adolescents

14 Stories

On 'Defining Public Health Issue of Our Time,' a Warning

Surgeon General Vivek Murthy says social media is driving depression, anxiety in teens, kids

(Newser) - Few parents love seeing their kids hunched over their phones, scrolling like zombies through TikTok videos or Instagram posts, and a new warning from the nation's top doctor isn't about to alleviate those feelings. Per NBC News , Surgeon General Vivek Murthy has issued a new report on youth...

Young People Who Drink Solo, Take Heed of This Study

Study finds young solitary drinkers at increased risk for alcoholism in mid-30s

(Newser) - The manner in which you drink alcohol as a young person might be more important than how much you drink in determining future alcoholism risk, according to new research that warns against drinking alone in early life, especially if you're a young female. Researchers analyzed data from 4,500...

CDC Chief 'Deeply Concerned' on Teen COVID Cases

Rochelle Walensky cites rising hospitalization rates in plea to parents to get their kids vaccinated

(Newser) - The head of the CDC made a plea to parents of teens this week, imploring them to get their kids vaccinated against COVID and citing a study showing increased hospitalization rates of adolescents. "I am deeply concerned," Dr. Rochelle Walensky said Friday, the same day new research showed...

The Argument in Favor of a Longer Adolescence

Academics say adolescence shouldn't end until 24

(Newser) - Good news for young people tired of being told to grow up: A team of academics writing in the Lancet wants to expand the period in life we think of as adolescence by five years, CTV News reports. "The transition period from childhood to adulthood now occupies a greater...

Kids Grow Up Too Fast? Not Anymore
Why Today's Teens
Don't Act Their Age
NEW STUDY

Why Today's Teens Don't Act Their Age

'Helicopter parenting' is one factor, researchers say

(Newser) - Compared to a generation ago, today's young people are dawdling when it comes to experiencing behaviors traditionally seen as precursors to adulthood: drinking, driving, having sex, and joining the workforce. As a result, they're often called "lazy"—but that's not exactly accurate. According to researchers,...

Hey, Kids: Botox Could Hurt Your Emotional Development

Researcher fears 'blank-faced' generation

(Newser) - People under 25 are increasingly seeking Botox injections, and the phenomenon could threaten their emotional development, researchers say. A theory known as the "facial feedback hypothesis" holds that recreating others' facial expressions could be central to adolescents' emotional growth, says aesthetic nurse practitioner and researcher Helen Collier. But a...

Kids are Kids Til They're 25: Psychologists

But is adolescence lasting longer, or are we just indulging our children?

(Newser) - If your 24-year-old is acting like a kid, don't worry—he or she actually is one, at least according to psychologists, who now say adolescence continues until we're 25. "Neuroscience has made these massive advances where we now don't think that things just stop at a...

Sibling Fights Can Take a Toll
 Sibling Fights Can Take a Toll 
study says

Sibling Fights Can Take a Toll

Researchers link them to anxiety, depression later

(Newser) - A new study suggests that parents shouldn't ignore frequent arguments between their kids as harmless sibling rivalry. What's more, they should pay attention to what the fights are about, reports USA Today . Researchers found that:
  • Personal space, property: Teens who argued about these things—walking into a sibling'
...

Mean Girls Outgrow Bitchy .... Usually

Cooperation works better in the workplace, adulthood

(Newser) - Alpha "mean girls" from high school turn into get-along "gamma women" by the time they hit their 20s ... in most cases, according to experts. "Relational aggression" involving catty gossip, public digs and humiliating pranks tends to decline with age, with bullying plummeting in college, observers say. College...

Later School Start Time Means Happier Students

Adolescents need lots of sleep, have odd body clocks

(Newser) - Starting high school classes just 30 minutes later leads to marked improvement in students' moods and even their overall health, CNN reports . Teens need 8½ to 9¼ hours of sleep a night, and biological changes associated with adolescence mean they naturally fall asleep later than younger kids. In a small...

Teen Pregnancies, STDs Increase: CDC

Figures raise concerns after positive trends

(Newser) - After declining in 1991-2005, the US teen birth rate climbed in 2006 and 2007, HealthDay News reports. Crunching numbers from 2002-07, the Centers for Disease Control found a number of trends had flatlined or worsened after a period of improvement.
  • 2004 saw 745,000 pregnancies among females under 20, including
...

Depression Screening for All Teens Worries Parents

Task force calls for adolescent testing with focus on psychotherapy instead of drugs

(Newser) - A federal task force recommendation that all adolescents between the ages of 12 and 18 be screened for depression is causing controversy among parents and pediatricians, the Washington Post reports. Critics fear the amount of antidepressant drugs prescribed to teens will rise massively, although the Preventive Services Task Force stressed...

Moody Teen? Must Have an Immature Frontal Lobe

Decision-making area matures last: study

(Newser) - Scientists studying teenage brains believe the growth process is responsible for some of the more unpleasant traits of adolescence, the Daily Telegraph reports. Brain scans revealed that the front of the frontal lobe—responsible for impulses and decision-making—was among the very last parts of the brain to mature, which...

'Kidult' Culture Hides Isolation, Misery
 'Kidult' Culture Hides
 Isolation, Misery
glossies

'Kidult' Culture Hides Isolation, Misery

(Newser) - Today’s twentysomething men are a bunch of “kidults” and “thresholders,” writes Tony Dokoupil in Newsweek, content to stretch the transition from adolescence to adulthood into a decade of dude-centric activities like drinking, skirt-chasing, and mastering fire (“I’ll grill that potato salad,” one buddy...

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