What Stresses Out Pre-teens?

Totally Stressed Out

Elizabeth Hartley-Brewer

Parents sometimes view stress as the sole domain of grown-ups, because we associate it with money worries, balancing families and work, and the ups and downs of married life. We might wonder, what do kids have to be stressed about? The truth is, a lot. Childhood stress is very common, especially today.

Your tween's world is full of demands and expectations that can trigger stress. There are the competitive pressures to do well in school; the societal pressures to have the "right" possessions; the peer pressure to fit in and perhaps take uncomfortable risks; and the social pressure to be part of a gang, to avoid being bullied, to look good, and to act older, in terms of independence or sexual awareness, than he may truly feel.

An apparently small thing in any of these areas can easily tip a child from coping into despair. Because children of this age are still learning to give words to feelings, they still tend to communicate distress initially through their behavior. Here are some signs to watch for. Notice whether your child:

• wants to see friends less and spend more time alone
• becomes more dependent or clingy
• loses his appetite or snubs favorite foods
• gets down on himself, especially about his looks or ability
• tries to avoid going to school, using odd excuses or claiming strange pains
• becomes more attention-seeking

How to Help
Children suffering from stress need lots of support. These actions will help you comfort your tween and help her deal:

Understand your child's feelings and be tolerant of tears. Children have child-size problems and exaggerated fears. It's unfair to dismiss a reaction as an overreaction just because you know the "crisis" will soon blow over.

Be reassuring about the future. "I can see how hard this is for you, but I'll bet Rob has forgotten about it already." "I know you and your friends will sort this out."

Keep familiar routines going to provide stability. For example, keep up school attendance, but ask the teacher to be sensitive to any untoward behavior.

Encourage talk, but don't force anything. Always give permission to refuse. "I wondered if you might be ready to talk about this. Is now a good time?" is a gentle opener to gain trust and attention. Recounting your childhood problems could encourage a wary child to open up. Boys may prefer to talk while busy with something else, rather than face to face.

Take the pressure off elsewhere. If there are problems at home, forget the grades or big friendship upsets, and sideline tidiness.

From Parent & Child magazine

PSEO Meeting Rescheduled

Due to yesterday's snow day, the PSEO meeting has been rescheduled for WEDNESDAY, MARCH 5, 2008 at 6:30 PM in the CAFETERIA. We hope to see you there!

Officials: Ecstasy is back, and it's laced with meth

From Kevin Bohn and Kelli Arena
CNN

ALBANY, New York (CNN) -- Nick, 16, says ecstasy is rampant in his high school, with kids often mixing the drug with meth and other substances.

More than half of all ecstasy seized in the United States last year was laced with meth, authorities say.

"You just have to know the right person. It's about as easy as any other drug. You just gotta ask for it," says Nick, who asked that his last name not be used. "It's easy to get."

Law enforcement officials say stories like these highlight a disturbing trend they're seeing across the country. Most alarming, they say, is not only is ecstasy back after years of decline, but most of the time it's laced with meth.

More than 55 percent of the ecstasy samples seized in the United States last year contained meth, according to the Office of National Drug Control Policy, compared with 44.5 percent the previous year. And the drugs are coming in at rapid pace from Canada. Watch ecstasy's pipeline into U.S. »

Almost 5.5 million pills of ecstasy were seized in the states bordering Canada in 2006 (the most recent year for which full statistics are available) -- an almost tenfold increase since 2003, top drug enforcement officials say.

"They drive them in. They bring them in by boat. They bring them in by plane. They bring them across by people just carrying them across their back much like the southwest border," says Ed Duffy, an assistant special agent in charge for the Drug Enforcement Administration's northern region.

Because meth is less expensive than ecstasy, mixing the two saves producers money, but it also makes it more dangerous, officials say.

Ecstasy can cause sharp increases in body temperature and can result in liver, kidney or heart damage. When laced with meth, officials say, the combination can cause more severe harm because meth can damage brain functions, as well as lead to an increase in breathing, irregular heartbeats and increased blood pressure. The National Institute on Drug Abuse says meth -- or methamphetamine -- is a "very addictive stimulant drug."

Law enforcement officials say European countries cracked down on ecstasy production in the early 2000s and manufacturing moved to Canada. And now, Asian gangs in Canada have been smuggling the chemicals needed to make ecstasy from China and India, officials with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police tell CNN.

Finished pills are then pushed in vast quantities into the United States, a flow that's difficult to stop because of the vast, largely unpoliced border, officials say.

Those on the front lines in Canada and the United States say they are working closely and sharing intelligence to try to stem the flow. Canadian officials also say they have a good relationship with Chinese law enforcement.

The Mounties have created teams across Canada focused on identifying the criminal organizations producing ecstasy and meth and say they have shut down 17 labs in the past year.

"The labs that we're finding now are what you refer to in the United States as super labs. We call them economic-based labs," says Raf Souccar, assistant commissioner of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.

Each lab produces more than 10 pounds of ecstasy in one batch, he says. "It's not your mom and pop operation. It tells me that it is criminal organizations that are, yes, more sophisticated and producing it for profit as opposed to producing it to fuel their habit."

It's then finding its way into schools, like Nick's in Albany, New York.

"I have been seeing an increase in pill use among the teens in general," says Greg Reid, a counselor at Equinox Community Services Agency, which sponsors drug counseling and other activities for youth in Albany.

"They do something called 'pharming' where they throw a bunch of pills into a bowl and kind of choose or take out the pills they want."

Ecstasy pills are often among the drugs of choice in the bowl.

"I have seen that increase in the past two years," Reid says. "Ecstasy ... can be very dangerous, especially if you don't know what it is getting mixed with."

National Endowment for the Arts Announces New Reading Study

Follow-up to Reading at Risk links declines in reading with poorer academic and social outcomes

November 19, 2007

		Contact: Sally Gifford 202-682-5606 giffords@arts.gov

Washington, DC -- Today, the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) announces the release of To Read or Not To Read: A Question of National Consequence, a new and comprehensive analysis of reading patterns in the United States. To Read or Not To Read gathers statistics from more than 40 studies on the reading habits and skills of children, teenagers, and adults. The compendium reveals recent declines in voluntary reading and test scores alike, exposing trends that have severe consequences for American society.

"The new NEA study is the first to bring together reliable, nationally representative data, including everything the federal government knows about reading," said NEA Chairman Dana Gioia. "This study shows the startling declines, in how much and how well Americans read, that are adversely affecting this country's culture, economy, and civic life as well as our children's educational achievement."

To Read or Not To Read expands the investigation of the NEA's landmark 2004 report, Reading at Risk. While that report focused mainly on literary reading trends, To Read or Not To Read looks at all varieties of reading, including fiction and nonfiction genres in various formats such as books, magazines, newspapers, and online reading. Whereas the earlier report assessed reading among adults age 18 and older, To Read or Not To Read analyzes reading trends for youth and adults, and readers of various education levels. To Read or Not To Read is unique for its consideration of reading habits alongside other behaviors and related outcomes including academic achievement, employment, and community involvement.

Among the key findings:

Americans are reading less - teens and young adults read less often and for shorter amounts of time compared with other age groups and with Americans of previous years.

• Less than one-third of 13-year-olds are daily readers, a 14 percent decline from 20 years earlier. Among 17-year-olds, the percentage of non-readers doubled over a 20-year period, from nine percent in 1984 to 19 percent in 2004.¹
• On average, Americans ages 15 to 24 spend almost two hours a day watching TV, and only seven minutes of their daily leisure time on reading.²

Americans are reading less well – reading scores continue to worsen, especially among teenagers and young males. By contrast, the average reading score of 9-year-olds has improved.

• Reading scores for 12th-grade readers fell significantly from 1992 to 2005, with the sharpest declines among lower-level readers.³
• 2005 reading scores for male 12th-graders are 13 points lower than for female 12th-graders, and that gender gap has widened since 1992.⁴
• Reading scores for American adults of almost all education levels have deteriorated, notably among the best-educated groups. From 1992 to 2003, the percentage of adults with graduate school experience who were rated proficient in prose reading dropped by 10 points, a 20 percent rate of decline.⁵

The declines in reading have civic, social, and economic implications – Advanced readers accrue personal, professional, and social advantages. Deficient readers run higher risks of failure in all three areas.

• Nearly two-thirds of employers ranked reading comprehension "very important" for high school graduates. Yet 38 percent consider most high school graduates deficient in this basic skill.⁶
• American 15-year-olds ranked fifteenth in average reading scores for 31 industrialized nations, behind Poland, Korea, France, and Canada, among others.⁷
• Literary readers are more likely than non-readers to engage in positive civic and individual activities – such as volunteering, attending sports or cultural events, and exercising.⁸

"This report shows striking statistical links between reading, advanced reading skills, and other individual and social benefits," said Sunil Iyengar, NEA Director of Research and Analysis. "To Read or Not to Read compels us to consider more carefully how we spend our time, since those choices affect us individually and collectively."

While no single government agency or entity can solve the problem of declining reading rates, the NEA national reading program, the Big Read, is one response to these findings. The Big Read is designed to restore reading to the center of American culture by providing citizens with the opportunity to read and discuss a single book within their communities. In 2007, nearly 200 communities nationwide are participating in the Big Read, reading one of 12 classic American novels such as Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury and Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston. The NEA presents the Big Read in partnership with the Institute of Museum and Library Services and in cooperation with Arts Midwest. For more information, visit www.neabigread.org.

To Read or Not To Read assembled data on reading trends from more than 40 sources, including federal agencies, universities, foundations, and associations. Primary sources include the U.S. Department of Education, the U.S. Department of Labor, the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation, the University of Indiana, Bloomington, the University of California, Los Angeles, and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.

NEA Office of Research and Analysis
The NEA Research Division issues periodic research reports and briefs on significant topics affecting artists and arts organizations. To Read or Not to Read is available in print and electronic form in the Publications section of the NEA website, www.arts.gov.

About the National Endowment for the Arts
The National Endowment for the Arts is a public agency dedicated to supporting excellence in the arts, both new and established; bringing the arts to all Americans; and providing leadership in arts education. Established by Congress in 1965 as an independent agency of the federal government, the Arts Endowment is the largest national funder of the arts, bringing great art to all 50 states, including rural areas, inner cities, and military bases.

_____________________

1. U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics (NCES)
2. U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, American Time Use Survey (2006)
3. U.S. Department of Education, NCES, The Nation's Report Card: Reading 2005
4. U.S. Department of Education, NCES, The Nation's Report Card: Reading 2005
5. U.S Department of Education, NCES, National Assessment of Adult Literacy (2007)
6. The Conference Board, Are They Really Ready to Work? (2006)
7. Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, Learning for Tomorrow’s World: First Results from PISA 2003
8. National Endowment for the Arts, The Arts and Civic Engagement: Involved in Arts, Involved in Life (2006)

http://www.nea.gov/news/news07/TRNR.html

Registration for 2008-09 courses is open

Attention classes of 2009 - 2012:

Registration for next year's courses is now open. You must register by Feb. 20, 2008. You must turn in a printed copy of your course request that is sign by you AND your parent/guardian.

For more information, please log in to your Infinite Campus account or go to the high school web page for details.

If you have any questions regarding which courses to take, your current accumulated credits, and/or the registration process, please contact your guidance counselor or one of the building principals.

A Dangerous Transition: High School to the First Year of College

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- Increases in young women's drinking during the transition from high school through the first year of college can have dangerous physical, sexual and psychological implications, according to a report out of the University at Buffalo's Research Institute on Addictions.

The good news is that during the first year of college, when many young women increase their drinking, the majority (78 percent) of the 870 incoming freshmen women who participated in the study did not experience any victimization. The bad news, however, is that among the 22 percent of women who were victimized, 13 percent experienced severe physical victimization and 38 percent experienced severe sexual victimization.

The research results were published in the January 2008 issue of the prestigious Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs.

"This is the first study that we know of that has compared risk for physical and sexual assault among college women based on changes in drinking during this transition period," said Kathleen A. Parks, Ph.D., principal investigator on the study. "Clearly, abstaining from drinking is a protective measure. However, young college women should be aware that becoming a new drinker or increasing one's drinking during this transition increases the likelihood of victimization."

The study showed that among women who drank alcohol during the first year of college, rates of physical and sexual victimization were substantially higher compared to women who did not drink. In addition, the odds of first-year college sexual victimization significantly increased with each pre-college psychological symptom (i.e., anxiety, depression) and each pre-college sexual partner a woman reported.

Interestingly, researchers found that the changes in drinking patterns during the high-school-to-college transition influenced risk for physical and sexual victimization in different ways.

About one fourth (27 percent) of the women reported that they abstained from drinking in the year prior to entering college. During the first year of college, only 12 percent continued to be abstainers. Among these abstainers, less than two percent reported physical victimization and seven percent reported sexual victimization.

Compare this with drinkers, seven percent of whom reported physical victimization and 19 percent, sexual victimization.

Being a new drinker during the first year of college (15 percent of the women) increased the likelihood of physical, but not sexual, victimization. The researchers speculated that new drinkers' social and physical inexperience or lack of tolerance for alcohol and its effects may increase women's impairment when drinking and subsequently, their vulnerability to potential perpetrators or dangerous situations. Perhaps, the physically disinhibiting effects of alcohol for new drinkers may cause them to be more reactive, possibly verbally aggressive, or more likely to call attention to themselves, thereby putting themselves at risk for physical aggression in social drinking situations.

Continuing drinkers were defined as those who drank the year prior to college and during the first year of college. Of these women, more than half (57 percent) increased their drinking during the first year at college. They drank considerably more than new drinkers on multiple measures of alcohol consumption, including heavy episodic drinking -- four or more drinks per occasion -- and were at greater risk for sexual victimization.

Of the continuing drinkers, 26 percent reported decreasing their drinking and 16 percent reported not changing their level of weekly drinking.

These findings suggest that a later onset of drinking may be protective against patterns of heavy episodic drinking and some of the associated negative consequences.

"Young women who had a history of physical victimization and greater psychological symptoms, and who began drinking during the first year at college had an increased likelihood of experiencing physical victimization," explained Parks. "Women who had a greater number of psychological symptoms, more sexual partners and increased their weekly drinking had an increased likelihood of experiencing sexual victimization during the first year of college."

Parks is a senior research scientist at RIA and a behavioral psychologist with extensive experience studying women's substance use, misuse, and victimization. The other research team members included Ann M. Romosz, project director, Clara M. Bradizza, Ph.D., senior research scientist at RIA and research assistant professor of psychiatry in UB's School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, and Ya-Ping Hsieh, Ph.D., data manager and analyst for the study.

Incidents of sexual victimization were predicted by different factors than incidents of physical victimization. According to Parks, "The significant predictors of sexual victimization were psychological symptoms during the first year at college, number of consensual sexual partners and increased drinking. Women who have more consensual sexual partners are more likely to encounter a sexually aggressive individual and are more likely to experience sexual victimization. At the same time, women who increased their drinking are more likely to be behaviorally and cognitively impaired and less likely to recognize, avoid or defend against sexual aggression. "

Women who increased their drinking experienced nearly five negative alcohol-related problems during the first year at college. Those problems included a variety of consequences such as inability to do homework or study for a test, passing out or fainting suddenly, engaging in consensual sexual activity that was regretted afterward, physical assault, sexual assault, theft or robbery.

Parks encourages development of prevention programs that emphasize the risks of drinking and heavy drinking in social situations for women. Women with a history of drinking before entering college are at greatest risk for escalating their drinking and experiencing more negative consequences and sexual assault.

The study was funded by a $1.8 million grant from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism.

The Research Institute on Addictions has been a national leader in the study of addictions since 1970 and a research center of the University at Buffalo since 1999.

The University at Buffalo is a premier research-intensive public university, a flagship institution in the State University of New York system and its largest and most comprehensive campus. UB's more than 28,000 students pursue their academic interests through more than 300 undergraduate, graduate and professional degree programs. Founded in 1846, the University at Buffalo is a member of the Association of American Universities.

http://www.buffalo.edu/news/9136