A dedicated football player, a disciplined martial arts practitioner or a respected weightlifter? According to a recent Norwegian study, young girls are most concerned with their appearance as they become teenagers, but boys must do something to become young men. Their choice of activity is also a choice of masculine identity.
“I’m the toughest guy. I can lift weights for five to six hours in a row. I start lifting five kilos and then I can go on for hours at the same speed the whole time. The others, they just do it for five minutes, and then they’re exhausted, you know. That’s the difference.”

These are the comments of Kåre, age 14. He lifts weights to be strong and muscular. Like all the other boys, it is important for Kåre not to be scrawny. This is something they can quickly become if they do not play football, practice martial arts or – like Kåre – work out at the gym and develop their muscles.

It has often been described how girls in puberty use clothes and make-up to make themselves into young women. Boys, on the other hand, become young men through physical activity. This is according to the psychologists Hanne Haavind and Mona-Iren Hauge in an article recently published by Routledge in the journal Sport, Education and Society. Along with a group of other researchers, they conducted several interviews with 12 to 14-year-old girls and boys living in Oslo over a two-year period. The teenagers talked about their daily lives, their activities and who they spent their time with. Some of the teenagers were also interviewed again when they were about 18 years old. [continue reading…]

The New York Times has an excellent feature article on schizophrenia ~ Living With Voices: Joe Holt, a computer consultant and entrepreneur who has a diagnosis of schizophrenia, describes how he’s learned to manage the voices in his head.Video of Joe Holt talking about how his life with schizophrenia

Coping with the voices in his head:

The job was gone, the gun was loaded, and a voice was saying, “You’re a waste, give up now, do it now.”
It was a command, not a suggestion, and what mattered at that moment — a winter evening in 2000 — was not where the voice was coming from, but how assured it was, how persuasive.

Losing his first decent job ever seemed like too much for Joe Holt to live with. It was time.

“All I remember then is a knock on the bedroom door and my wife, Patsy, she sits down on the bed and hugs me, and I’m holding the gun in my left hand, down here, out of sight,” said Mr. Holt, 50, a computer consultant and entrepreneur who has a diagnosis of schizophrenia.

“She says, ‘Joe, I know you feel like quitting, but what if tomorrow is the day you get what you want?’ And walks out. I sat there staring at that gun for an hour at least, and finally decided — never again. It can never be an option. Patsy deserves for me to be trying.

Curious? Continue Reading…
Source: New York Times

Psychologists explore myths, realities and offer guidance for parents

Social media present risks and benefits to children but parents who try to secretly monitor their kids’ activities online are wasting their time, according to a presentation at the 119th Annual Convention of the American Psychological Association.

“While nobody can deny that Facebook has altered the landscape of social interaction, particularly among young people, we are just now starting to see solid psychological research demonstrating both the positives and the negatives,” said Larry D. Rosen, PhD, professor of psychology at California State University, Dominguez Hills.

In a plenary talk entitled, “Poke Me: How Social Networks Can Both Help and Harm Our Kids,” Rosen discussed potential adverse effects, including:

• Teens who use Facebook more often show more narcissistic tendencies while young adults who have a strong Facebook presence show more signs of other psychological disorders, including antisocial behaviors, mania and aggressive tendencies.

• Daily overuse of media and technology has a negative effect on the health of all children, preteens and teenagers by making them more prone to anxiety, depression, and other psychological disorders, as well as by making them more susceptible to future health problems.
  • Facebook can be distracting and can negatively impact learning. Studies found that middle school, high school and college students who checked Facebook at least once during a 15-minute study period achieved lower grades.

Rosen said new research has also found positive influences linked to social networking, including:

• Young adults who spend more time on Facebook are better at showing “virtual empathy” to their online friends.
• Online social networking can help introverted adolescents learn how to socialize behind the safety of various screens, ranging from a two-inch smartphone to a 17-inch laptop.
• Social networking can provide tools for teaching in compelling ways that engage young students.

For parents, Rosen offered guidance. “If you feel that you have to use some sort of computer program to surreptitiously monitor your child’s social networking, you are wasting your time. Your child will find a workaround in a matter of minutes,” he said. “You have to start talking about appropriate technology use early and often and build trust, so that when there is a problem, whether it is being bullied or seeing a disturbing image, your child will talk to you about it.”

He encouraged parents to assess their child’s activities on social networking sites, and discuss removing inappropriate content or connections to people who appear problematic. Parents also need to pay attention to the online trends and the latest technologies, websites and applications children are using, he said.

“Communication is the crux of parenting. You need to talk to your kids, or rather, listen to them,” Rosen said. “The ratio of parent listen to parent talk should be at least five-to-one. Talk one minute and listen for five.”

 

Source:   American Psychological Association “Poke Me: How Social Networks Can Both Help and Harm Our Kids” Larry D. Rosen, PhD, California State University, Dominguez Hills