Kyo

A new study reveals that for adolescent girls, having a romantic relationship play out differently than they imagined it would has negative implications for their mental health.

“I found that girls’ risk of severe depression, thoughts of suicide, and suicide attempt increase the more their relationships diverge from what they imagined,” said the study’s author Brian Soller, an assistant professor of sociology and a senior fellow of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Center for Health Policy at the University of New Mexico.

“Conversely, I found no evidence that romantic relationship inauthenticity — which captures the extent to which relationships unfold in ways […]

By Rebecca Oas, Ph.D.
June 30, 2016

NEW YORK, July 1 (C-Fam) New evidence from the United States suggests abstinence education is a reason why teen pregnancy has fallen to historically low rates. Nearly sixty percent of high school students had never had sex, up from 46% in 1991. Meanwhile, another new report links condom giveaways in schools with increases in teen pregnancy.

This investigation of the impact of the condom distribution programs was published this month by the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)—more than twenty years after the fact. It found higher pregnancy rates when students were given condoms in the […]

Being admitted to college doesn’t mean a student is ready for it. Parents can encourage kids to step up their levels of personal responsibility while still in high school.

By Mark McConville
July 26, 2018

As a psychologist, I receive calls each summer from anxious parents, worried that their high-school graduate won’t be ready for college. In some instances, they describe the normal conflict that signals impending separation. But in some cases, they describe a child who isn’t ready for the independence of college. I do an assessment and issue a recommendation — mostly green light (he’s ready for college) or occasionally red […]

By James McCue, Edith Cowan University

From getting beyond drunk at a friend’s party, to some seriously questionable outfit choices, teenagers often do things that seem outlandishly stupid.

But there is a biological reason for this behaviour: the areas of the brain that control decision-making don’t fully develop until early adulthood.

A teen’s developing brain places them at greater risk of being reactive in their decision-making, and less able to consider the consequences of their choices.

So how can parents help their teenagers learn and apply good decision-making skills?

The difference between ‘know’ and ‘do’

Most children demonstrate an understanding of “right” and “wrong” behaviour from […]

Ariana Marini
May 21, 2018

You don’t have to look far to see that today’s adolescents love their phones and the social media accounts that go with them. They’re sharing selfies on Instagram, using Snapchat to show what they’re doing right this minute, communicating with their friends on Facebook, tweeting their daily musings, and much more.

Sharing Starts Early

By age 12, 50% of children have social media accounts. The average teenager uses social media for 71 minutes each day; female teens, who report the highest engagement, average 142 minute per day.

“Social media usage resembles a normalized addictive behavior, proportional to overall screen media […]