Although teens in North Dakota are smoking and drinking less, they are dealing with feelings of hopelessness and suicidal thoughts more often, according a recent survey.
Teens Drinking And Smoking Less, But More Feel Hopeless
BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — North Dakota's high school students are drinking less and using less tobacco, but more young people are having extended periods of feeling sad or hopeless, according to results of a survey about their health behavior released Monday.
State Superintendent Kirsten Baesler said the survey showed fewer high school students reported being bullied at school, either electronically or personally.
Earlier this year, lawmakers extended the reach of a law intended to discourage bullying, and approved an administrative reorganization of the Department of Human Services' regional centers to improve the availability of services for students.
While some trends are moving in the right direction, others are not, Baesler said.
"But an increased percentage of students who had extended periods of feeling sad or hopeless, seriously considered suicide, or the 13% of the survey's respondents who had attempted suicide should cause us all to be gravely concerned," Baesler said.
The Youth Risk Behavior Survey was developed in 1990 by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. It is given in the spring of odd-numbered years to students in grades 7-8 and 9-12. Different questions are asked of middle school and high school students. Students choose whether to take the survey, and results are anonymous.
In addition to bringing our readers stories about education issues in America, we here at Hispanic Outlook feature news articles on topics both related to and outside of the field of education on our website and in our social media.
Hispanic Outlook is an education magazine in the US available both in print and digital form. Visit https://www.hispanicoutlook.com/education-magazine for information about our latest issue, including our new supplement Physician Outlook.
Hispanic Outlook’s Job Board allows applicants to search for jobs by category, by city and by state. Both Featured and Latest Job Positions are available at https://hispanicoutlookjobs.com/
And for employers, Hispanic Outlook’s Job Board offers a wide variety of posting options. Further information is available at https://hispanicoutlookjobs.com/employer-products/
Other articles from Hispanic Outlook:
Diversify Or Decline
Most people believe diversity in our society is a worthy goal. It seems a particularly sensible one for a nation established and built by individuals from a wide variety of backgrounds. But how to achieve and sustain it?...A bit of history. For centuries the privileged class took steps to ensure their success and those of their male offspring. The well-established old boy network was in many ways an efficient system that worked for those who ran it, primarily WASPS (White Anglo-Saxon Protestants). Admission to college, employment offers and promotion opportunities were heavily influenced by who you knew, who recommend you. But the well-oiled network had fatal flaws. It was insular, extremely restrictive and self-serving. It was great for those connected males, and in the past, males were the preferred gender for sure. But what about everybody else? Vast numbers of under-served ethnic, religious or national groups didn’t have a chance. The playing field was painfully uneven. The cards were stacked against hundreds of thousands of Americans if not millions be it for education or employment opportunities. Finally, in the 1960s affirmative action was…
Read full article here
Judging Good-Looking Employees As Bad
(AP)(THE CONVERSATION) Beautiful people tend to have a lot more luck in the work world. Research has shown people deemed attractive get paid more, receive better job evaluations and are generally more employable. It’s even been shown that good-looking CEOs bring better stock returns for their companies. In part, this may be because companies believe consumers are more likely to buy things from beautiful employees, which is perhaps why retailers like Abercrombie & Fitch have used looks as criteria in their hiring process. Abercrombie says it stopped doing that in 2015. There’s some evidence, however, that this worker “beauty premium” may be wearing off – at least when it comes to employees who interact with consumers. In television commercials, for example, retailers and other companies are increasingly using real people – with all their physical flaws – rather than photoshopped models to give their brands an “authentic” feel. Research several colleagues and I conducted recently suggests that companies may be wise to...
Read full article here
New Grads Reveal A Confidence Gender Gap
For perhaps the first and only time in a person’s professional life where they are competing in a somewhat level playing field is as a freshly minted college graduate. If your grades are comparable and you are competing in the same field as your fellow graduate, you should be just as confident about landing a coveted job as he or she might be. But a study of recent college graduates reveals that this is not necessarily so. You point of view, it turns out, is very much affected by what gender you are. The survey, conducted as part of the Cengage Student Opportunity Index, shows that while recent college graduates feel good about their job prospects, women are much less confident than men when it comes to salary expectations. Women are also significantly less optimistic than men about the country’s economic outlook, with a majority reporting they feel the country is on the wrong track. And these concerns are not unreasonable. The fact that we are a society that is ideologically divided over the question of equal pay for equal work and statistics that…
Read full article here
2 Physicians Personalize Vaccine Debate
In the year 2000, the national vaccination rate was 90% to 95%. Measles was declared officially eliminated in this country. However, since that time an anti-vaccine movement has sprung up internationally, which has lowered the percentage of children vaccinated at levels that are alarming the medical community. Earlier this year, there was a surge of measles cases in Washington State. The vaccination rate across Clark County, Wash. was 78%, but some schools in the area have had rates under 40%, according to the Clark County Public Health website. Washington State legislators introduced bills to deny parents refusing to vaccinate their children for personal and philosophical reasons. Washington was one of only 17 states that allowed for that exemption. The bills, supporters explained, was to prevent a full-blown epidemic in the Pacific Northwest. After a contentious debate and hearings, the bills were passed and signed into law by Governor Jay Inslee. What follows are the views of two Physicians who have been personally touched by...
Read full article here
Using Crowdsourcing To Diagnose Patients
It’s no surprise that the internet has changed the practice of Medicine. TeleMedicine is now being recognized by major insurance carriers and medical facilities as a viable option for Patients. Physicians routinely consult and exchange files on line. Patients can access their medical files and history through laboratory and hospital websites. But now crowdsourcing has taken Medicine to a whole new level. A new series on Netflix explores how Physicians can harness the power of the internet to better treat their Patients and provide a window into the entire diagnosis process. The series, “Diagnosis,” explores the life-changing impact of receiving a diagnosis for individuals who’ve been searching for answers, and the healing that comes with connecting with others who can empathize with their experiences. Based on Dr. Lisa Sanders’ column in The New York Times Magazine, “Diagnosis” follows various Patients on their respective journeys toward finding a diagnosis, and potentially a cure, for their mysterious illnesses. By combining the power of…
Read full article here
