Jim Liebelt's Youth Culture Watch

Unprepared for College [INFOGRAPHIC]

Source: CollegeAtHome.com

Deaths Surge Among Youngest Drivers

Deaths of teen drivers jumped 19% in the first six months of last year, more than double the percentage increase for overall traffic deaths, according to a new report.

There were 240 highway fatalities of 16- and 17-year-old drivers through the first half of 2012, up from 202 for the same period a year earlier, says the Governors Highway Safety Association, based on preliminary data from its members. Overall, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration projects that all traffic deaths were up 8% for the period.

If the numbers hold true for the second half of 2012, it would mark the second straight year of increases in deaths of teen drivers. In 2011, road deaths of 16- and 17-year-old drivers rose 3%, ending eight straight years of declines.

Allan Williams, an independent highway safety consultant who compiled the GHSA report, says the spike in teen driver fatalities likely reflects two factors: the improving economy and a leveling off of the safety benefits from graduated driver licensing (GDL) programs.

"The economy has a lot to do with highway deaths in general," says Williams, former chief scientist at the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. "It has even more of an effect on young people, who have less disposable income" and tend to drive less in a downturn.

He also speculates that the safety impact of graduated driver licensing laws, in which young people gain more driving privileges as they gain experience, might have waned. "We've gotten a lot of mileage out of GDL, but a lot of states still have programs that are somewhat weak," Williams says. "We need to pay more attention to the things that we know work."

Through June 2012, deaths of 16-year-old drivers increased 24%, to 107; fatalities of 17-year-olds rose 15% to 133, for a cumulative jump of 19%.

Source: USA Today
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/02/26/death-toll-surges-among-teen-drivers/1947599/

Rural Teens at High Risk for Pregnancy

Nationally, the birth rate for U.S. teens has plunged to record low levels, but a new analysis shows that a disproportionate share of teen births are in rural communities.

In 2010, the birth rate for girls ages 15 to 19 in rural counties was 43 per 1,000, nearly one-third higher than the rate for metropolitan counties (33 per 1,000), says a newly released report.

The national rate in 2010 was 34 births per 1,000; preliminary 2011 data show an 8% drop to a historically low 31 births per 1,000.

The new report by the National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy used the National Center for Health Statistics urban-rural classification system, which identifies rural counties (also called non-metro counties) as those with populations of less than 50,000. Metropolitan counties have populations of 50,000 or more.

"The prevailing stereotype is that teen parenthood is primarily an urban and suburban phenomenon," says Bill Albert, chief program officer for the Washington, D.C.-based non-profit. In fact, "the landscape of teen childbearing is more open spaces and fresh air than gridlock and high-rises," he says.

The results indicate that "the rates are far, far higher in rural areas compared to other parts of the country," Albert said. That suggests a greater need for efforts directed at helping rural teens avoid too-early pregnancy and parenthood.

Source: USA Today
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/02/20/rural-teen-births-analysis/1928727/

What's Hot? 2/22/13

Trending Today on Twitter - 2/22/13
     1. #ThingsIHateAboutSchool
     2. #TheMostAnnoyingThingsInLife
     3. #DontBotherMeWhenIm
     4. #SongsThatMakeMeCry
     5. #TGIF
     6. #nowplaying
     7. #FollowFriday
     8. #FaceofMLB
     9. #job
    10. #Oscars
Source: Twitter

Popular Today on Bing - 2/22/13
    1. Three Sisters Killed
    2. Woman 104 Lies About Age
    3. Lou Myers
    4. Winter Storm
    5. Britney Spears
    6. John Mayer
    7. Paula Broadwell
    8. Russell Brand
Source: Bing

iTunes Top 10 Singles - 2/22/13
     1. Harlem Shake - Baauer
     2. Thrift Shop (feat. Wanz) - Macklemore & Ryan Lewis
     3. When I Was Your Man - Bruno Mars
     4. Stay (feat. Mikky Ekko) - Rihanna
     5. One Way or Another (Teenage Kicks) - One Direc
     6. Started from the Bottom - Drake
     7. Scream & Shout (feat. Britney Spears) - will.i.am
     8. Hey Porsche - Nelly
     9. Suit & Tie (feat. Jay Z) - Justin Timberlake
    10. I Knew You Were Trouble - Taylor Swift
Source: Apple iTunes

Top 10 TV Shows in Prime Time - Week Ending 2/17/13
     1. The Big Bang Theory
     2. Person of Interest
     3. Two and a Half Men
     4. American Idol - Wed.
     5. American Idol - Thurs.
     6. Elementary
     7. 2 Broke Girls
     8. Blue Bloods
     9. Mike & Molly
    10. Modern Family
 Source: Nielsen Co

Most Viewed YouTube Videos  - 2/22/13
    1. Meteorite Crash in Russia
    2. (Another) Meteroite Crash in Russia
    3. Best Harlem Shake EVER
    4. Harlem Shake FAIL
    5. Dramatic CCTV: Meteorite Blast Wave
Source: YouTube

Top 5 Movies - Week Ending 2/21/13
    1. A Good Day to Die Hard
    2. Identity Thief
    3. Safe Haven
    4. Escape From Planet Earth
    5. Warm Bodies
Source: Variety

More Than a Quarter of Teens in Relationships Report "Digital Abuse"

Teens in relationships may be susceptible to being digitally abused by their boyfriends or girlfriends, according to a new study by the Urban Institute’s Justice Policy Center.

The report examines the role technology plays in teen dating abuse and how abusers use tech - from social media to email and text - to intimidate, coerce and harass their partners.

The study found 26 percent of teens in a romantic relationship said their partners had digitally abused them during the previous year. The findings, published in the Journal of Youth and Adolescence, are based on a survey of 5,647 dating middle-school and high-school students.

“Abusers use technology to stalk their partners, send them degrading messages, embarrass them publicly, and pressure them for sex or sexually explicit photos,” researcher Meredith Dank said.

The study found that girls in a relationship are digitally victimized more often than boys, especially when the abuse is sexual. Overall, girls in relationships report being victims of digital abuse more frequently than boys: 29 and 23 percent, respectively. This divide widens when the reported abuse involves sexual behavior. Approximately 15 percent of girls report sexual digital abuse, compared with 7 percent of boys. The gap narrows when the reported digital abuse is not sexual: 23 percent of girls compared with 21 percent of boys.

Further, tampering with a partner’s social media account is the most prevalent form of digital abuse. More than one in twelve teens in a relationship (8.7 percent) say their partner used their social networking account without their permission.

Source: St. Louis Post-Dispatch
http://www.stltoday.com/lifestyles/relationships-and-special-occasions/parenting/aisha-sultan/more-than-a-quarter-of-teens-in-relationships-report-digital/article_29daf7e8-a628-5463-a5b0-faf2c40dd5e6.html

Study: Parents Prefer the Pill Over Condoms for Their Teenage Daughters

"If your teen's doctor found out your daughter was having sex, is it acceptable or unacceptable to you for the doctor to provide birth control to your teen confidentially?" The question was posed to a diverse group of parents of girls aged 12 to 17. On a scale from 1 to 4, researchers at UC San Francisco wanted to know, how comfortable were they with their daughters being given birth control pills? Condoms? Emergency contraception? An intrauterine device (IUD)?

Per the results, published in the Journal of Adolescent Health, 59 percent said they'd be okay with birth control pills. Only 51 percent approved of condoms. And way down the scale, past injectables (46 percent), emergency contraception (45 percent), the transdermal patch (43 percent), and the implant (32 percent), was the IUD, with only 18 percent approval.

"The lower than expected acceptability of condoms likely reflects parents' overall low acceptability of contraception in general for their daughters," lead author Lauren Hartman wrote to me in an email. "It also highlights the importance of educating parents about the importance of condoms, both for protection from STIs and pregnancy."

Parents who believed their teenager was likely to have sex in the coming year were more likely to accept their use of emergency contraception and condoms. The authors suspect that they only begrudgingly okay'd those two because "parents may associate these methods with a single episode of sex rather than condoning an ongoing sexual relationship, which would require a more permanent contraceptive method."

Source: The Atlantic
http://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2013/02/study-parents-prefer-the-pill-over-condoms-for-their-teenage-daughters/273144/

Synthetic Marijuana Linked to Kidney Damage

A new report links the use of synthetic cannabinoids, which are sold under the names of "synthetic marijuana," "Spice" and "K2," with kidney damage.

Sixteen cases of acute kidney injury were reported in 2012 in six states after people smoked the synthetic marijuana, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report out today. The patients became sick within days and sometimes even hours after smoking. Their symptoms included nausea and vomiting as well as abdominal and flank pain. They were found to be in various stages of kidney failure. The cases were reported in Kansas, New York, Oklahoma, Oregon, Rhode Island and Wyoming.

Synthetic cannabinoids are designer drugs dissolved in a solvent, applied to plant material and then smoked. They can mimic the effects of THC, the psychoactive ingredient in marijuana. Even though the products are often sold as incense and labeled "Not for consumption," some people still smoke them as an alternative to marijuana.

Michael Schwartz, a co-author of the report, says, "Synthetic cannabinoids are not safe alternatives to marijuana. There are unexpected and unpredictable health problems that can occur."

Source: USA Today
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/02/14/synthetic-marijuana-kidney-damage/1919319/

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/

What's Hot? 2/15/13

Trending Today on Twitter - 2/15/13
     1. #FishMcBites
     2. #RussianMeteor
     3. #oneofmyexes
     4. #meteor
     5. #EscapeFromPlanetEarth
     6. #TGIF
     7. Houston
     8. Michael Jordan
     9. #AAASmtg
    10. #happyfriday
Source: Twitter

Popular Today on Bing - 2/15/13
    1. Brian Williams Angry With NBC
    2. Pete Rose Erased
    3. Chrysler Recall
    4. Restaurant Fines Customers
    5. Jim Jones Arrested
    6. Mariano Rivera
    7. Warren Buffet Heinz
    8. Danica Patrick
Source: Bing

iTunes Top 10 Singles - 2/15/13
     1. Thrift Shop (feat. Wanz) - Macklemore & Ryan Lewis
     2. Stay (feat. Mikky Ekko) - Rihanna
     3. Harlem Shake - Baauer
     4. When I Was Your Man - Bruno Mars
     5. Suit & Tie (feat. Jay Z) - Justin Timberlake
     6. Ho Hey - Lumineers
     7. Started from the Bottom - Drake
     8. Scream & Shout (feat. Britney Spears) - will.i.am
     9. I Knew You Were Trouble - Taylor Swift
    10. I Will Wait - Mumford & Sons
Source: Apple iTunes

Top 10 TV Shows in Prime Time - Week Ending 2/10/13
     1. Grammy Awards
     2. NCIS
     3. The Big Bang Theory
     4. NCIS: Los Angeles
     5. Person of Interest
     6. American Idol - Wed.
     7. Two and a Half Men
     8. American Idol - Thurs.
     9. Criminal Minds
    10. 2 Broke Girls
 Source: Nielsen Co

Most Viewed YouTube Videos  - 2/15/13
    1. Rihanna - Stay ft. Mikky Ekko
    2. Helicopter Crash Caught on Camera
    3. UGA Men's Swim & Dive Harlem Shake
    4. Harlem Shake (Black Edition)
    5. asdfmovie6
Source: YouTube

Top 5 Movies - Week Ending 2/14/13
    1. Identity Thief
    2. Warm Bodies
    3. Side Effects (2013)
    4. Silver Linings Playbook
    5. Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters
Source: Variety

College Students with Helicopter Parents More Likely to be Depressed

Helicopter parents who still run their university-aged children's schedules, laundry and vacations could be doing more harm than good with a new study showing these students were more likely to be depressed and dissatisfied with life.

Researcher Holly Schiffrin from the University of Mary Washington in Virginia found so-called helicopter parenting negatively affected college students by undermining their need to feel autonomous and competent.

Her study found students with over-controlling parents were more likely to be depressed and less satisfied with their lives while the number of hyper-parents was increasing with economic fears fuelling concerns over youngsters' chances of success.

"You expect parents with younger kids to be very involved but the problem is that these children are old enough to look after themselves and their parents are not backing off," Schiffrin, an associate professor of psychology, told Reuters.

"To find parents so closely involved with their college lives, contacting their tutors and running their schedules, is something new and on the increase. It does not allow independence and the chance to learn from mistakes."

Schiffrin said the increase in technology had changed the involvement of parents in their children's college lives as the once-a-week phone call home was replaced with regular texting, emails and messaging.

The study was published in Springer's Journal of Child and Family Studies.

Source: Reuters
http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/02/13/us-parents-students-idUSBRE91C18520130213