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US Youth Have Serious Mental Health Issues

Ant writes "Google News carries a Canadian Press report that 'a new study has found that five times as many high school and college students in the United States are dealing with anxiety and other mental health issues than youth of the same age who were studied in the Great Depression era. ... Pulling together the data for the study was no small task. Led by [San Diego State University psychology professor Jean Twenge], researchers at five universities analyzed the responses of 77,576 high school or college students who, from 1938 through 2007, took the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory, or MMPI. The results will be published in a future issue of the Clinical Psychology Review. Overall, an average of five times as many students in 2007 surpassed thresholds in one or more mental health categories, compared with those who did so in 1938. A few individual categories increased at an even greater rate — with six times as many scoring high in two areas: 'hypomania,' a measure of anxiety and unrealistic optimism (from 5 per cent of students in 1938 to 31 per cent in 2007), and depression (from 1 per cent to 6 per cent).'"

15 of 818 comments (clear)

  1. Re:"Unrealistic Optimism" by Asadullah+Ahmad · · Score: 2, Funny

    with six times as many scoring high in two areas: 'hypomania,' a measure of anxiety and unrealistic optimism

    Wait a minute, does that mean Facebook groups like "I just study before the exam day.." are not meant as a joke?

  2. Re:Too much input by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

    You can't go by him. He's a liar

  3. Re:In the words of the great Ken Titus... by jez9999 · · Score: 2, Funny

    You don't give a kid powerful psychotropic drugs just because they're rebellious or shy.

    Perhaps that's part of the problem. More LSD!!

  4. Re:American youth have it easy. by tehcyder · · Score: 4, Funny

    There were no Coca Colas! There were no potato chips! There were no McDonalds or Burger Kings!

    So it wasn't all bad then.

    --
    To have a right to do a thing is not at all the same as to be right in doing it
  5. Re:American youth have it easy. by rev_sanchez · · Score: 3, Funny

    Wow, that place was aptly named.

    Now that China has over 24 million more men than women because of the One Child Per Family program they should follow that example and name their country Horny. Chile should give that name up to Canada and spell it Chilly. North Korea should hencforth be known as Korazy.

    --
    If you didn't come to party don't bother knocking on my door. Prince '1999'
  6. Re:American youth have it easy. by Jodka · · Score: 2, Funny

    When I grew up in Hungary... life was somewhat difficult...Piotr did not have enough food to feed his entire family! He would provide the best nourishment to his children and wife, while during tough times he would eat grass, paper and sawdust....

    So is that why they named it "Hungary"?

    --
    Ceci n'est pas une signature.
  7. Re:Stop projecting.... by vlm · · Score: 3, Funny

    atheistic fanaticism

    What is that? A "deafening silence" when teaching your kids about "creation science" or is it some other combination of oxymorons?

    --
    "Science flies us to the moon. Religion flies us into buildings." - Victor Stenger
  8. Re:American youth have it easy. by ObsessiveMathsFreak · · Score: 1, Funny

    The bread, it was almost always stale.

    Stale Bread!! Luxury! We've lived like kings on stale bread. No, it was potato jackets for us; mouldy ones of course. And we were happier for them!

    ...Indeed, we were happy, because of them.

    --
    May the Maths Be with you!
  9. Re:In the words of the great Ken Titus... by Nutria · · Score: 4, Funny

    busted his little butt

    You Evil, Evil Man!

    Everyone knows that corporal punishment permanently scars children for life.

    --
    "I don't know, therefore Aliens" Wafflebox1
  10. Re:In the words of the great Ken Titus... by lorenlal · · Score: 4, Funny

    Everyone knows that corporal punishment permanently scars children for life.

    Only if you can get a good crack with the belt.

  11. Re:In the words of the great Ken Titus... by dougisfunny · · Score: 5, Funny

    Why conform, when the conformists are so fucked up?

    Because everyone else is doing it. Duh.

    --
    This is not the funny you're looking for.
  12. Re:In the words of the great Ken Titus... by Obel · · Score: 2, Funny

    So if you haven't got aspergers you've got haemmorhoids? Is that what you're saying?

  13. Re:In the words of the great Ken Titus... by TheVelvetFlamebait · · Score: 2, Funny

    Yeah. Fucking doctors and scientists brainwashing parents and kids. If they just thought for themselves, I'm sure they could figure out what's happening to their kids better than some overweight ivory tower intellectual with a piece of paper saying he's better than me, and that he gets to call me stupid in front of all my friends, and make that totally cute girl laugh at me. Jerk.

    --
    You know, there is a difference between trolling and pointing out the flaws in your reasoning. Just saying.
  14. Re:Therapies other than drugs exist by Cyrus20 · · Score: 2, Funny

    dry erase board then if you will

  15. Wag the dog by jvonk · · Score: 3, Funny

    Bullshit. "Big Pharma" doesn't make up disorders. They make drugs and then test which disorders they might be able to target.

    ...and then popularize the disorders that are matches.

    "Do you have P.A.D.? Nearly eleventy billion Americans have this potentially deadly disorder. Why have you never heard of this before? We at the *cough*bristolmeyerssquibb*cough* P.A.D. Coalition are trying to get the word out about P.A.D. now that we found that Plavix can be used to treat it! Call your doctor *now*... you may already be dying of something no one has ever heard of before last year!"

    That pretty much summarizes the TV commercial I saw last week. Wag the dog, indeed.