The Player, Not the Video Game is to Blame, Study Finds

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Parents who are worried about their kids playing violent video games might want to shift their concern.  Recent research focuses on the player and not the game itself. If your kid has certain dispositions — say they are moody, impulsive or unfriendly — then you might want to limit their violent video game playtime. Otherwise, placing all the blame on the violence may be unfair, according to USA Today. This study, which aims to cut through the confusion surrounding the topic, comes from psychologist Patrick Markey who co-wrote it and had it published in the journal Review of General Psychology.

Can The Internet Be Used to Fight Human Trafficking?

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The Internet, like all tools, can be used for good or bad. Human trafficking, a form of modern day slavery that often involves forcing people, including children, to have sex for money, is part of the dark side. It’s well-known that traffickers get online to exploit victims and advertise their services through social media and classified sites. But what if the Internet were used against these traffickers? A year-long investigation into technology and human trafficking showed that online traffickers leave behind a trail, which can be followed by investigators working to combat human trafficking.

Troubling Trend of Young Adult Cigar Use Studied for the First Time

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In recent years, more young adults are choosing the lower prices and sweeter flavors of cigars and the longer, slimmer cigarillos over cigarettes. Troubled by this trend, health experts are releasing a seven-year study in the October issue of the American Journal of Public Health that addresses which specific young adult populations are using them and which brands are their favorites. According to a press release, 19- to 26-year-olds who are black, non-Hispanics, who engage in risky behaviors and smoke cigarettes, marijuana or blunts would be most likely to smoke one of these brands—Black & Mild, Swisher Sweets, Phillies, White Owl or Garcia y Vega—which all primarily produce cigarillos or little cigar products. This is the first study about young adult cigar smoking that uses national data and was conducted by the nation’s largest organization devoted to preventing and stopping tobacco use. “While much effort has been focused over the past decade to increasing awareness about cigarettes and the dangers of smoking, cigar products have emerged as a profitable product for tobacco companies that, unlike cigarettes, are currently unregulated by the FDA and are taxed at a much lower rate,” Dr. Cheryl G. Healton president of the organization, said in the release.

Youth Violence Can Be Reduced By Increasing Alcohol Controls, Studies Suggest

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Make access to alcohol more difficult and young adults are likely to commit fewer violent crimes. That’s what two studies by University of California at Riverside researchers showed recently, according to an article published by CBS Los Angeles. The first study, which examined 91 of the largest American cities in 36 states, found a link between alcohol store density and violent crime among teens and young adults aged 13-24. In the second study, researchers found higher rates of violent crimes in neighborhoods near alcohol outlets with more than 10 percent of freezer space for single-serve containers. The researchers described the effect as “modest,” yet crime did increase in areas with a higher percentage of single serve alcohol containers.

Increased Teen Driver Restrictions May Not be Working

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A lot of debate exists about whether teen driving restrictions are successful, and a new nationwide study says graduated driver licensing programs placed on younger teens are merely shifting the dangers to older teens, according to the Los Angeles Times. But then others still support a study published last year in the journal Traffic Injury Prevention that found the rate of fatal crashes to be lower and the accident rate for 18- and 19-year olds to be essentially the same. For more than a decade, many states have enacted laws to restrict their newest teen drivers, such as restricting the hours when they can get behind the wheel and whom they can bring along as passengers, and public officials believed they were saving lives. Now, this new study published in the latest edition of the Journal of the American Medical Association, suggests otherwise. When the researchers examined data on more than 131,000 fatal crashes involving teen drivers from all 50 states and the District of Columbia between 1986 and 2007, they found that the number of fatal crashes among 16- and 17-year-old drivers has fallen.

Shows Like SpongeBob May Slow Kids’ Ability to Think, Study Says

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To watch the energetic SpongeBob and his dim-witted friend Patrick Star zipping around with their under-sea antics may slow down your child's brain. In a 60-kid study mentioned by U.S. News and World Report, children who watched the fast-paced SpongeBob SquarePants were unable to solve problems as well as children who watched slower-paced shows or spent time drawing. Unrealistic, fast-paced shows could be damaging to children because they overstimulate the brain, making it harder to maintain focus, plan, organize and control inappropriate behaviors, the researchers wrote. Researchers told Bloomberg they don’t know how long the effect lasts. “It may be that children recover quickly.

SAMHSA Twitter Chat to be Held Today

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Get your questions about recovery from addiction and treatment answered by experts during a Twitter chat held today from 3:30 to 4:30 p.m. ET and hosted by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. This event will create a dialogue with experts in the recovery, treatment and prevention fields, to allow the public to ask questions and learn more information. They hope to spread the message that prevention works, treatment is effective and people can and do recover. This September #RecoveryChat will celebrate Recovery Month and will be co-hosted by Dr. Westley Clark, director of SAMHSA’s Center for Substance Abuse Treatment and Kathryn Power, director of SAMHSA’s Center for Mental Health Services. You can participate by following and tweeting with the #RecoveryChat hashtag on Twitter.

LGBT stock photo - Clay Duda, JJIE.org

Are LGBT Youth Safer in School This Year?

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It gets better. That’s the message many lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender youth have heard since last fall when multiple cases received high-profile media attention concerning teens being bullied and/or committing suicide for being gay, or perceived to be gay. But is it safer for LGBT students entering school this year? Some LGBT leaders are doubtful, despite the positive changes that are occurring, according to an article by the Keen News Service. Eliza Byard, executive director of the Gay, Lesbian, and Straight Education Network, acknowledges that more schools are aware of what to do and more resources exist, but she told a reporter for the news service that there is still "a lot of work to be done."

Timing and Tempo of Puberty Linked to Behaviour Problems, Study Finds

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Children who go through puberty at a faster rate are more likely to act out and suffer from anxiety and depression, according to a study released by Penn State, Duke University and the University of California, Davis. Primary care providers, teachers and parents should look for two things when trying to make connections about behavioral problems in kids, says the study. Not only should they look at the timing of puberty but also the tempo of puberty, meaning how fast or slow kids go through these changes. For girls, the results suggest that timing and tempo weren't directly related. For boys, however, a strong relationship exists between the two factors.