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Teenage Research Suggests The Kids Aren't All Right: 5 Studies
The year isn't off to a great start for America's teens, but it's not like much has changed lately. Our teenagers still aren't exercising enough, are still lagging behind the rest of the world in test scores, and still feel like drinking makes them popular.
Almost makes you feel good for being a twenty-something. A batch of recent research proves that, no, the kids are not all right... and here's why.
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Drinking Still Makes Teens Popular
High school hasn’t changed since you left it. A new study has, for the first time, correlated drinking and social prestige, with the unsurprising find that getting drunk in middle and high school is directly linked to popularity.
“Teens who reported occasional drinking and getting drunk tended to have higher ‘social connectedness’ than their abstaining peers,” according to the researchers, who examined answers about alcohol and number of friends.
Teens who did drink had, on average, an extra 0.5 friends than those who didn’t. Maybe it’s the double vision.
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Teens Still Aren't Exercising Enough
Only one in four kids between the ages of 12 and 15 are meeting the government’s recommendations of one or more hours of moderate to vigorous exercise each day, according to a CDC study drawing on results from the 2012 National Youth Fitness Survey.
Outside of gym class, girls say their most frequent activity is running, and boys are most likely to be playing basketball. The overall obesity rate for children is 17 percent, although it’s one that’s been curbing over recent years.
Still, “there’s always room for improvement,” said CDC study lead author Tala Fakhouri. And every P.E. coach ever.
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Sex Ed Still Isn't Effective for Many Teens...
Always a contentious issue in schools, the lack of nationwide sex ed continues to fail America’s teens as they continue to have sex, but often don’t play it safe. A bill introduced Dec. 16 is trying to repeal abstinence-only education, but is unlikely to see success.
Moreover, a new study published this month showed that different cultural backgrounds play a huge role in how teens think about sexuality. Those with Middle Eastern backgrounds are more likely to have pro-abstinence attitudes, while African-African teens rank the least likely. This suggests that not only do sex ed programs need to get with the 21st century, but that they need to be tailored to address their audience’s attitudes to be the most effective.
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...And Doctors Still Aren't Educating Teen Patients, Either.
A new study shows that doctors spend just 36 seconds talking to teen patients about sex, and 35 percent of doctors forgo that little chat completely.
Plus, most teens weren’t able to talk to their doctors at all because their parent was in the exam room with them — which might explain why the chats that did happen were so short. (Though they probably felt painfully long at the time.)
Image: ABC
Teens Still Lag Behind Rest Of World on Test Scores
Compared to their international classmates, American teens are getting outscored on academic achievement tests.
They score below the international average in math and about average in science and reading — and numbers haven’t improved in 13 years. Countries such as Vietnam now outperform America in math and science.
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