves if they are doing the parenting essential to help their child negotiate the difficult teen years free of tobacco, alcohol, and drugs," Elizabeth Planet, CASA's Director of Special Projects, said in the release.

Labels: parenting, alcohol, drug_use

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If your daughter is spending too much time in a tanning both, skin cancer may not be your only worry.  

According to a new study in the medical journal the Archives of Dermatology, teens who overuse tanning booths are more likely to overuse alcohol and drugs too.

Researchers from the Sloan Kettering Cancer Center and State University of New York studied 421 college students, asking them questions that would reveal an "addiction" to indoor tanning salons such as "Do you ever feel guilty that you are using tanning beds too much?" and "Do you try other non-tanning related activities but find you really like spending time in tanning booths?"

About 42% of the students in the survey who were compulsive about indoor tanning reported using more than one drug in the previous month. They were more likely to drink alcohol and smoke more marijuana than other students.

A new federal law provides that tanning booth customers pay an extra 10% tax starting this summer. Studies from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration found that indoor tanning causes skin cancer, premature aging, and eye damage.
 

Labels: alcohol, tanning, drug_use

Posted By: Jane St. Clair 0 Comments

Bobby Persinger has been talking to young people for years about the dangers of drug use. Lately, he’s noticed a disturbing trend – girls are less likely to take a stand against drug use. They used to be the first ones in class to say “drugs are bad,” but they’re not saying it now.

So, Persinger wasn’t surprised when he read a recent study by the Partnership for a Drug Free America that suggested that American girls’ attitudes about drugs and alcohol have changed. The study found that in 2009, teenage girls saw drug use as more positive and acceptable, making young women more vulnerable to becoming drug users. [Source: Newark (NJ) Advocate]

More than 3,200 high school students were surveyed for Partnership’s most recent study. This was the first year that attitudes about drugs were compared between boys and girls. Most of the girls who participated in this year’s survey said they believed there were benefits to using drugs and alcohol. Unfortunately, this could indicate that drug use among girls is about to increase.

 

Labels: girls, drug_use

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Adolesent and teen girls today are maturing in an era marked by increased alcohol and drug abuse among adult women.

One in five women who work full-time engage in binge drinking and almost 5% use illegal drugs, according to a new report from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA).

The study found that as working women get older, they tend to drink, and use drugs less frequently. For example, among 18 to 25-year-old working women, 37% are binge drinkers, compared to 18% of 35 to 49-year-olds, and 9% of 50 to 64-year-olds.

The researchers estimated that 3.6 million of the 50 million full-time female workers need substance abuse treatment. Currently, the majority (78%) of women in substance abuse treatment are unemployed.
 

Labels: alcohol, drug_use, drug

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