Families Online Magazine

Middle Schoolers Identify Violent Content in Youth-Targeted Entertainment as a Strong Influence in Causing Youth Violence

Gang Violence, Drugs and Bullying Also Serious Factors

Middle-school students are expressing their views on the key factors affecting youth violence, with more than 30 percent of them indicating that television, video games, movies and music provoke violence. Gangs, drugs and bullying are also stated as highly instrumental among this age group, according to the National Campaign to Stop Violence.

The Campaign, active for more than 12 years, analyzed the contents of 10,000 essays submitted by middle school children across the country in 2009 as part of its Do the Write Thing initiative, which encourages young people to write about how violence impacts their lives as a way to address it.

Analysis of the essays determined that 31 percent of the 6th, 7th and 8th graders who participated in the project believe that violent entertainment is a significant catalyst for violence among their age group. Gang violence, drugs, and bullying followed at 27 percent, 24 percent and 21 percent, respectively.

Peter Jensen, M.D., is the Chairman of the New York City Do the Write Thing program and Mayo Clinic Co-chair of the Division of Child Psychiatry and Psychology. "The significance of this study is that it is not parents, educators or social scientists decrying violence in the entertainment industry, it is the young people themselves who are speaking out about the negative impact the violent content has on them," said Dr. Jensen. "The National Campaign to Stop Violence -- and all of us involved with youth -- need to heed this call to action."

Television and Video Game Influence

The Parents Television Council reported that during 1998-2006 violence increased in every time slot, with a 45 percent increase during the Family Hour (8:00 p.m.). Nearly half of all episodes contained at least one incidence of violence, with 56 percent being person-to-person violence in the 2005-2006 season. Guns were featured in 63 percent of the scenes, and knives were used in 15 percent.

According to the National Institute on Media and the Family, social scientists identified four factors that link to violence in children:

-- Children are more likely to imitate the actions of a character with
whom they identify in programs and video games
-- Video games require action -- the player must get involved
-- Video games have a great deal of repetition, normally used as a
learning tool; hence children are learning violence
-- Children learn through reward systems of the type employed by video
games

"Maybe if we cut some of the more violent videogames, kids would be taught that murder and slaughtering of other humans is not the right thing to do," offers Shelbi Parker of Dallas, TX.

Drugs and Alcohol

Student use of marijuana, cocaine, ecstasy, and methamphetamines all decreased from 1999 to 2007 as cited by the CDC National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion. However, rates of nonmedical use of prescription and over-the-counter (OTC) medication remain high. In 2006, 2.1 million teens abused prescriptive drugs, as well as OTC cough and cold medications.

Do the Write Thing's El Paso, TX program chair, The Honorable Patricia Macias, said, "The young people in our school system experience violence because of border-related issues tied to drugs." Macias, past president of the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges and presiding judge of the 388th Family District Court, adds, "It's particularly helpful when law enforcement engages as part of the prevention process."

The CDC further reports that 25.4 percent of students were offered, sold, or given an illegal drug on school property within a 12-month period.

Children are also influenced by drugs and alcohol in the home. Health and Human Services Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), estimates that 8.3 million children -- 11.9 percent -- live with at least one parent who had abused or was dependent on alcohol or an illicit drug in the past year.

Gang and Bullying Influence

According to the 2007 National Youth Gang Survey, the most recent study on the subject conducted by the Department of Justice, there was an estimated 27,000 gangs in America, a 25 percent increase from 2002-2007; and an increase of nearly 8 percent in the number of gang members, up to 788,000. The highest level of gang-related activity is in the large cities and suburban areas, with 60 percent of the gangs, but rural counties are experiencing a 25 percent increase as the gangs expand their activities.

In his 2009 Do the Write Thing essay, Jalil Ahmad of Boston, MA. wrote: "Back then I used to do a lot of fun things around my neighborhood, but now that there are so many shootings that happen there is now a limit to how much fun I can have...I can't even sit on my front porch without someone trying to act tough...."

Violence and bullying on or near school grounds is increasingly stressful to young people. While the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports that between 1991 and 2007 there was no significant change in the level of school violence, there was a large increase in the number of students who feel unsafe.

The CDC survey of young people between the ages of 10-14 shows that 33 percent of 6th graders, 37 percent of 7th graders, and 40 percent of 8th graders had carried a weapon to school; and nearly 60 percent of each age group had been involved in a physical fight over a 30-day period.

Erick Sanchez from Charlotte, N.C. wrote in his essay: "It was an ordinary day in the sixth grade. I was going to the restroom and about five or six people grabbed me; they pushed me and rammed me into a stall. They tried to go through my pockets... It was not until I got seriously hurt that the administrators really got on their backs. All I got to say is watch your back. It doesn't matter where you are or who you are."

About the National Campaign to Stop Violence

Founded in 1996, the National Campaign to Stop Violence is a 501 (c) (3) non-profit organization composed of business, community and governmental leaders who have come together to reduce violence in homes, schools and neighborhoods across the U.S. It is funded primarily by the Kuwait-America Foundation along with a broad coalition of organizations. The non-profit is operational in 31 cities in 17 states, including the District of Columbia. Since its inception nearly one million students have participated in class room discussions about violence and ways to control violence. The organization has published over 100 collections of essays from students with 13 volumes housed at the Library of Congress.

For more information, please visit www.dtwt.org. They can also be found on Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube.

Canada-France study published in Pediatrics journal

Hyperactive boys don’t get enough sleep, which can worsen their condition according to new research. Published in the November issue of Pediatrics, the study is the first to examine a large sample of children and to study the link between lack of sleep and hyperactivity.

As part of the investigation, 2057 mothers answered yearly questionnaires concerning sleep duration and hyperactivity of their children. Data was collected until kids reached five years of age and was analyzed by a team of scientists from the Université de Montréal, its affiliated Hôpital du Sacré-Cœur de Montréal and Sainte Justine University Hospital Research Center, as well as the Université Laval and the French National Institute for Health and Medical Research (INSERM).

" Hyperactivity problems may interfere with night-time sleep," says senior author Jacques Montplaisir, a professor in the Université de Montréal Department of Psychiatry and director of the Sleep Disorders Center at Hôpital du Sacré-Cœur de Montréal. “We found that children who didn’t sleep long were generally hyperactive boys who lived under adverse family conditions.”

"On the other hand, short or fragmented sleep leads to sleepiness, which could manifest as hyperactivity in boys,” explains Dr. Montplaisir, noting children who slept persistently for at least 11 hours had low hyperactivity scores. “However, the risk of abbreviated sleep in highly hyperactive children is stronger than the risk of hyperactivity among kids with short sleep duration."

The research team found that boys (more than girls) whose mothers had low education, insufficient family income and whom were comforted outside the bed or joined the parental bed after an awakening at night when they were young were more at risk of having both short sleep duration and high hyperactivity.

Study respondents were a mostly (92.1 percent) homogenous pool of mothers who were white and French-speaking Quebecers. Questions asked of mothers included: how long does your child sleep during the night (on average); in the past three months, how often would you say your child was restless or hyperactive; couldn’t stop fidgeting; impulsive or acted without thinking; had difficulty waiting for his/her turn at games; couldn’t settle down to do anything or couldn’t wait when promised something?”

About the study:

The article "Short Nighttime Sleep-Duration and Hyperactivity Trajectories in Early Childhood," published in the journal Pediatrics, was authored by Evelyne Touchette, Bruno, Falissard of the INSERM, France, Michel Boivin, PhD of Université Laval and Sylvana M. Côté, Dominique Petit, Xuecheng Liu, Richard E. Tremblay and Jacques Y. Montplaisir of the Université de Montréal.

Partners in research:

This study was funded by the Cana­dian Institutes of Health Research, the Quebec Department of Health and Social Services, the Social Sciences and Humanities

Research Council of Canada, the Quebec Fund for Research on Society and Culture, the Quebec Fund for Research on Nature and Technology, the Health Research

Fund of Quebec, Quebec’s Ministry of Research, Science and Technology, Human Resources Development Canada, Health Canada and the National Science Foundation.

More employers declaring Thanksgiving and he day after a paid holiday in 2009. With more time off this year for the holidays families are spending more time together, make the most of your time together, see Thanksgiving Family Fun Activities and Family Fun Event Calendar.

Nearly eight in 10 surveyed employers (79 percent) have designated both Thanksgiving Day (Nov. 26) and the day after as paid holidays in 2009, up from the 73 percent that did so in 2008. This represents the highest percentage of employers granting two-day paid Thanksgiving leave since BNA began keeping records in 1980.

Almost all surveyed employers (98 percent) have scheduled Thanksgiving Day itself as a paid day off for employees, and employer requirements for work that day are at unprecedented lows. While three in 10 employers (28 percent) will require some employees to work on Thanksgiving Day, this year marks a 16-year low in employer-required Thanksgiving work. Security/public safety and service/maintenance staff are the most likely employee groups to be required to work on the holiday.

Among other survey findings are:

-- Workers in the manufacturing sector and unionized workers are the most
likely to enjoy a four-day holiday weekend. More than nine out of 10
manufacturers (95 percent) will treat both Thanksgiving Day and the
following Friday as paid holidays. This compares with three out of
four employers (75 percent) in nonbusiness concerns (e.g., hospitals,
educational facilities, and government organizations), and 71 percent
of employers in nonmanufacturing organizations

-- Smaller organizations -- those with fewer than 1,000 employees -- are
more likely to enjoy a four-day holiday weekend (83 percent) than are
larger concerns (64 percent of companies with more than 1,000
employees). The proportion that will offer a four-day weekend does not
differ significantly between unionized and nonunionized establishments
(82 percent and 78 percent, respectively).

-- Thanksgiving holiday gift giving is at historically low levels. Eleven
percent of employers plan to give their workers some kind of holiday
gift, nearly the same percentage as in 2006 through 2008. However, the
percentage of employers giving gifts is down sharply from the 23
percent observed in 2004, and the 15 to 18 percent range seen from
1995 to 2003. This year marks the lowest level of Thanksgiving holiday
gift giving since the "jobless recovery" in 1993 that followed the
1990-1991 recession.

-- Manufacturing organizations (25 percent) are most generous in their
gift giving, with nonmanufacturing (8 percent) and nonbusiness
concerns (4 percent) trailing far behind. None of the surveyed
employers in unionized workplaces reported that they would give
employees gifts this year, compared with 14 percent in nonunion
establishments. Gift giving this year does not differ significantly
between large and small organizations.

-- Gift certificates are the holiday gift of choice for employers. For
seven of the past nine years, gift certificates have been the most
frequently proffered employer offering for Thanksgiving and 2009
continues this pattern. Five percent of surveyed employers will give
gift certificates this Thanksgiving, with the venerable turkey,
offered by 4 percent of employers, coming in a close second.

Source: http://www.bna.com/

Groundbreaking Primate Study Links Mercury Vaccine Preservative to Brain Injury

Same preservative used in H1N1 Shots Puts Children at Risk for Brainstem Injury

A new study in the leading scientific journal NeuroToxicology lends further credence to parents and scientists concerned about an increasingly aggressive childhood vaccine schedule and toxic vaccine components. A team led by researchers at the University of Pittsburgh found that infant macaque monkeys receiving a single Hepatitis B vaccine containing the mercury-based preservative thimerosal underwent significant delays in developing critical reflexes controlled by the brainstem. The infant macaques that did not receive vaccines developed normally.

Government vaccine guidelines were expanded in 1991 to include a Hepatitis B vaccine for infants within the first few days of life, even though the disease is primarily transmitted sexually or spread through the use of dirty needles. The introduction of the shot was part of a greatly accelerated vaccine schedule that coincides with the drastic increase in autism, which now affects one in 100 American children. Thimerosal was removed from U.S. Hepatitis B vaccines in 2000 but was not recalled from the market and was administered for approximately two more years. It still remains in other vaccines including all multi-dose shots for both the seasonal flu and H1N1.

Current government recommendations for seasonal flu and H1N1 call for pregnant women to receive both vaccines, and children as young as six months to receive as many as four separate flu shots. "This also doesn't take into account that nursing infants may be exposed to additional mercury through breastmilk should both mother and baby be vaccinated," says National Autism Association (NAA) board chair Lori McIlwain. "This study's outcome confirms that such an over-the-top toxic vaccine schedule is an assault on the developing brains of our children."

Specifically, the study found:

-- Thirteen newborn rhesus macaques were given a Hepatitis B vaccine
containing a standardized dose of thimerosal adjusted for their
weight, four received a saline placebo, and three were not given any
shots.
-- Vaccinated animals experienced a significant delay in the acquisition
of three survival reflexes compared to unvaccinated animals. Root,
snout, and suck reflexes, critical to animal survival in the wild,
were delayed in the vaccinated macaques.
-- These reflexes are controlled by the brainstem, a vital part of the
brain that regulates automatic functions such as breathing, heart
rate, and intestinal activity.
-- Neonatal responses in unvaccinated control animals were not delayed.

-- The delay in acquisition of three of the four survival reflexes was
not contingent on birth weight or gestational age.

For years, parents of children with autism have lobbied government health agencies to conduct research comparing the health of vaccinated children to that of unvaccinated children, and to remove thimerosal from all vaccines. Neither request has been met.

"This study underscores the lack of appropriate government action to ensure the safety of vaccines. Had our government agencies conducted the most basic research on the implications to children's health from the vaccines they rigorously promote, they could have spared thousands of children the neurological injuries they endure today," said Ms. McIlwain. "It's shameful."

For more information about autism, please visit www.nationalautism.org.

The U.S. Census Bureau recently announced that real median household income in the United States fell 3.6 percent between 2007 and 2008, from $52,163 to $50,303. This breaks a string of three years of annual income increases and coincides with the recession that started in December 2007.

(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20090226/CENSUSLOGO)

The nation's official poverty rate in 2008 was 13.2 percent, up from 12.5 percent in 2007. There were 39.8 million people in poverty in 2008, up from 37.3 million in 2007.

Meanwhile, the number of people without health insurance coverage rose from 45.7 million in 2007 to 46.3 million in 2008, while the percentage remained unchanged at 15.4 percent.

These findings are contained in the report Income, Poverty, and Health Insurance Coverage in the United States: 2008. The following results for the nation were compiled from information collected in the 2009 Current Population Survey (CPS) Annual Social and Economic Supplement (ASEC):

Income

Race and Hispanic Origin (Race data refer to people reporting a single race only. Hispanics can be of any race.)

* Between 2007 and 2008, the real median income of non-Hispanic white households declined 2.6 percent (to $55,530); for blacks, it declined 2.8 percent (to $34,218); for Asians, it declined 4.4 percent (to $65,637); and for Hispanics, it declined 5.6 percent (to $37,913). Except for the difference between the declines for non-Hispanic white and Hispanic households, all other differences between the declines were not statistically significant.

Regions

* Between 2007 and 2008, real median household income declined in the South by 4.9 percent (to $45,590), declined in the Midwest by 4.0 percent (to $50,112) and declined in the West by 2.0 percent (to $55,085). Income in the Northeast was statistically unchanged ($54,346). The apparent differences in the declines in median household income between the South and Midwest, and the Midwest and West were not statistically significant. The apparent difference between the median household incomes for the West and Northeast was not statistically significant.

Nativity

* Native- and foreign-born households, including those maintained by a naturalized citizen, had declines in real median income between 2007 and 2008. Income was statistically unchanged for households maintained by a noncitizen. The decline for native-born households was 3.5 percent; the decline for foreign-born households was 5.3 percent; and the decline for those maintained by a naturalized citizen was 4.8 percent. The apparent differences among the declines in median income for native-born, foreign-born and naturalized citizen households were not statistically significant.

Earnings

* In 2008, the earnings of women who worked full time, year-round was 77 percent of that for corresponding men, not statistically different from the 2007 ratio.

* The real median earnings of men who worked full time, year-round declined by 1.0 percent between 2007 and 2008, from $46,846 to $46,367. For women, the corresponding drop was 1.9 percent, from $36,451 to $35,745.

Income Inequality

* Income inequality was statistically unchanged between 2007 and 2008, as measured by shares of aggregate household income by quintiles and the Gini index. The Gini index was 0.466 in 2008. (The Gini index is a measure of household income inequality; 0 represents perfect income equality and 1 perfect inequality.)

  Poverty

  Overview

* The increase in the poverty rate between 2007 and 2008 was the first statistically significant annual increase since 2004. The 2008 poverty rate (13.2 percent) was the highest since 1997.

* In 2008, the family poverty rate and the number of families in poverty were 10.3 percent and 8.1 million, respectively, up from 9.8 percent and 7.6 million in 2007.

* For married-couple families, both the poverty rate and the number in poverty increased -- 5.5 percent (3.3 million) in 2008, up from 4.9 percent (2.8 million) in 2007. Both measures, however, showed no statistical change in 2008 for female-householder-with-no-husband-present families (28.7 percent and 4.2 million) and for male-householder-no wife-present families (13.8 percent and 723,000).

Thresholds

* As defined by the Office of Management and Budget and updated for inflation using the Consumer Price Index, the weighted average poverty threshold for a family of four in 2008 was $22,025; for a family of three, $17,163; for a family of two, $14,051; and for unrelated individuals, $10,991.

Race and Hispanic Origin (Race data refer to people reporting a single race only. Hispanics can be of any race.)

* In 2008, the poverty rate increased for non-Hispanic whites (8.6 percent in 2008, up from 8.2 percent in 2007), Asians (11.8 percent in 2008, up from 10.2 percent in 2007) and Hispanics (23.2 percent in 2008, up from 21.5 percent in 2007). The poverty rate in 2008 was statistically unchanged for blacks (24.7 percent).

Age

* The poverty rate increased for children younger than 18 (19.0 percent in 2008, up from 18.0 percent in 2007) and people 18 to 64 (11.7 percent in 2008, up from 10.9 percent in 2007), while it remained statistically unchanged for people 65 and older (9.7 percent).

* Similar to the patterns observed for the poverty rate in 2008, the number of people in poverty increased for children younger than 18 (14.1 million in 2008, up from 13.3 million in 2007) and people 18 to 64 (22.1 million in 2008, up from 20.4 million in 2007) but remained statistically unchanged for seniors 65 and older (3.7 million).

Nativity

* Among the native-born population, 12.6 percent (33.3 million) were in poverty in 2008, up from 11.9 percent (31.1 million) in 2007.

* Among the foreign-born population, the poverty rate and the number in poverty increased to 17.8 percent and 6.5 million in 2008, up from 16.5 percent and 6.2 million, respectively, in 2007. The poverty rate in 2008 for naturalized citizens, 10.2 percent, was statistically unchanged from 2007, while the poverty rate for those who were not U.S. citizens rose to 23.3 percent in 2008, up from 21.3 percent in 2007.

Regions

* The Midwest and West experienced increases in both their poverty rate and the number in poverty. The Midwest poverty rate increased to 12.4 percent (8.1 million) in 2008, up from 11.1 percent (7.2 million) in 2007, and the West poverty rate increased to 13.5 percent (9.6 million) in 2008, up from 12.0 percent (8.4 million) in 2007. The poverty rates for the Northeast (11.6 percent) and the South (14.3 percent) were both statistically unchanged.

  Health Insurance Coverage

  Overview

* The number of people with health insurance increased from 253.4 million in 2007 to 255.1 million in 2008.

* The number of people without health insurance coverage rose from 45.7 million in 2007 to 46.3 million in 2008.

* Between 2007 and 2008, the number of people covered by private health insurance decreased from 202.0 million to 201.0 million, while the number covered by government health insurance climbed from 83.0 million to 87.4 million. The number covered by employment-based health insurance declined from 177.4 million to 176.3 million.

* The number of uninsured children declined from 8.1 million (11.0 percent) in 2007 to 7.3 million (9.9 percent) in 2008. Both the uninsured rate and number of uninsured children are the lowest since 1987, the first year that comparable health insurance data were collected.

* Although the uninsured rate for children in poverty declined from 17.6 percent in 2007 to 15.7 percent in 2008, children in poverty were more likely to be uninsured than all children.

Race and Hispanic Origin (Race data refer to those reporting a single race only. Hispanics can be of any race.)

* The uninsured rate and number of uninsured for non-Hispanic whites increased in 2008 to 10.8 percent and 21.3 million, from 10.4 percent and 20.5 million in 2007. The uninsured rate and number of uninsured for blacks in 2008, meanwhile, were not statistically different from 2007, at 19.1 percent and 7.3 million. The uninsured rate for Asians in 2008 rose to 17.6 percent, up from 16.8 percent.

* The percentage of uninsured Hispanics decreased to 30.7 percent in 2008, from 32.1 percent in 2007. The number of uninsured Hispanics was not statistically different in 2008, at 14.6 million.

* Based on a three-year average (2006-2008), 31.7 percent of people who reported American Indian and Alaska Native as their race were without coverage. The three-year average uninsured rate for Native Hawaiians and Other Pacific Islanders was 18.5 percent.

Nativity

* The uninsured rates for the native-born and foreign-born populations were statistically unchanged at 12.9 percent and 33.5 percent, respectively, in 2008. Among the foreign-born population, the uninsured rates for both naturalized citizens (18.0 percent) and noncitizens (44.7 percent) were statistically unchanged.

Regions

* At 11.6 percent, the Northeast and the Midwest had lower uninsured rates in 2008 than the West (17.4 percent) and the South (18.2 percent). The 2008 rates for the Northeast, Midwest and South were not statistically different from their respective 2007 rates. The uninsured rate for the West increased to 17.4 percent in 2008, up from 16.9 percent in 2007.

The CPS ASEC is subject to sampling and nonsampling errors. All comparisons made in the report have been tested and found to be statistically significant at the 90 percent confidence level, unless otherwise noted.

For additional information on the source of the data and accuracy of the estimates for the CPS, visit <http://www.census.gov/hhes/www/p60_236sa.pdf>.