ch 14

Adolescent Alienation and the Clustering of Problems

Alienation Defined: As classically defined by Seeman ( $1959$ ), alienation is a combination of six distinct feelings or beliefs. An individual does not need all of them to be alienated; only enough to feel lonely, distanced, and rootless: * Powerlessness: A sense of being unable to change one's situation or influence events. * Meaninglessness: The feeling that one cannot sensibly choose actions because outcomes are unpredictable. * Self-estrangement: Feeling like a stranger to oneself and being puzzled by one’s own actions. * Cultural estrangement: Dissatisfaction with cultural values, such as deploring materialism. * Normlessness: The belief that social rules have broken down and are no longer relevant or functional. * Social isolation: A feeling of being alone, friendless, or misunderstood by others.
Acting-Out vs. Internalizing: Unhappy adolescents may express emotions outward (truancy, aggression, promiscuity, theft, assault) or inward (depression, self-harm).
Clustering of Problem Behaviors: Problem behaviors like substance abuse, pregnancy, delinquency, suicide, or dropping out tend to occur together ( $Ozer et al., 2003$ ). This occurs for two reasons: * Common Causation: Factors like family discord, deviant peers, poverty, and school failure contribute to multiple problems. * Triggering Effects: One problem can directly cause another (e.g., the stresses of running away lead to substance abuse).

Running Away from Home

Objective $14.1$ : Explain the consequences for adolescents who run away from home.
Prevalence: National estimates indicate between $1.6 \text{ million and } 2.8 \text{ million}$ adolescents run away annually ( $National Runaway Switchboard, 2010$ ). One in five ( $20 \text{ percent or } \frac{1}{5}$ ) will run away at least once before age $18$ , and half will run more than once ( $Pergamit, 2010$ ).
Demographics: * Ethnicity: Caucasian teenagers are more likely to flee than Latino or African American peers. * Family Structure: Adolescents in single-parent or blended homes are significantly more likely to run away than those with both biological parents ( $Sanchez et al., 2006$ ). * Gender: Runaways are more likely to be female than male ( $Pergamit, 2010$ ), and girls are more likely to run away multiple times. * Geography/Socioeconomics: Most come from urban areas and the Western half of the $U.S.$ ; they are also more likely to be poor.
Age Factor: Two-thirds are $16\text{ or older}$ , but one-third are $15\text{ or younger}$ . Younger teens are more vulnerable to victimization and cannot find legitimate work.
Types/Classes of Runaways: * Transient Runaways: About $50 \text{ percent or } \frac{1}{2}$ of runaways; they return home within $2 \text{ days}$ . Most go to friends' or relatives' houses, and parents often know their location. * Intent Runaways: Those who mean to flee for a long time or forever.
Reasons for Running Away: The single most common thread is a dysfunctional home life (sexual/physical abuse, neglect, parent substance abuse). Research suggests up to $70 \text{ percent}$ have experienced abuse ( $Jencks, 1994$ ).
Academic Correlation: $52 \text{ percent}$ of runaways in shelters have reading disabilities, and only $20 \text{ percent}$ are normal achievers (Barwick & Siegel, 1996).
Gender Differences in Motivation: * Girls: View parents as controlling and punitive. * Boys: Report minimal family control, leaving them vulnerable to outside peer influences.

Throwaways: Discarded Youth

Definition: Youths who are forced out of the home or not permitted to return. The $NISMART$ study found $44 \text{ percent}$ of so-called runaways were actually thrown out ( $Hammer et al., 2002$ ). The National Runaway Switchboard ( $2010$ ) found up to $48 \text{ percent}$ were throwaways.
Motivations for Throwing Away Children: * Parents cannot cope with incorrigible behavior (substance abuse, delinquency). * Child has long-standing mental illness (e.g., conduct disorder). * History of incest in the home. * Parents cannot accept the child's homosexuality. * Dire poverty (parents ask older children to fend for themselves to save younger children). * Outgrowing foster care with no support system.

Life on the Street

Victimization: $43 \text{ percent}$ of boys and $39 \text{ percent}$ of girls in one study were assaulted with a weapon (Whitbeck & Simons, 1990). Boys are more often robbed/beaten; girls are more common targets of sexual assault.
Survival Strategies: Fewer than $25 \text{ percent}$ leave with more than $\$10$ . Teens turn to panhandling, drug dealing, shoplifting, and prostitution/survival sex. An estimated $25 \text{ to } 50 \text{ percent}$ engage in survival sex.
Health Outcomes: High risks of post-traumatic stress, pregnancy ( $4\times \text{ higher}$ for homeless girls), and $HIV/AIDS$ . In Los Angeles, $\frac{2}{3}$ of homeless youth were clinically depressed compared to $7 \text{ percent}$ of the general population.
Mortality: The mortality rate of street youth is estimated to be $40 \text{ times}$ higher than at-home adolescents (Shaw & Dorling, 1998).
Help Systems: Needs include emergency shelters, social workers, educational programs, and "one-stop shopping" for services.

Worldwide Street Children

Scope: An estimated $150 \text{ million}$ children/adolescents are considered "street children" ( $UNESCO, 2015$ ).
Causes: Industrialization, urbanization, drought, famine, and $AIDS$ epidemics. In the Third World, children are on the street because parents cannot afford them (Nigeria, Latin America) or to flee abuse (Iran).

Adolescent Depression

Objective $14.2$ : Identify the risks of adolescent depression.
Characteristics: Feelings of helplessness (can't improve situation) and hopelessness (situation will never change). Individuals are self-critical, overwhelmed, and may act out aggressively.
Adolescent vs. Adult Manifestations: Adolescents are more likely to be grouchy/irritable rather than unrelentingly sad. They have more physical ailments but are less likely to be tired or lose appetite compared to adults.
Prevalence: $15 \text{ to } 20 \text{ percent}$ of teenagers experience clinical depression once before young adulthood (Lewinsohn & Essau, 2002); $7 \text{ to } 8 \text{ percent}$ suffer in any given year.
Depression and Prescription Drugs: Concerns exist that $SSRI$ medications (like Prozac) trigger suicidal thoughts in youth. In $October 2004$ , the $FDA$ issued a "black box" warning because these drugs doubled the risk ( $2 \text{ percent to } 4 \text{ percent}$ ) of suicidal ideation ( $Hammad et al., 2006$ ).
Gender Gap: While boys and girls have equal rates in childhood, women become $2\times$ as likely to be depressed by adulthood. * Coping: Girls tend to ruminate on problems; boys use denial/avoidance. * Relationships: Girls are more affected by social relationship issues and others' pain. * Biology: Hormonal changes may affect serotonin. Genetic variants on the $X$ chromosome increase susceptibility in women ( $Yu et al., 2005$ ). * Societal Factors: Girls hit puberty at the same time as the middle school transition, creating a confluence of stressors.

Suicide: Trends and Risk Factors

Objective $14.3$ : Identify the types of teenagers who attempt or commit suicide.
Prevalence: It is the third leading cause of adolescent death. In $2013$ , $17 \text{ percent}$ of adolescents seriously considered suicide, $14 \text{ percent}$ made a plan, and $8 \text{ percent}$ made an attempt ( $CDC, 2013$ ).
Trends: Adolescent suicide rates tripled from $1950 \text{ to } 1995$ , peaking at over $13 \text{ per } 100,000$ . It has since declined to about $10 \text{ per } 100,000$ .
Gender Disparity: Girls are $2 \times$ more likely to attempt suicide, but $85 \text{ percent}$ of successful suicides are committed by boys. Boys use more violent means (guns, hanging); girls use passive methods (pills).
Demographics: Native American adolescents have the highest rate ( $4 \times \text{ higher}$ than Caucasians). Caucasian rates are higher than African American rates, which are higher than Hispanic rates.
Predictors: Clinical depression and a previous suicide attempt are the two best predictors ( $USDHHS, 1999$ ). $90 \text{ percent}$ of those who commit suicide have a psychological disorder.
Family Context: Parental psychopathology and substance abuse are strongly correlated. Teens whose parents attempted suicide are $500 \text{ percent}$ more likely to attempt it themselves ( $Brent et al., 2015$ ).
LGBTQ+ Vulnerability: Homosexual adolescents are significantly more likely to attempt suicide ( $up to 30 \text{ percent}$ ) due to extra stressors like victimisation and negative reactions to their orientation.

Survivors and Suicide Prevention

Prevention: Most attempts are considered in advance. Teens often talk about it first as an attention-getting device after other methods (rebellion, running away) fail.
Impact on Survivors: Families and peers experience fear, rage, guilt, numbness, and "copycat" tendencies. Recovery for survivors typically takes $1 \text{ to } 2 \text{ years}$ .
In Their Own Words (Carrie's Story): A friend describes Carrie as dramatic/eccentric. She became morbid, describing her funeral, being promiscuous, and burning herself with cigarettes. She stopped medication and committed suicide using her dog's leash in a barn after a final run with the dog.

Nonsuicidal Self-Injurious Behavior (NSSI)

Objective $14.4$ : Explain why some adolescents engage in nonsuicidal self-injurious behaviors.
Definition: Intentionally harming the body for non-socially sanctioned purposes (not body piercing) without suicide intent. Common forms include cutting, burning, scratching, and punching hard objects.
Diagnosis: Must be done with the intent of relieving negative feelings, resolving problems, or inducing a positive mood.
Prevalence: $18 \text{ percent}$ of high schoolers and $12 \text{ to } 38 \text{ percent}$ of college students admit to self-injury. It is common among those with Borderline Personality Disorder ( $40 \text{ to } 80 \text{ percent}$ ).
Physiology: Self-mutilators often feel no pain because of elevated endogenous endorphin levels (Sher & Stanley, 2008). The "relief" effects last about 24 \text{ hours.
Treatment: Dialectical Behavioral Therapy ( $DBT$ ), Dynamic Deconstructive Psychotherapy, and antidepressants/antipsychotics.

Eating Disorders: Anorexia Nervosa

Objective $14.5$ : Identify eating disorders.
Definition: An obsession with food and weight; the "dieter's disease."
Criteria: Must be at least $15 \text{ percent}$ under normal body weight, have an excessive fear of gaining weight, and a distorted body image ( $APA, 2013$ ).
Causes: Often involves noncohesive, unsupportive families. It may represent a sexual conflict where a girl attempts to halt her development to a prepubertal stage, delaying maturation.
Medical Conditions: Slow heartbeat, cardiac arrest, low blood pressure, dehydration, hypothermia, electrolyte abnormalities, potassium deficiency (kidney malfunction), and brain abnormalities. The body may grow fine hair known as "lanugo" to conserve heat.
Treatment: Monitoring physical condition, behavior modification (rewards for eating), family therapy (approach of choice), and Individual cognitive behavioral therapy.

Bulimia Nervosa and Binge Eating Disorder

Bulimia Criteria: Repeated binging (loss of control) and excessive compensatory behaviors (vomiting, laxatives, diuretics) occurring at least $\text{once per week over } 3 \text{ months}$ .
Statistics: Individuals may spend an average of $13.7 \text{ hours}$ binging per week, consuming between $1,200 \text{ to } 11,500 \text{ calories}$ per episode ( $Mitchell et al., 1981$ ). Only $10 \text{ percent}$ are male.
Family Context: Families are often chaotic and stressful rather than overprotective (anorexia); communication is poor.
Binge Eating Disorder: Approved for the $DSM-V$ in $2013$ . Differs from bulimia as there is no purging. It is twice as common as bulimia and more likely to be associated with obesity.

Juvenile Delinquency: Scope and Trends

Objective $14.6$ : Outline the scope of juvenile delinquency.
Definition: Violation of the law by someone under $18$ .
Status Crimes: Violations that apply only to minors (underage drinking, curfews, truancy).
Statistics: In $2012$ , juveniles were responsible for $12 \text{ percent}$ of violent crime arrests and $18 \text{ percent}$ of property crime arrests (Puzzanchera & Kang, 2014).
Trend: Rates peaked in $1993$ and have dropped dramatically since; the $2012$ murder rate was at a $20\text{-year}$ low.
Peak Crime Times: On school days, crimes occur between $3 \text{ P.M. and } 6 \text{ P.M.}$ . On weekends, between $8 \text{ P.M. and } 10 \text{ P.M.}$ .
Gender Gap Narrowing: Girls' arrest rates have been climbing faster than boys’. Girls are more likely to be referred for truancy and runaway behaviors; boys engage in broader, more serious delinquencies.

The Causes of Delinquency

Conduct Disorder ( $CD$ ): The disorder most linked to delinquency. Requires $\text{at least } 3$ symptoms from: Aggression, Destruction of Property, Theft/Deceitfulness, or Serious Rule Violations.
Environmental Causes: Poverty, high-crime areas, gangs, media violence, and substandard schools.
Interpersonal Causes: Abusive or neglectful parents, disengaged families, and association with deviant peers. A strong predictor is having a close relative involved in crime.
Personal Causes: High impulsivity, lack of self-control, narcissism, and low social cognitive skills (misinterpreting others as hostile).
Biological Factors: Genetic research found boys with two copies of the $DAT1$ gene (influencing dopamine) were twice as likely to be violent delinquents ( $Guo et al., 2007$ ). Low serotonin and high testosterone are also linked to aggression.

Juvenile Gangs

Scope: About $30,000$ youth gangs with $850,000$ members in the $U.S.$ ( $Egley et al., 2014$ ). Roughly $40 \text{ percent}$ are in large cities.
Demographics: In $2012$ , $45 \text{ percent}$ were Latino, $\frac{1}{3} \text{ (ca. } 33 \text{ percent)}$ African American, and $10 \text{ percent}$ Caucasian. $\frac{2}{3}$ of gang members are actually adults.
Theories of Joining: * Self-Selection: Dysfunctional youth seek out gangs. * Facilitation Hypothesis: Normal youth are coerced into deviance after joining.

The Juvenile Justice System and Restorative Justice

Objective $14.7$ : Explore alternatives within the system.
Police Discretion: Police may ignore, warn, report to parents, refer to social agencies, or arrest. This discretion can lead to bias against minorities.
The Case of Gerald Gault ( $1964/1967$ ): $15\text{-year-old}$ Gerald was sentenced to $6 \text{ years}$ for obscene phone calls (adult maximum: $\$50$ fine/ $2 \text{ months}$ ). The Supreme Court ruled ( $5 \text{ to } 4$ ) that minors are entitled to due process under the Bill of Rights (counsel, cross-examination, right against self-incrimination).
Correctional System: Probation is the backbone, with $2/3$ of convicted youth placed on it. Alternatives include detention centers, halfway houses, and group homes.
Restorative Justice: A newer approach balancing victim reparation, community security, and offender skill-building. New Zealand saw a $67 \text{ percent}$ reduction in offending after switching to this model in $1989$ ( $Mulligan, 2009$ ).

Questions & Discussion

Wouldn't You Like to Know… * Question: Do most runaways leave for good? Answer: No. Half stay away only a day or two; most intent runaways eventually go home. * Question: Who is more likely to commit suicide? Answer: Girls attempt more ( $2\times$ ), but boys succeed more often ( $85 \text{ percent}$ of deaths). * Question: Is juvenile crime increasing? Answer: No, it has been declining since the mid- $1990s$ . * Question: What happens to teens caught breaking the law? Answer: Outcomes range from warning to probation, the most common result of adjudication.