Health – Page 3 – Teen Decision

STD Prevention that starts early — but not how you think!

Posted on March 21, 2014 by Tori

STD prevention can, and should, start in elementary school — but not by distributing condoms or teaching explicit sex ed. Data from the University of Washington looked at risk factors from early in life that predicted a higher number of STDs during the later teen years. There have been many correlations drawn between early sexual debut (the definition of “early” in this study was before age 15) and higher numbers of sexual partners as well as higher numbers of STDs. According the article, “Of youth in the study who became sexually active before age 15, more – about a third – had an STD compared with about 16 percent of those who were older when they started having sex.”

Correlations were also found between youth who grew up in well-managed households with rules, discipline and rewards and later sexual debut. Students who were engaged in school and had positive feelings towards school and their teachers were also less likely to have sex early, as well as students whose friends did not get into trouble. So the secret ingredients to STD prevention (or, some of them, anyway) seem to be a positive, well-managed home environment, strong school engagement, and friends who have a positive influence. Not a huge surprise to those who work with youth, but helpful information nonetheless.

What can YOU do? If you are a parent, continue to learn about positive models of discipline, and don’t shy away from the tough battles during the early teen years. Some of the critical years looked at in the study were ages 10-14. Also, try to find support from one or two other parents who can encourage you in your disciplinary efforts. Raising teens is HARD. You’ll need friends who can act as both coach and cheerleader to make your job a *little* easier.

If you are NOT a parent, look for ways to support positive youth development in your community. Support local schools, volunteer with after school programs, or simply be a friendly, encouraging face to the teens bagging your groceries.

And if you have influence in the community or local school system, support programs that encourage early family engagement and youth development — as early as elementary school. Find ways to encourage teachers and administrators to create positive school environments and fund efforts at early intervention. The earliest STD prevention may look nothing at all like sex education, but if you can help families start off on the right foot and get students engaged in school, it makes a difference!

Learning about Chlamydia

Posted on March 11, 2014 by Tori

In talking with our teens about the risks they face if they’re sexually active, it’s a good idea to be informed about STDs. The DuPage County Health Department STD clinic offers (for $50) screening for 4 STDs: Chlamydia, gonorrhea, syphilis and HIV. Chlamydia, is the most commonly reported STD in the U.S. From dupagehealth.org, and the CDC (Center for Disease Control and Prevention fact sheet), we learn that:

Men or women can get chlamydia by having anal, vaginal, or oral sex with someone who has chlamydia.
It is a bacterial STD, which means that it can be cured with antibiotics.
You can be reinfected even after cured, if you again have sex with someone with chlamydia.
About 75% of women and 50% of men don’t know they are infected (they have no symptoms).
“It can cause serious, permanent damage to a woman’s reproductive system, making it difficult or impossible for her to get pregnant later on. Chlamydia can also cause a potentially fatal ectopic pregnancy (pregnancy that occurs outside the womb)” (CDC)
It can spread to a baby during birth, causing an eye infection or pneumonia in the newborn. Premature birth (and it’s risks) can also occur.
In men and women who have symptoms, it can produce symptoms such as an abnormal discharge from the penis or vagina and a burning sensation while urinating.
In DuPage County, two out of three cases of Chlamydia and Gonorrhea occur in people under 25 years of age.
DuPage County cases of Chlamydia have risen 81 percent since 2000.

Teen Drinking Has a Social Payoff

Posted on February 3, 2014 by Tori

We knew this, didn’t we? If you’re a teen who “parties,” you are more popular. The Chicago Tribune reported on a study showing that “Teens who reported occasional drinking and getting drunk tended to have higher ‘social connectedness’ than their abstaining peers.” Last year, this blog reported that teens who have good friends who drink tend to get their first drink from a friend, rather than their parents. It may be a good time to acknowledge, and bring out into the open, what is probably evident to your teen. Popularity may go up if he or she drinks and gets drunk…but that still doesn’t make it wise or desirable. Just having a lot of friends doesn’t guarantee quality friendships. Friends that are worth having care what happens to you, and want you to have a safe, healthy experience as you go through the teen years.

Boys Deal With Body Image Issues Too

Posted on January 26, 2014 by Tori

Most of what we read about body image issues focuses on girls who are trying to be model thin, or are obsessed with showing off their…curves. But boys are not immune to our culture’s unhealthy focus on appearance. A new study discussed in an online article by ANI News shows that boys who are of a healthy weight, but think they are too heavy or too thin, are more likely to be depressed. Those who think they are “very underweight,” are the most depressed. Boys who do not exhibit the bulging muscles of their peers, or of media celebrities, and experience bullying, are also more likely to use steroids, according to the article. Giving our boys a healthy sense of self, whether they are muscular and toned, or of a leaner or huskier build, is as important as making sure girls know they don’t have to look like an airbrushed sunken-cheeked model.

What Do We Tell Teens About Marijuana?

Posted on January 19, 2014 by Tori

Colorado just legalized the recreational use of marijuana, and Illinois just passed a law allowing use of medical marijuana. Everyone is talking about pot, it seems, so I’ve been doing a little research, and wanted to condense what I found out for you.

There are some scientifically studied uses for medical marijuana (some more clearly successful, others not so much). Such uses, according to webmd.com, include pain relief (the most common reason for a medical marijuana prescription), relief of naseau from cancer chemotherapy, help with seizure disorders, relief from muscle spasms caused by multiple sclerosis, and a few other things. Marijuana can be administered in pill form, vaporized, smoked, or injested in a food product. One article reported on a study that showed that pills are more effective for pain relief than the smoked form, produce less of a high, and gives longer lasting relief. Not inhaling marijuana smoke also avoids the carcinogens you get when you smoke. I also learned that the FDA has not approved smoked marijuana for medical use and all marijuana use is still illegal federally in the 20 states (and Washington DC) that have legalized marijuana.

What else did I find out? There is evidence that teens are viewing marijuana more positively because of these changes in the law, and are using it more than they used to. So what about recreational use?

A very informative article by The National Institute on Drug Abuse explains clearly what is in marijuana, and how it acts on the brain, nervous system, lungs, etc. Here are a few things I learned from the article:

Marijuana is about twice as addictive for those who start using it at a young age.
Marijuana produced today is more than 3 times as potent as it was in the 1980s.
Pot smokers have higher rates of respiratory problems and illnesses.
It increases heart rate significantly, and some studies show increased risk of heart attack.
A marijuana high involves “distorted perceptions, impaired coordination, difficulty with thinking and problem solving, and disrupted learning and memory.”
“Users who began using in adolescence revealed a profound deficit in connections between brain areas responsible for learning and memory.”
“People who began smoking marijuana heavily in their teens lost as much as 8 points in IQ” and the effects didn’t go away even after use stopped later in life.
Its chronic use is linked to higher rates of psychosis and schizophrenia.

Is Oral Sex Really the New Good Night Kiss?

Posted on December 29, 2013 by Tori

I recently read a book titled, “Oral Sex is the New Goodnight Kiss.” I recommend it only for those who aren’t squeamish. Teens, often teens from “good” homes, are trading sexual favors for money, or a designer bag, or even the “promise” of a relationship. Parents often have no clue (isn’t that often the case?). The casualness with which teens are engaging in oral sex reveals they have no clue either! They embrace the idea that oral sex isn’t really sex, and that somehow it doesn’t count because you can’t get pregnant. And yet, research shows that oral isn’t merely a substitute for intercourse, since teens often loose their virginity close to the time they engage in oral sex, according to a report by the Center for Disease Control.

Here at Amplify, we don’t let teens get away with thinking that oral sex is no big deal. The truth is, it has social and emotional consequences, just like intercourse. And then there are the STDs you can get. We’ve written here before about the STDs students are getting from oral sex. Let’s be sure, when we talk about sex with our teens, that we are including cautionary words about ALL forms of sexual activity, not just intercourse.

Questions Teens Have About Sex

Posted on December 2, 2013 by Tori

Perusing the internet for ideas for this blog, I could’t help but notice how MUCH interest teens have in sex. Not like it’s a surprise or anything…but they certainly are curious! So, parents, who’s going to fill them in? Their peers are certainly giving advice, much of which you wouldn’t agree with. TV shows aimed at teens tell them what’s “supposed” to be normal…often not messages you’d like your teen to absorb. Or they may look online, and that would open up a whole world of mostly bad ideas. SO…how about YOU giving them some answers? You could wait forever for your teen to approach you. So be proactive. As always, look for opportunities, and be prepared by thinking through how you want to address questions you teen might have about sex and dating. Here are some questions teens have, according to National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy:

How do I know if I’m in love?
Will sex bring me closer to my girlfriend/boyfriend?
How will I know when I’m ready to have sex?
Should I wait until marriage?
Will having sex make me popular?
Will it make me more grown-up and open up more adult activities to me?
How do I tell my boyfriend that I don’t want to have sex without losing him or hurting his feelings?
How do I manage pressure from my girlfriend to have sex?

It wouldn’t be too hard to think of a LOT more questions teens have, but this is a good start. Remember, expressing a strong expectation that your teen will wait to have sex, makes it more likely that he or she will! But helping teens think through the reasons WHY waiting is healthier is the best way to make your advice hit home.

Study Drug Use More Common Than We Think

Posted on August 19, 2013 by Tori

Are you SURE your child has never used study drugs? Ever? If your answer is 100% sure, then you are pretty much like other parents. Only 1% of those parents whose child has not been prescribed medication for ADHD believe their child has ever used a prescription amphetamine or other stimulant to get an “edge” while studying or taking tests.

The truth is that quite a bit more teens actually have used these so-called “study drugs.” According to Psychcentral.com, a University of Michigan national poll showed that “10 percent of high school sophomores and 12 percent of high school seniors say they have used an amphetamine or other stimulant medication not prescribed by their doctor.” But, the article says, “only 27 percent of parents polled said they have talked to their teens about using study drugs. Black parents were more likely to have discussed this issue with their teens (41 percent), compared with white (27 percent) or Hispanic (17 percent) parents.” Knowing that these are powerful drugs that can be harmful to anyone, parents should be warning teens (and college students) not to share their ADHD drugs with others, or buy them from those who have these prescription drugs.

Boys and Eating Disorders

Posted on July 24, 2013 by Tori

We’ve heard about boys turning to steroids to enhance their sports performance, or their muscular looks, but did you know that more boys use diet pills, powders or liquids than steroids? The LA Times wrote about the increasing percentage of guys who now struggle with eating disorders, including in particular “purging” behavior like vomiting and using laxatives. This seems to be an increasing problem in other areas as well, including Chicago, according to the article. Why? Experts point to the push in our society for men to attain to an athletic ideal…a lean, muscular body.

What might the signs of eating disorders in men be? Here is a CBS video (from 2008 but just as relevant today) discussing what we know about men and eating disorders if you’d like to find out more.