Jim Liebelt's Youth Culture Watch

More U.S. Teens Are Vaping Pot

*The following is excerpted from an online article posted on HealthDay.

As electronic-cigarette use has soared among America's teens, so have the number vaping marijuana, two new reports indicate.

A team from the University of Nebraska found youth use of pot in e-cigarettes rose from 11% in 2017 to 15% one year later. And University of Michigan researchers found that in 2019, 14% of 12th graders reported marijuana vaping in the prior month, an increase from about 7% in 2018.

These rising rates are concerning for multiple reasons.

"Marijuana use in adolescence could lead to adverse effects on brain development, mental health, and academic performance," said Hongying Dai, an associate professor of biostatistics at the College of Public Health at the University of Nebraska Medical Center, in Omaha.

"E-cigarette use has also been related to the recent spate of severe lung diseases," added Dai, who led the Nebraska study. The majority of those illnesses are linked to vaping devices containing THC, the main psychoactive ingredient in pot, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

For her study, Dai and colleagues gathered data on 38,000 students in grades six through 12 who took part in the National Youth Tobacco Survey.

In the other study, researchers were led by Richard Miech, a research professor at the University of Michigan Institute of Social Research. The team used data from the 2018 and 2019 Monitoring the Future surveys of eighth, 10th and 12th graders.

In addition to the increase in vaping among 12th graders, the investigators found that 4% of eighth-graders said they vaped marijuana in 2019 -- a jump from less than 3% the previous year. Among 10th graders, nearly 13% said they had vaped marijuana in 2019, up from 7% in 2018.

For 10th and 12th graders, these increases were larger than those seen between 2017 and 2018, the researchers noted.

Also, in 2019, kids who vaped marijuana were twice as likely to be daily vapers, compared with those who hadn't vaped marijuana, the findings showed.

However, "overall teen use of marijuana by any method did not increase in 2019," Miech said.

The reports were published online in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

Source: HealthDay
https://consumer.healthday.com/public-health-information-30/marijuana-news-759/more-u-s-teens-are-vaping-pot-753149.html

Teen Overdoses From Anxiety Drug Rising

*The following is excerpted from an online article posted on EurekAlert.

The number of teens taking and overdosing from benzodiazepines, commonly prescribed anxiety medications, has risen dramatically over the past decade, according to a national study co-authored by Rutgers researchers.

The study, published in the journal Clinical Toxicology, found a 54 percent increase in cases involving children ages 12 to 18 that were reported to U.S. Poison Control Centers from 2000 to 2015.

The researchers, from several institutions including MedStar Health, analyzed 296,838 benzodiazepine exposure cases involving children under the age of 18 obtained from the National Poison Data System. While the rate of exposure in children under the age of 6 decreased, the rate for adolescents rose from 17.7 exposures per 100,000 children in 2000 to 27.3 exposures per 100,000 children in 2015. The study also found a rise in intentional abuse, with nearly half of all reported exposures in 2015 documented as intentional abuse, misuse or attempted suicide.

"While benzodiazepine overdose by itself is typically not life-threatening, the findings of this study show an increase in teens taking one or more additional substances, which increases the severity of the effects, including death or life-threatening symptoms that can affect future health," said Diane Calello, executive and medical director of the New Jersey Poison Control Center at Rutgers New Jersey Medical School's Department of Emergency Medicine, one of the authors.

Approximately 70,000 children receive care in an emergency department annually due to medication overdoses, with nearly 12 percent of those visits resulting in hospitalization. Calello said the increased availability of prescription medications is a likely cause of both adult and pediatric poisonings.

Source: EurekAlert!
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2019-12/ru-tof121319.php

What's Hot? 12/20/19 - A 2019 Recap

Most Discussed Worldwide on Twitter in 2019
1. Game of Thrones (among TV shows)
2. Avengers: Endgame (among Movies)
3. Tom Holland (among Actors)
4. BTS (among Musicians)
5. FC Barcelona (among Sports teams)
6. Megan Rapinoe (among female Athletes)
7. Neymar (among male Athletes)
8. #NotreDame (among News-related hashtags)
9. Donald Trump (among Politicians)
10. 😂 (top emoji used)
Source: Twitter

Top 2019 Searches on Google
1. Disney Plus
2. Cameron Boyce
3. Nipsey Hussle
4. Hurricane Dorian
5. Antonio Brown
6. Luke Perry
7. Avengers: Endgame
8. Game of Thrones
9. iPhone 11
10. Jussie Smollett
Source: Google

Apple Music Top Streamed Songs of 2019
1. Old Town Road (feat. Billy Ray Cyrus) - Lil Nas X
2. Sunflower - Post Malone & Swae Lee
3. thank u, next - Ariana Grande
4. 7 rings - Ariana Grande
5. bad guy - Billie Eilish
6. Wow. - Post Malone
7. Going Bad (feat. Drake) - Meek Mill
8. Without Me - Halsey
9. Drip Too Hard - Gunna & Lil Baby
10. SICKO MODE - Travis Scott
Source: Apple Music

Most Watched TV Episodes of 2019
1. The Big Bang Theory, "The Stockholm Syndrome" - May 16 - 18.52 million viewers
2. Young Sheldon, "A Swedish Science Thing..." - May 16 - 13.6M viewers
3. Game of Thrones, "The Iron Throne" - May 16 - 13.1M viewers
4. NCIS, "Out of the Darkness" - Sept. 24 - 12.57M viewers
5. The Masked Singer, "Season Finale" - Feb. 27 - 11.47M viewers
6. The Voice - "Blind Auditions, Part 3" - March 4 - 10.97M viewers
7. America's Got Talent, "Live Results Finale" - Sept. 18 - 10.21M viewers
8. FBI, "The Lives of Others" - Oct. 1 - 9.46M viewers
9. Blue Bloods, "Ripple Effect" - Feb. 1 - 9.13M viewers
10. This Is Us, "Her" - April 2 - 8.22M viewers
Source: bestlifeonline.com

Most Viewed YouTube Videos of All Time
1. Despacito - Luis Fonsi - ft. Daddy Yankee
2. Shape of You - Ed Sheeran
3. See You Again - Wiz Khalifa ft. Charlie Puth
4. Masha and the Bear: Recipe for Disaster - Get Movies
5. UpTown Funk - Mark Ronson ft. Bruno Mars
Source: YouTube

Top 5 Movies 2019
1. Avengers: Endgame ($858 Million)
2. The Lion King ($544 Million)
3. Toy Story 4 ($434 Million)
4. Captain Marvel ($427 Million)
5. Spider-Man: Far From Home ($391 Million)
Source: The Numbers.com

Most Parents Struggle to Spot Depression in Teens

*The following is excerpted from an online article posted on HealthDay.

Most American parents say they might have trouble distinguishing between a teen's typical mood swings and possible signs of depression, a recent survey finds.

The nationwide poll of 819 parents with at least one child in middle school, junior high or high school found that while one-third were confident they could detect depression in their children, two-thirds said certain things would make it difficult.

About 30% of parents said their child is good at hiding feelings and 40% said they struggle to differentiate between their child's normal mood swings and signs of depression, according to the C.S. Mott Children's Hospital National Poll on Children's Health at the University of Michigan.

"In many families, the preteen and teen years bring dramatic changes both in youth behavior and in the dynamic between parents and children," poll co-director Sarah Clark explained in a university news release.

"These transitions can make it particularly challenging to get a read on children's emotional state and whether there is possible depression," she added.

Source: HealthDay
https://consumer.healthday.com/kids-health-information-23/adolescents-and-teen-health-news-719/most-parents-struggle-to-spot-depression-in-teens-752181.html

Students Do Better in School When They Can Understand, Manage Emotions

*The following is excerpted from an online article posted on ScienceDaily.

Students who are better able to understand and manage their emotions effectively, a skill known as emotional intelligence, do better at school than their less-skilled peers, as measured by grades and standardized test scores, according to research published by the American Psychological Association.

"Although we know that high intelligence and a conscientious personality are the most important psychological traits necessary for academic success, our research highlights a third factor, emotional intelligence, that may also help students succeed," said Carolyn MacCann, Ph.D., of the University of Sydney and lead author of the study. "It's not enough to be smart and hardworking. Students must also be able to understand and manage their emotions to succeed at school."

The research was published in the journal Psychological Bulletin.

MacCann and her colleagues analyzed data from more than 160 studies, representing more than 42,000 students from 27 countries, published between 1998 and 2019. More than 76% were from English-speaking countries. The students ranged in age from elementary school to college. The researchers found that students with higher emotional intelligence tended to get higher grades and better achievement test scores than those with lower emotional intelligence scores. This finding held true even when controlling for intelligence and personality factors.

What was most surprising to the researchers was the association held regardless of age.

"Students with higher emotional intelligence may be better able to manage negative emotions, such as anxiety, boredom, and disappointment, that can negatively affect academic performance," she said. "Also, these students may be better able to manage the social world around them, forming better relationships with teachers, peers, and family, all of which are important to academic success."

Source: ScienceDaily
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/12/191212095906.htm

Teen Drinkers at High Risk of Assault and Sexual Harassment

*The following is excerpted from an online article posted on MedicalXpress.

More than 70 percent of teenage girls who are risky drinkers report unwanted sexual attention from other drinkers—just one of a multitude of harms young people experience from 'second-hand drinking', according to new Australian research.

The study in the latest issue of Public Health Research & Practice, published by the Sax Institute, sheds light on the compounding effects of risky drinking in young Australians, identifying for the first time a range of specific harms teenage consumers of alcohol experience at the hands of other drinkers.

The research—involving 3465 Australian teenagers who consume alcohol at risky levels for their age and gender—found girls and young women were at substantial risk of seven specific harms from others' drinking, mostly concerning fear and harassment. These included receiving unwanted sexual attention (71 percent of female participants); being harassed in a public place (42 percent); being left alone in an unsafe situation (31 percent), and being placed in a state of fear (33 percent).

Boys and young men were at greater risk of three specific harms involving aggression: being pushed or shoved (42 percent); being yelled at or verbally abused (38 percent), and being physically hurt (17 percent). Over one-third of risky drinkers of both genders had witnessed serious violence in the previous year.

Compared with adolescents in the general population, teens who drink at risky levels are two to three times as likely to experience harm from other drinkers, according to the study authors led by Dr. Tina Lam, a Research Fellow at the Monash Addiction Research Centre.

Source: MedicalXpress
https://medicalxpress.com/news/2019-12-dangers-second-hand-teen-drinkers-high.html

Prediabetes Now Common Among Teens, Young Adults

*The following is excerpted from an online article posted on HealthDay.

New government research delivers some concerning news for U.S. teens -- almost 1 in 5 has prediabetes.

Young adults fared even worse -- 1 in 4 of those aged 19 to 34 have prediabetes, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report found.

A person with prediabetes has higher than normal blood sugar levels. The levels aren't yet high enough to be considered type 2 diabetes. But often, people who have prediabetes go on to develop type 2 diabetes.

"Prediabetes is very prevalent among adolescents and young adults. We want people to know that this is a serious health condition that raises the risk of developing type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and stroke," said study author Linda Andes, a statistician with the CDC's Division of Diabetes Translation.

The good news? "Prediabetes can be reversed," she said. "This can be a wake-up call to motivate people into action -- eating a healthier diet, getting more physical activity and losing weight."

The researchers used data from nationally representative nutrition surveys that included almost 6,000 teens and young adults. Blood sugar levels were assessed with three different testing methods. Other tests, such as blood pressure and cholesterol, were also done.

The study found that 18% of teens had prediabetes. For young adults, that number was 24%.

Obese teens and young adults were more likely to have prediabetes. Male teens and young adults were far more likely to have prediabetes than females.

Adolescents and young adults with prediabetes also had higher cholesterol and blood pressure and carried more weight around their abdomen.

Source: HealthDay
https://consumer.healthday.com/diseases-and-conditions-information-37/prediabetes-995/prediabetes-now-common-among-teens-young-adults-752673.html

What's Hot? 12/13/19

Trending Today on Twitter - 12/13/19
1. Friday the 13th
2. Happy Friday the 13th
3. #FridayFeeling
4. #Z100JingleBall
5. #FridayThoughts
6. #FridayMotivation
7. #MoscowMitchMcConnell
8. Tom Joyner
9. Kaytranada
10. Bill Burr
Source: Twitter

Trending Today on Google - 12/13/19
1. Luca Doncic
2. Ravens
3. Game Awards 2019
4. Presidents Cup
5. Monica Ruiz
6. Europa League
7. Tessa Majors
8. PS5
9. BBC news
10. Black Christmas
Source: Google

Apple Music Top 10 Singles - 12/13/19
1. The Box - Roddy Ricch
2. Start wit Me (feat. Gunna) - Roddy Ricch
3. Bandit - Juice WRLD & YoungBoy Never Broke Again
4. Peta (feat. Meek Mill) - Roddy Ricch
5. BOP - DaBaby
6. Woah - Lil Baby
7. Tip Toe (feat. A boogie wit da Hoodie) - Roddy Ricch
8. Heartless - The Weeknd
9. High Fashion (feat. Mustard) - Roddy Ricch
10. Moonwalkin (feat. Lil Durk) - Roddy Ricch
Source: Apple Music

Top 10 TV (Cable) Shows - Week Ending 12/8/19
1. Monday Night Football Minnesota vs Seattle
2. Monday Night Kickoff
3. Hannity - Wed
4. Sportscenter 12a - Mon
5. Tucker Carlson Tonight - Wed
6. Hannity - Thurs
7. Hallmark Original Movie: Christmas at Dollywood
8. Tucker Carlson Tonight - Tues
9. Hannity - Tues
10. Tucker Carlson Tonight - Thurs
Source: TV By The Numbers

Trending Today on YouTube - 12/13/19
1. YoungBoy Never Broke Again - Dirty Iyanna
2. Xbox Series X - World Premiere
3. The Witcher Final Trailer Netflix
4. Mozzy - Big Homie From The Hood
5. Kendall Jenner Impersonates Kylie in the Best Way
Source: YouTube

Top 5 Movies - Last Weekend
1. Frozen II
2. Knives Out
3. Ford v Ferrari
4. Queen & Slim
5. A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood
Source: Rotten Tomatoes

Helicopter Parenting Impact Can Last as Long as College Years

*The following is excerpted from an online article posted on Parentology.

The notion of helicopter parenting has become more prevalent and largely associated with parents of young children. A new Florida State University (FSU) study finds helicopter parenting continues well into young adulthood and can have devastating impacts on college students.

The FSU study surveyed over 400 college students and found a direct correlation between helicopter parenting and student burnout. Ross W. May, Ph.D. — co-author of the study, and a research assistant professor and associate director of The Florida State University Family Institute — defines it for Parentology as, “Helicopter parenting involves parenting behaviors considered overinvolved, overprotective, and overcontrolling in respect to their child’s age and ability.”

For children to successfully mature into young adulthood, they need to develop and utilize self-control. “Emerging adulthood is a time in which individuals assume more adult responsibilities, thus, helicopter parenting at this stage is likely to interfere with a healthy developmental trajectory,” May states.

Helicopter parenting essentially robs children of the opportunity to develop self-control and competently manage themselves and their emotions.

While most helicopter parents’ behavior begins as an attempt to ensure a child’s success, this research shows it may have the opposite effect. Students lacking self-control often feel overwhelmed by the demands and stresses associated with college, which can lead to burnout. Students suffering from burnout are more likely to have lower grades, drop out of school, and suffer from more severe conditions like anxiety or depression.

Source: Parentology
https://parentology.com/helicopter-parenting-effects/

Study: Play Sports for a Healthier Brain

*The following is excerpted from an online article posted on MedicalXpress.

A new Northwestern University study shows that, in the absence of injury, athletes across a variety of sports—including football, soccer, and hockey—have healthier brains than non-athletes.

"No one would argue against the fact that sports lead to better physical fitness, but we don't always think of brain fitness and sports," said senior author Nina Kraus, the Hugh Knowles Professor of Communication Sciences and Neurobiology and director of Northwestern's Auditory Neuroscience Laboratory (Brainvolts). "We're saying that playing sports can tune the brain to better understand one's sensory environment."

Athletes have an enhanced ability to tamp down background electrical noise in their brain to better process external sounds, such as a teammate yelling a play or a coach calling to them from the sidelines, according to the study of nearly 1,000 participants, including approximately 500 Northwestern Division I athletes.

The study examined the brain health of 495 female and male Northwestern student athletes and 493 age- and sex-matched control subjects.

Kraus and her collaborators delivered speech syllables to study participants through earbuds and recorded the brain's activity with scalp electrodes. The team analyzed the ratio of background noise to the response to the speech sounds by looking at how big the response to sound was relative to the background noise. Athletes had larger responses to sound than non-athletes, the study showed.

Like athletes, musicians and those who can speak more than one language also have an enhanced ability to hear incoming sound signals, Kraus said. However, musicians' and multilinguals' brains do so by turning up the sound in their brains versus turning down the background noise in their brains.

The study was published in the journal Sports Health.

"A serious commitment to physical activity seems to track with a quieter nervous system," Kraus said. "And perhaps, if you have a healthier nervous system, you may be able to better handle injury or other health problems."

Source: MedicalXpress
https://medicalxpress.com/news/2019-12-sports-healthier-brain.html