SelfhelpMagazine

by Dean G. Kilpatrick, Ph.D., Kenneth J. Ruggiero, Ph.D., Ron Acierno, Benjamin E. Saunders, Ph.D., Heidi S. Resnick, Ph.D., and Connie L. Best, Ph.D.

The carefree teen years apparently aren't so carefree anymore - if they ever were - according to the results of a new study of America's youth violence and mental health. The study, involving 4,023 teenagers (ages 12-17) interviewed by telephone, finds that roughly 16 percent of boys and 19 percent of girls met the criteria for at least one of the following diagnosis: posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), major depressive episode and substance abuse/dependence.

Study lead author Dean G. Kilpatrick, Ph.D. and colleagues from the National Crime Victims Research and Treatment Center at the Medical University of South Carolina were particularly struck by the prevalence of PTSD in the national sample of adolescents. "Nearly four percent of the boys (3.7%) and over six percent of the girls (6.3%) reported PTSD symptoms during the preceding six months, indicating that a high percentage of youth in the United States encounter traumatic events and experience significant emotional responses associated with these events," according to Dr. Kilpatrick.

The study also finds that within the six-month period prior to the telephone survey, prevalence for major depression was 7.4% for boys and 13.9% for girls, and prevalence for substance abuse/dependence during the past year was 8.2% for boys and 6.2% for girls. Nearly three fourths of all the adolescents who met the criteria for PTSD also met the criteria for major
depression, substance abuse/dependence or both.

Interpersonal violence (i.e., sexual and physical assault, witnessed violence) increased the risk of PTSD, major depressive episode and substance abuse/dependence. This finding adds to the growing body of research establishing a link between violence and mental health problems.

The risk for the mental health disorders increased with age; older teens met the criteria for the three diagnoses more often than the younger teens. However, the findings suggest that older adolescents also were more likely than younger adolescents to report family alcohol and
drug use problems, witnessed violence, sexual assault, and physical assault,
say the researchers.

More research looking at the impact of violence on teens over time is needed. Researchers are trying to design studies that shed light on how teens get exposed to violence and the mental health problems they can develop as a result.

Meanwhile, as a parent, you can be sensitive to how much violence your teen witnesses. If they see things that are upsetting, be sure to create the opportunities for your teen(s) to discuss their reactions with you and other understanding adults. The sooner you can have these conversations with them, the better.

One Question to Avoid Is:

• Do you want to talk about it? (The probably will say "no" because they most likely don't know what to say.)

Questions You Might Want to Include:

• What happened?
• I would be scared. Were you scared? (freaked out, upset, etc.)
• What did you see?
• Did you ever see anything like that before?
• Are you having trouble shaking it out of your head?
• Do you keep thinking about it during the day?
• Has it gotten in the way of your sleep?
• Do you have dreams about it at night?
• If yes, what are you dreaming?

Information supplied by the American Psychological Association, located in Washington, DC.

Article:

"Violence and Risk of PTSD, Major Depression, Substance
Abuse/Dependence, and Comorbidity: Results From the National Survey of Adolescents," Dean G. Kilpatrick, Kenneth J. Ruggiero, Ron Acierno, Benjamin E. Saunders, Heidi S. Resnick, and Connie L. Best, Medical University of South Carolina; Journal Of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, Vol. 71, No.
4.