Bullies. Every classroom seems to have one. In another age, bullying was considered a rite of passage; but that was before the massacres at Columbine and Virginia Tech. We now know that bullying can have long-lasting effects, both for bullies and their victims. Since April, at least three children have committed suicide as the result […]
What’s Love Got to Do With It? Everything!
Love is the force that binds us, one to another. A husband’s love for his wife, a mother’s love for her child, the love shared by siblings, the love of lifelong friendships — these are the ties that define us as human beings. Love gives us the courage to persevere in the face of life’s […]
Sense of Fatalism Encourages Risky Behavior in Teens
A surprising number of teens expect to die young. In a seven-year study of 20,000 teens in grades 7 through 12, 15% felt it was highly likely that they would die before they reached their 35th birthday. Published in the July issue of Pediatrics, the unexpected results have caused researchers at the University of Minnesota to […]
Can Insomnia Be Inherited?
A new study presented at Sleep 2009, the 23rd Annual Meeting of the Associated Professional Sleep Studies, suggests that insomnia may be inheritable. The study of 1,436 eight- to 16-year-old twins found that the same genes that impact depression and anxiety affect adolescent insomnia. Study results are consistent with the results of similar studies connecting insomnia […]
Combating Dangerous Pattern Perceptions
Perceiving patterns where none exist, a psychological phenomenon called pattern perception, is a mental coping mechanism used by many people to combat uncertainty when events spin their lives out of control (see our June 10 post). It’s a phenomenon that’s on the rise in these times of economic uncertainty where rising unemployment, catastrophic investment losses, […]
Are Stereotypes a Self-fulfilling Prophecy?
We all understand the peril of stereotyping. Judging any group by a single set of often negative characteristics ignores both the breadth of human experience evident in any group of people and the unique individuality of each member of the group. Yet, stereotypes persist. The problem seems to be how we exercise the human need […]