hmns10085 mod2
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Issues in Human Services (HMNS 10085)
Module 2: Issues Pertaining to Youth
What is Youth?
• Adolescence - the years of 10 to 18• Teenage years - 13-18 years• Period of time between when puberty begins and
when adulthood is reached– Menarche– Semenarche– Time of rapid growth
• Emerging adulthood 18 to 2 years
The Emergence of Adolescence as a Stage of Childhood
• Adolescence - recent stage of childhood– Emerged in 1890s– Time period when attending school– This has increased over time
• Cultures vary by expectations on adolescents- may be based on gender
Issues for Youth
• High Risk Behaviours - aggression/ “delinquent behaviour”, gang activity– Bullying– Substance Use
• Mental Health Issues - depression, anxiety, eating disorders, self-harm/suicide
• Lesbian/Gay/Bisexual/Transgender/Queer Youth
Classification of Problems
• Externalizing problems:– Directed towards others
• Internalizing problems:– Directed inward
Externalizing Problems: “Delinquent” Behaviour & Violence:• Criminal activity and violence attract a lot
of attention.• Youth do commit a disproportionate
number of violent crimes• Youth - 7% of the overall, general
population• Youth are 4 times more likely to be victims
of crime - female more than male.
“Delinquent” Behaviour & Violence:
• Problem-solving cognition
• Judgement
• Connection to disruptive peers
• Early maturation (girls)
• Values
• Witnessing or experiencing violence
Contributors to “Delinquent” Behaviour & Violence:
• Youth “act out” for a reason
• Conditions within the youth
• Past or present abuse, neglect or chaotic environments (due to substance abuse)
• Structural risk factors– Living in poverty > food insecurity,
specifically.
How School Experience May Contribute
• Teacher insensitivity to a youth’s individuality
• Rigid discipline
• Continuous negative interactions
• Failing to assess the strengths of youth
• Lack of funding for special education resources that help promote school success.
Gang Activity: Types of Gangs
• Groups of friends
• Spontaneous Criminal Activity Gang
• Purposive Gang
• Youth Street Gang
• Structure Criminal Organization
Myths about gangs:
• Cultural or ethnic groups form gangs composed of individuals from their own cultural or racial groups
• Newcomers to Canada frequently form gangs
• Criminal gangs are composed of youth
What do gangs provide youth?
• Respect• A sense of making a contribution• Potential for leadership• Relief from boredom• Acknowledgement of the youth as a unique
individual• A feeling of membership, belonging• A feeling of empowerment
Why gangs tend to form:
• Living in poverty
• Unemployment
• Racism
• Family-oriented difficulties
• Not succeeding in school/low attachment to school
• Chaos in community
Interventions for Youth Involved in Gangs:
• Structural approach:– Mobilize a community to take action– Provide educational, recreational and
employment opportunities– Social intervention (eg. housing)
Bullying
• Bullying is defined as, “…a way of attaining power through
aggression.”
• There is intentionality
• Tends to be repetitive in nature
Bullying Behaviour & Types of Bullying
• Bullying Behaviour:– Physical– Verbal– Social– Used electronically– Being a bystander
• Types: Racial, religious, sexual & disability
How Often Does it Happen?
• 20% of children & youth report being bullied.
• Increases in early adolescence• Decreases in later adolescence• Boys are bullied more using physical
behaviours• Girls - more use of exclusion, gossip
behaviours.
Who is particularly at risk:
• Large body type
• Not fitting in with peer group
• Students who have disabilities &/or use special education services
• Students who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or queer (LGBTQ)
Impact of being bullied:
• Anxious and lonely
• School avoidance
• Illness - depression and suicidal thoughts
• Poor academic performance
Who tends to bully?
• Anyone
• Do not possess effective social problem-solving skills
• Considered attractive, popular & leaders in their school communities
Measures to combat bullying:
• School-based awareness campaigns
• Directed to the whole school body
• “Norm”
• Research evidence - mixed
• Raising awareness of the bystander role
Substance Use
• It becomes problematic when:– habitual– involves street or illegal drugs– Interferes with daily life & functioning
How many youth use substances?
• >65% of students had used alcohol (25.3% had been binge-drinking)
• 29.8% had used cannabis• >23% smoked tobacco• 6% used ecstasy• No substance use > 27.4%• At least 4 different drugs - 14% of all students• 5.6% of students - could not stop using
Trends in Youth Substance Use:
• Alcohol & using drugs increasing since the 90s.– Some increase in use of most substances
– Highest increase - marijuana
– Increase in alcohol
– Increase in designer drugs or rave drugs (Ecstasy)
• Use of tobacco decreased since 90s.– Except it has increased in young women
– Highest smoking rate in country
Associated Problems in Substance Use:
• Use of alcohol, marijuana, cocaine & amphetamines linked to violent behaviour
• More likely to gamble
• Substance use (alcohol use especially) is linked to depression
• ADHD diagnoses
Factors Thought to Contribute to Substance Use:
• Influenced by peers• Have mothers • Move frequently/school adjustment• Have lower parent supervision & support in single
parent families• Have parents who are more authoritative &
directing• Come from households where parents are religious
Individual Characteristics/Resources that decrease likelihood of substance use in
youth:• Good self-concept
• Religious beliefs/values
• Authoritative parenting
• Social support
Mental Health Issues in Youth:
• Externalizing Disorders:– Conduct Disorder– Oppositional Defiance Disorder
• Internalizing Disorders:– Depression– Self-injury– Suicide– Anxiety– Eating disorders
• ~20% of youth have a mental health disorder
Depression:
• Symptoms:– Low mood– Feelings of sadness– Crying easily– Loss of interest in activities previously enjoyed– Sleep disturbances– Appetite disturbances– Low energy– Stomach aches or headaches– Diminished memory & ability to concentrate– Youth > irritability
• Interferes with functioning in daily life
Depression: How many youth does it affect?
• 3.5% of children and youth experience depression
• Tends to increase in adolescence
• Girls more affected than boys
• Can be difficult to detect
Anxiety
• Anxiety - level is such that it interferes with functioning in daily life
• Often occurs with depression.• Impacts ~6% of children & youth• Types of anxiety disorders:
– Generalized Anxiety-many worries & fears– Specific Phobia - anxiety response specific to 1 thing > highly
avoidant– Social Phobia - excessive worry about social situations– Panic Disorder - physical panic response > “attack”– Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder - uncontrollable & unreasonable
thoughts (obsessions) & routines/rituals (compulsions)
Factors Contributing to Depression & Anxiety:
• Genetic - runs in family• Early life stress - trauma• Attachment issues• Psychological controlling by parents• Economic problems in household• Low marital happiness in parents• Parental hostility towards you• Reaction to a stressful life event
Self-injurious Behaviour
• “…any deliberate, repetitive attempt to harm one’s own bodily tissue without a conscious desire to commit suicide.” (Nock & Prinstein, 2005, in Martin, 2011).
• Most frequent - cutting legs and arms with razor blade, burning one’s self.
Prevalence of Self-injurious Behaviour
• Adolescents are at higher risk for self-injuring than adults
• 39% of adolescents have self-inflicted injury at some point in their lifetime
• Female youth self-injure at a much higher rate.
Causes of Self-injuring Behaviour
• Causes are unclear
• Associated with:– Eating Disorders– Depression– Anxiety– Physical, sexual or severe emotional abuse– Being a perfectionist
Reasons for Self-injury
• It allows youth to feel something when they otherwise feel emotionally numb
• Allows youth to numb psychic pain
• Internal expression of rage or intense anger
• Self-punishment
• Means of getting attention
Eating Disorders
• A group of disorders characterized by a distorted body image in which eating behaviours are severely restricted or unhealthy, to alter body weight & shape– See themselves as fat when dangerously thin
• Primary onset- tends to be adolescence• Risk for medical problems such as:
– Infertility– Tooth damage– Heart & kidney problems– Bone loss– Anemia – Premature death– Growth may be halted
Types of Eating Disorders
• Anorexia Nervosa - refusal to maintain expected body weight (< 85% of normal body weight) through starvation, excessive exercise, use of diuretics, laxatives. Use of excessive calorie counting, lack of satisfaction with weight loss, intense fear of gaining weight. Part of diagnosis - absence of menstrual cycle for 3 months.
• Bulimia Nervosa - binge eating followed by purging (vomiting, using laxatives). Youth feels no control over the eating behavior.
• Binge-eating Disorder - Eats excessively to point of being uncomfortable. Feels highly guilty which can lead to other binges.
Prevalence
• Anorexia - half to 1% of youth
• Bulimia - 1 to 3% of youth
• Females much more likely to have an eating disorder
Causes
• Interplay of cultural, genetic & psychological causes
• Cultural -related to unrealistic body image ideals• Genetic - predisposition to mental disorders• Psychological - may have anxiety disorder earlier
in childhood. Low self-esteem, trying to be “perfect”; family interaction patterns– Control
Suicide
• The most extreme internalizing disorder
• Adolescents - high risk, females higher suicidal ideation
• Rate is higher for adolescents than adults
• Rate is growing
Types of Suicidal Behaviour
• Gestures - cry for help vs. attempt with intent to kill oneself
• Attempts/Completed
• Females - 85% of those who attempt but are unsuccessful
• Males - 80% of those who complete suicide
Risk Factors for Suicide:
• Youth feeling hopeless, with little social support, having feelings of hostility & negative self-esteem > greatest risk
• Strongly linked to family disruption & divorce• Having a friend commit suicide.• Having a gun (for males)• High level of school involvement > associated
with a decreased risk for suicide
Schizophrenia
• Most often diagnosed in late adolescence or emerging adulthood
• Thought Disorder• Symptoms:
– Unclear or illogical thinking – Delusions– Hallucinations– Cognitive impairment– Inability to express emotions
Early Signs
• 30 times more likely to commit suicide
• Increased social isolation - especially from peers
• Declining cognitive functioning - confusing thoughts
• Indications of hallucinations
Treatment of Mental Health Disorders:
• Prevention
• Medical treatment
• Cognitive Behavioural Therapy - for depression, anxiety & eating disorders
• Family therapy
Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender/Transexual, Queer
(LGBTQ) Youth• Often the victims of bullying - 75% of gay youth in one
study reported being verbally abused at school & 14% reported physical abuse
• 85% of LGBTQ youth reported being victimized by bullying - 60% report having been assaulted
• Male youth were abused more than female youth• School climate in which there is heterosexist, homophobic
language used > increased anxiety & depression amongst LGBTQ youth– 39.4% heard such remarks from adults in their schools
• High rate of suicide - 30% reported attempting
How to make communities safe & inclusive for LGBTQ Youth
• Address the harassment - provide education to school personnel to begin with
• Policies that do not condone harassment based on LGBTQ status > “Zero Tolerance” policies
• Focus on sexuality as part of youth’s personhood - not the sole defining factor of a human being
• Teach students to respect the dignity of all persons
Readings:• Centre For Addiction & Mental Health (2002). Alcohol, tobacco, and other drug use among Ontario Students. Youth
Scoop, Vol 2. Toronto: Centre For Addiction & Mental Health.
• Retrieved from: http://www.camh.net/education/Resources_teachers_alcdruguse.pdf.
• Centre For Addiction & Mental Health (2002). Youth violence: what’s the story? . Youth Scoop, Vol 3. Toronto: Centre For Addiction & Mental Health.
• Retrieved from: http://www.camh.net/education/Resources_teachers_schools/Youth%20Scoop/youth_scoop_violence_youth.pdf
• Centre For Addiction & Mental Health (2009). Hear me, understand me, support me: what young women want you to know about depression. Toronto: Centre For Mental Health & Addiction.
• Retrieved from: http://www.camh.net/Publications/Resources_for_Professionals/Validity/validity_sizism.html
• Hamilton Wentworth District School Board (____). Bullying: Information for parents and students. In Safe and Caring Schools #3.
• Retrieved from: http://www.hwdsb.on.ca/programs/safeschools/bullying/pdfs/bullying_booklet_english.pdf.
Readings continued…• Offord Centre For Child Studies (2007). Eating problems in children and adolescence. Hamilton, ON: Centre of
Knowledge on Healthy Child Development.
• Retrieved from: http://knowledge.offordcentre.com/images/stories/offord/pamphlets/EatingDisorder_en.pdf.
• Offord Centre For Child Studies (2007). Mood problems in children and adolescents. Hamilton, ON:Centre of Knowledge on Healthy Child Development.
•Retrieved from: http://knowledge.offordcentre.com/images/stories/offord/pamphlets/Mood%20B&W.pdf .