Tuesday, December 14, 2010

Cell phone exposure and bad behaviour

There seems to be a rising bad effects of cellphones, not only in adults, but in kids as well. Is this the cons of the gadget we call mobile phone? Will there be more?
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Cell phone exposure linked to bad behaviour in kids

PARIS - Pregnant mothers in Denmark who regularly used mobile phones were more likely to have children with behavioural problems, according to a study released Tuesday.

The risk was higher when the kids themselves began using cell phones at a very early age, researchers reported in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health.

Leeka Kheifets of the University of California at Los Angeles and colleagues examined the health records of 28,000 seven-year-olds and their mothers enrolled in the Danish National Birth Cohort.

The survey, which included nearly 100,000 women between 1996 and 2002, was designed to track the long-term health of the children.

Mothers supplied detailed information about their lifestyles, diet and habits during and after pregnancy, including cell phone use.

When their kids reached the age of seven, moms were again quizzed on their own and their children's health and behaviour.

The researchers found that kids who had been exposed to mobile phones both before and after birth were 50 per cent more likely to have behavioural problems.

The findings held true even after factors that might have skewed the outcome were taken into account, they said.

Kids exposed to cell phones only while in the womb were 40 per cent more likely to show abnormal behaviour, with the percentage dropping to a fifth for children whose first access to the devices occurred after they were born.

The results mirror an earlier study by the researchers of 13,000 other mothers and their kids enrolled in the same national survey.

In both groups, about three per cent of the children were found to exhibit abnormal behaviour, with another three per cent borderline.

The author cautioned against drawing a straight line between cell phones and difficult children, but said the findings were troublesome.

"Although it is premature to interpret these results as causal, we are concerned that early exposure to cell phones could carry a risk which, if real, would be a public health concern given the widespread use of the technology," they concluded.

- AFP/rl


Taken from ChannelNewsAsia.com; source article is below:
Cell phone exposure linked to bad behaviour in kids




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Thursday, November 18, 2010

Wandering minds make people unhappy: study

I don't practice yoga. And even then, a wandering mind has been a problem since time immemorial. Did you hear what I'm saying, or is your mind wandering? Joke!

Now, stay with me, will yah?
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Track Your Happiness app on the iPhone.
WASHINGTON - Maybe you should listen to that yoga teacher who counsels you to stay in the moment.

A US study out Thursday suggests that people spend about half of their time thinking about being somewhere else, or doing something other than what they are doing, and this perpetual act of mind-wandering makes them unhappy.

"A human mind is a wandering mind, and a wandering mind is an unhappy mind," wrote psychologists Matthew Killingsworth and Daniel Gilbert of Harvard University in the journal Science.

"The ability to think about what is not happening is a cognitive achievement that comes at an emotional cost."

The study tracked 2,250 people via the trendy iPhone gadgets using an application, or app, that contacted volunteers at "random intervals to ask how happy they were, what they were currently doing, and whether they were thinking about their current activity or something else that was pleasant, neutral or unpleasant."

When the results were tallied, people had answered that their minds were wandering 46.9 per cent of the time.

Subjects reported being happiest while having sex, exercising or having a conversation. They reported being least happy while using a home computer, resting or working.

By examining the mind-wandering responses, researchers found that "only 4.6 per cent of a person's happiness in a given moment was attributable to the specific activity he or she was doing, whereas a person's mind-wandering status accounted for about 10.8 per cent of his or her happiness."

The study said "time-lag analyses" suggested that "subjects' mind-wandering was generally the cause, not the consequence, of their unhappiness."

Subjects tended to be most focused on the present, and least prone to mind-wandering, during sex, the study noted. During every other activity, minds were wandering no less than 30 per cent of the time.

Seventy-four per cent of those followed in the study were American, the researchers said, adding that the subjects came from a "wide range of socioeconomic backgrounds and occupations."

"Mind-wandering is an excellent predictor of people's happiness," said Killingsworth.

"This study shows that our mental lives are pervaded, to a remarkable degree, by the non-present."

The application is available at www.trackyourhappiness.org.

- AFP/rl


From ChannelNewsAsia.com; source article is below:
Wandering minds make people unhappy: study
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Monday, November 15, 2010

Cooling measures

Are we talking about anger management here?
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While some children vent their frustrations outwardly, others may take the passive-aggressive route.
Beyond Anger: A Guide for Men: How to Free Yourself from the Grip of Anger and Get More Out of LifeAnger Management: The Complete Treatment Guidebook for Practitioners (The Practical Therapist Series)The Anger Control WorkbookThe Anger Management SourcebookLetting Go of Anger: The Eleven Most Common Anger Styles & What to Do About ThemAnger Management For DummiesRage: A Step-by-step Guide to Overcoming Explosive AngerThe Anger Workbook: A 13-Step Interactive Plan to Help You... (Minirth-Meier Clinic Series)Anger Management (Widescreen Edition)The Anger Trap: Free Yourself from the Frustrations that Sabotage Your LifeSINGAPORE - Eight people, all who have trouble controlling their temper, are attending an anger management class. A counsellor is conducting the session. In a typical setting, this would not seem out of place.

At the Institute of Mental Health's (IMH) Child Guidance Clinic (CGC), however, such sessions are attended by children aged seven to 12 years old. In spite of their young age, all of them have anger issues that are serious enough to warrant special attention.

There are no exact figures on children and teenagers in Singapore with anger issues.

Dr Ong Say How, Consultant and Deputy Chief at IMH's Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, explained that this is because "anger" is not considered a clinical diagnosis.

At the CGC, children and teens with such problems are usually referred to anger management groups, which run for about eight sessions. Each year, about 16 youth attend these sessions at IMH.


Beyond the boiling point

While anger is a normal human emotion, it can also get "blown out of proportion", said Dr Ong.

"When a child cannot get what he wants, it is common for him to become angry.

Anger is a manifestation of his emotional state and not necessarily a psychological problem," said Dr Ong.

However, there are instances where children will need professional help to manage their temper.

Ten-year-old Samuel (not his real name) was referred to CGC after displaying physical aggression towards his mother at home.

The primary school student comes from a single parent family and grew up without a father figure after his parents divorced.

At school, Samuel, who had low self-esteem, had learning difficulties and would throw a tantrum when reminded to do his homework.

Whenever he lied about completing his homework, his mother would cane him. As Samuel grew older, he became harder to control and began expressing his anger physically. Once, in a fit, he pushed his mother over.

At wits' end, Samuel's mother referred him to IMH.

"Anger problems will need professional help when the episodes become too frequent and persistent, to the extent of impairing the child's social functioning and learning.

"If the child is angry all the time, he will not be popular with friends and become ostracised," said Dr Ong.

Ms Diana Chandra, a senior counsellor at Eagles Mediation and Counselling Centre (EMCC), said anger becomes a problem when the child's behaviour becomes socially unacceptable.

In many cases, Dr Ong said that anger itself is just a symptom of other underlying problems such as depression, anxiety and even psychotic disorders. According to him, high-risk children include those with difficult temperament from young, such as those who are fussy, stubborn, impatient and impulsive.


Passively Aggressive

Unlike adults who may directly seek help for anger issues, Ms Chandra said the teenagers she works with are referred to the centre by parents or schools.

"They don't come in and say I can't control my anger. Only when you talk and counsel them do you realise that the majority of them are angry," Ms Chandra said.

While some children and teens express their anger readily, Ms Chandra said majority of them tend to take on a passive-aggressive stance.

"For instance, especially in our Asian society, most children know it is not right to show anger to their parents. So instead of articulating their anger, they vent it elsewhere. They may become rebellious or don't study to spite their parents," she said.


Learning to self soothe

Unresolved anger issues may take its toll later in life. The majority of the adult cases Ms Chandra sees started having anger issues from adolescence. Therefore, it is important for them to learn to manage their anger, as well as be aware of the causes behind the anger, said the experts.

According to Dr Ong, children with anger problems are rarely given medication, unless they have co-existing psychiatric conditions. Learning problem-solving techniques, exploring choices, stress management techniques are all part of the treatment process.

"We teach them self-awareness exercises so that they know why they are angry and what triggers their anger," said Ms Chandra.

A popular technique that she uses involves using "the anger line" which helps the child rate how angry he is on a scale of one to 10, with 10 being extremely explosive.

"If he is at six on the anger line, he has passed midpoint but can still take a few steps back. This helps him to mentally stop himself from reaching the destructive 10," she said.

- TODAY/rl





From ChannelNewsAsia.com; source article is below:
Cooling measures
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Friday, November 12, 2010

Play with your kids - it helps!

BIRMINGHAM, ENGLAND - JULY 14:  Students at th...Image by Getty Images via @daylifeHere is one article that outlines the need for parents not be just parents, but to be parents and go down to the level of their children when playing.

There's no such thing as branding as "child's  play" when it comes to rearing kids - better kids.

Read on...
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The Ten Basic Principles of Good Parenting (English and Spanish Edition)A new study suggests that positive interactions between parents and kids can discourage personality disorders later in life.

The research said that spending time with a child by reading with them, helping with homework or teaching them organizational skills helps to foster better psychological health in adulthood.

"The strong interpersonal connectedness and social skills that children learn from having active, healthy engagements with adults fosters positive psychological development. With it, a child develops his or her affiliation system - their connection to the world of people," said lead study author Mark F. Lenzenweger, of Birmingham University.

Good Parenting Through Your Divorce: The Essential Guidebook to Helping Your Children Adjust and Thrive Based on the Leading National Program"Without it, the way a child connects with other human beings can be severely impaired. And as I found out, it is this impairment that predicts the appearance of schizoid personality disorder symptoms in emerging adulthood and beyond," he added.

The relationships foster a willingness to engage with others, which is the psychological foundation of the human experience but for some PD sufferers, this willingness to connect with other people is markedly absent.

The study also suggests that the experience of a rich proximal process in early life foster the development of a strong affiliation system and healthier personality adjustment in adulthood.

Good Housekeeping (1-year auto-renewal)The data was drawn from Longitudinal Study of Personality Disorders (LSPD) study, which began in 1991.
The research is published in journal Development and Psychopathology. (ANI)


From the article:
Playing with your kids 'improves their mental health'



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Tuesday, November 09, 2010

Older Brother: Responsible, or a Bully?

Bullying on IRFE as of March 5, 2007 (the firs...Image via WikipediaHere is a report that says something about older brothers. My older brothers weren't, so will the number of children studied really a sufficient part of the whole to be considered a representative of all?
Anyway, read on...
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Older Brothers More Likely to Bully

FRIDAY, Nov. 5 (HealthDay News) — Older brothers are more likely than older sisters to bully younger siblings, a new study finds.

Italian researchers looked at 195 children, aged 10 to 12, who had siblings that were no more than four years older or younger.

Just KiddingChildren with older brothers were more likely to report being bullied at home. Boys were more likely to bully if they had a younger brother or sister. Older sisters were more likely to bully a sibling based on the quality of their relationship, rather than their age, according to the study.

The findings appear in the British Journal of Development Psychology.

“It’s likely that older sisters are raised to be responsible and protective towards their younger siblings. Older brothers are more likely to be hierarchical and seek to dominate these relationships and maintain this with daily bullying,” study author Ersilia Menesini, Universita’ degli Studi Di Firenze in Florence, Italy, said in a journal news release.

More information
Bullyproof Your Child For Life: Protect Your Child from Teasing, Taunting, and Bullying for GoodThe U.S. Health Services and Resources Administration has more about bullying.




Source article is below:


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Thursday, October 28, 2010

US begins first trial with human embryonic stem cells

Here is where the battle between morality and legality is pronounced - even in this high-technology era, the question remains. Does it mean that you can, then you will?
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A researcher manipulates drops of stem cells in a laboratory.
WASHINGTON - US doctors have begun the first tests of human embryonic stem cells in patients, treating a man with spinal cord injuries in a landmark trial of the controversial process, the Geron Corporation said on Monday.

The patient began the pioneering treatment on Friday with an injection of the biotech company's human embryonic stem cells, as part of a clinical trial that aims to test safety and efficacy towards regaining sensation and movement.

The treatment took place at the Shepherd Center in Atlanta, Georgia, a spokeswoman for the hospital told AFP, declining to give further details due to patient privacy concerns.

The Phase I trial is expected to involve around 10 patients. Participants in the human trials must be severely injured and start treatment with Geron's product, GRNOPC1, seven to 14 days after sustaining their injury.

Patients will be given a single injection of two million of Geron's GRNOPC1 cells in the trial.

Those taking part will be followed up for one year to monitor safety and also to see if they have regained any sensory function or movement in their lower extremities.

If the initial group of subjects shows no negative side-effects, Geron plans to seek FDA approval to extend the study to increase the dose of GRNOPC1 and to include patients with "as broad a range of severe spinal cord-injured patients as medically appropriate."

The ultimate goal for GRNOPC1 is to inject it directly into the spinal cord lesions of injured humans where it would, Geron hopes, prompt damaged nerve cells to regrow, enabling patients to eventually recover feeling and movement.

Geron began working with human embryonic stem cells in 1999.

Back then, "many predicted that it would be a number of decades before a cell therapy would be approved for human clinical trials," Geron's president and chief executive Thomas Okarma said in a statement.

Okarma described Monday's start of the clinical trial as "a milestone for the field of human embryonic stem cell-based therapies."

GRNOPC1 is made up of cells containing precursors to oligodendrocytes - multi-tasking cells that occur in the nervous system.

Oligodendrocytes are lost in spinal cord injury, resulting in myelin and neuronal loss which cause paralysis in many patients.

Preclinical studies of GRNOPC1 found that when it was injected into the injury site of animals with spinal cord injuries, it migrated throughout the lesion site and matured into oligodendrocytes.

Those oligodendrocytes then re-lined axons with myelin, the insulating layers of cell membrane that wrap around the axons of neurons to enable them to conduct electrical impulses.

The process produced biologicals that enhance the survival and function of neurons, resulting in significantly improved locomotion in the treated animals.

In the animal trials, GRNOPC1 was injected seven days after the injury was sustained.

Every year, some 12,000 people in the United States sustain spinal cord injuries, usually in automobile accidents or from falls, gunshot wounds and sports.

Geron got clearance in January 2009 from the Food and Drug Administration to conduct human trials of GRNOPC1.

Around six weeks later, President Barack Obama reversed a ban on federal funding for research on human embryonic stem cells, which had been imposed by his predecessor at the White House, George W. Bush.

But the clinical trials of GRNOPC1 remained on hold for more than a year while the US courts wrangled about whether lifting the ban on embryonic stem cell research was legal.

Backers of the research believe the field holds huge potential for treating serious diseases including cancer and Alzheimer's, and even for reversing paralysis.

Opponents argue that living embryos are destroyed in order to obtain the potentially life-saving embryonic stem cells.

Legislation passed by Congress in 1996 bans federal funding for research in which human embryos are either destroyed or discarded.

In lifting the ban on embryonic stem cell research, the Obama administration argued the research does not require disposal or destruction of the embryos, which were created for in-vitro fertilization treatments but never used.

Last month, a US appeals court ruled that the federal funding can continue, dissolving a lower court's ban.

- AFP/al


From ChannelNewsAsia.com; source article is below:
US begins first trial with human embryonic stem cells
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Tuesday, October 19, 2010

Youths with eating disorder also inflict self-injury

WASHINGTON - Around four in 10 US teens with eating disorders also intentionally harm themselves, and the rate could be higher because clinicians don't routinely screen for self-injury, a study published Thursday shows.

"These are very high numbers, but they're still conservative estimates," because doctors and other care-givers don't always ask young patients about self-injury, said Rebecka Peebles, a lead author of the study conducted by researchers from Stanford University and Lucile Packard Children's Hospital.

"If you see an innocent-looking 12-year-old boy, you don't even think of asking about self-injurious behaviour. We ask 97 per cent of children 12 years and up if they smoke cigarettes; we need to get that good with screening for self-injurious behaviour," she said.

For the study, published in the Journal of Adolescent Health, researchers examined the records of 1,432 patients, ages 10-21, who were admitted to the eating disorders program at Packard Children's Hospital in California from January 1997 through April 2008.

Just over 90 per cent of the patients were female, three-quarters of them white, and their average age was 15. Many of them had a history of binging and purging, or bulimia nervosa.

Nearly 41 per cent said they had inflicted physical harm on themselves, in the vast majority of cases by cutting.

But only around half the youngsters who checked into the eating disorders program were even asked if they intentionally injured themselves -- and those who were usually fit the profile of a self-injurer: older, white, female, suffering from bulimia nervosa, or with a history of substance abuse.

"The question is, are we missing other kids who are not meeting this profile?" Peebles said.

The study did not examine the reasons behind self-injury but Peebles said her clinical experience suggested patients "are trying to feel pain" and feel "release that comes when they cut or burn themselves."

Other studies have shown that between 13 and 40 percent of all adolescents engage in some form of self-injury, which has been associated with a higher risk of suicide.

- AFP/rl


From ChannelNewsAsia.com; source article is below:
Youths with eating disorder also inflict self-injury
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Wednesday, October 13, 2010

Unprotected sex on the rise among Singapore youth

Is Singapore becoming "more open"? Or simply following the downward path of the surrounding influences?
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A man, wearing "sperm" costume, distributes brochures on safe sex.
SINGAPORE: New survey data released in conjunction with World Contraception Day shows that unprotected sex is on the increase among young people in Singapore.

Sixty-one per cent of 200 sexually active young people between the ages of 16 and 19 surveyed in Singapore have had sex without contraception with a new partner, a 12 per cent increase from the previous survey done in 2009.

The multi-country survey, which is supported by a coalition of 10 international organisations with an interest in sexual health, said there is a significant disconnect between young people's attitudes to accepting responsibility for contraception and what they are doing in their day-to-day lives.

It added that the results also highlight that confusion around contraceptive options is still widespread, with highly unreliable contraceptive methods, such as the "withdrawal" method still being viewed as effective.

The survey involved 25 countries and over 5,000 young people aged between 15 and 24 across Asia Pacific, Europe, North American and Latin America.

The survey also shows that only 23 per cent of young people in Singapore consider themselves to be well informed about contraception options, compared to 51 per cent globally. But this could come down to how different cultures approach sex.

Gynaecologist Dr Christopher Ng said: "It's true that in Asia the youth perhaps know less details of contraception, be it the pill or injections or various forms of contraceptions because I think in our culture, (when) talking about sex openly to children, parents can find it awkward or embarrassing."

But not all Singaporeans agree with the findings.

"They (youths) are pretty aware of it (contraception)...probably they just don't discuss it with their friends," said a member of the public.

"Youths are just being very conservative. They don't really wanna share what kind of contraceptive methods they are using," said another.

The survey results are significant as the level of unplanned pregnancies is a major global concern, particularly among young people.

Worldwide, about a third of the 205 million pregnancies which occur each year are unplanned.

In Singapore, the figure is about 2,000.

Dr Sundardas D Annamalay, vice-president of Singapore Planned Parenthood Association, said: "If you are not aware of the consequences of sexual behaviour, you are facing everything from teenage pregnancies to increased incidence of diseases like HIV."

Edward Ong, president of the Singapore Planned Parenthood Association, said that with an increasing number of unwanted and unplanned pregnancies as well as abortions, providing education and supportive services is critical, especially for young people.

One healthcare group in Singapore that is stepping to the plate is the Singapore Medical Group. It will distribute educational booklets at its two gynaecology centres in Singapore.

On its part, the Singapore Planned Parenthood Association is taking measures to organise sexual education programmes in schools as well as youth forums.

World Contraception Day is an event taking place on 26 September every year.

Each year, countries and regions around the world organize events to mark the event.

In Singapore, supporters of safe sex were out in force to get their message across to youths. Donning "sperm" costume, some of the supporters were seen distributing educational brochures in the central business district.


- CNA/fa/ir

How to read a man?

From ChannelNewsAsia.com; source article is below:Unprotected sex on the rise among Singapore youth
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