PRESS-NEWS.org - Press Release Distribution
PRESS RELEASES DISTRIBUTION

U of M researchers identify risk and protective factors for youth involved in bullying

2013-06-20
(Press-News.org) (MINNEAPOLIS/ST. PAUL) June 19, 2013 – New research out of the University of Minnesota identifies significant risk factors for suicidal behavior in youth being bullied, but also identifies protective factors for the same group of children.

The article, "Suicidal Thinking and Behavior Among Youth Involved in Verbal and Social Bullying: Risk and Protective Factors" is being published in a special supplemental issue of the Journal of Adolescent Health. The supplement identifies bullying as a clear public health issue, calling for more preventative research and action.

Authors of this article included: Iris Borowsky, M.D., Ph.D., associate professor of pediatrics in the University of Minnesota Medical School, Barbara McMorris, Ph.D., associate professor of population health in the University of Minnesota School of Nursing, and Lindsay Taliaferro, Ph.D., M.P.H., a public health expert trained as a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Minnesota Medical School and now on faculty at the University of Missouri.

In their analysis, the researchers utilized data from the Minnesota Student Survey, which looked at incidences of social and verbal bullying. The survey did not ask about physical or electronic bullying. Analysis showed over half of students in grades 6, 9, and 12 reported being involved in bullying, either as the victim or the bully. Involvement in bullying was also strongly linked to suicidal ideation or attempts.

"Given that many students are involved in bullying, and bullying involvement is strongly associated with thinking about or attempting suicide, we wanted to find ways to identify who was most at risk for these negative outcomes, and how we can foster protection for them," said Borowsky.

The analysis showed clear risk factors for suicidal thinking and behavior among young people involved in bullying. Among them: self injury, such as cutting, emotional distress, running away, and previous trauma in childhood, such as physical or sexual abuse.

However, there were also experiences that created a protective environment for these young people. Researchers identified strong, positive parental connections as the most powerful protective factor against suicidal ideation and attempt.

"Perceived caring from parents, friends, and other adults in your community, including relatives and religious leaders, were all significant protective factors for these young people at high risk for suicidality," said Borowsky. And for victims of bullying, liking school was also protective.

These protective factors hold promise for preventing suicidal behavior and decreasing bullying. Borowsky and her co-authors suggest family strengthening interventions and linking youth with psychosocial problems to mental health resources.

It will also be important to identify victims and bullies so parents, teachers, and counselors can screen for risk and protective factors in these youth who are already at increased risk for suicidality. The goal would be reaching the most at-risk youth as soon as possible, to provide effective resources and support.

Borowsky and other researchers provided input to expand questions on bullying on the Minnesota Student Survey to include items about physical and electronic bullying. This will help researchers, administrators, legislators and other community members understand the full scope of the bullying issue.

More research is certainly warranted. Borowsky shares the view of federal agencies that call bullying a public health concern in this journal supplement.

"Bullying is not a normative behavior for children and adolescents. It is associated with serious psychosocial problems, including suicidal behavior, and thus requires prevention, recognition, and intervention," said Borowsky.

###

The University of Minnesota Medical School, with its two campuses in the Twin Cities and Duluth, is a leading educator of the next generation of physicians. Our graduates and the school's 3,800 faculty physicians and scientists advance patient care, discover biomedical research breakthroughs with more than $180 million in sponsored research annually, and enhance health through world-class patient care for the state of Minnesota and beyond. Visit http://www.med.umn.edu to learn more.

The University of Minnesota School of Nursing is ranked among the nation's top nursing schools. It is a leader in nursing research and has a combined undergraduate and graduate enrollment of approximately 850 students. The school produces 55 percent of the faculty in Minnesota's public and private nursing schools, advanced practice nurses and nurses who can assume leadership positions. It is the oldest continuously-operated, university-based school of nursing. The School of Nursing is one of six schools and colleges in the Academic Health Center, one of the most comprehensive facilities for health professionals in the nation, fostering interdisciplinary study, research and education. For more information, visit http://www.nursing.umn.edu.

END



ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

A new model -- and possible treatment -- for staph bone infections

2013-06-20
Osteomyelitis – a debilitating bone infection most frequently caused by Staphylococcus aureus ("staph") bacteria – is particularly challenging to treat. Now, Vanderbilt microbiologist Eric Skaar, Ph.D., MPH, and colleagues have identified a staph-killing compound that may be an effective treatment for osteomyelitis, and they have developed a new mouse model that will be useful for testing this compound and for generating additional therapeutic strategies. James Cassat, M.D., Ph.D., a fellow in Pediatric Infectious Diseases who is interested in improving treatments for ...

Dietary fructose causes liver damage in animal model, study finds

2013-06-20
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – June 19, 2013 – The role of dietary fructose in the development of obesity and fatty liver diseases remains controversial, with previous studies indicating that the problems resulted from fructose and a diet too high in calories. However, a new study conducted in an animal model at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center showed that fructose rapidly caused liver damage even without weight gain. The researchers found that over the six-week study period liver damage more than doubled in the animals fed a high-fructose diet as compared to those in the control ...

Forest Service study finds urban trees removing fine particulate air pollution, saving lives

2013-06-20
SYRACUSE, N.Y., June 19, 2013 –In the first effort to estimate the overall impact of a city's urban forest on concentrations of fine particulate pollution (particulate matter less than 2.5 microns, or PM2.5), a U.S. Forest Service and Davey Institute study found that urban trees and forests are saving an average of one life every year per city. In New York City, trees save an average of eight lives every year. Fine particulate air pollution has serious health effects, including premature mortality, pulmonary inflammation, accelerated atherosclerosis, and altered cardiac ...

Restoring appropriate movement to immune cells may save seriously burned patients

2013-06-20
Advances in emergency medicine and trauma surgery have had a significant impact on survival of patients in the days immediately after major injuries, including burns. Patients who survive the immediate aftermath of their injuries now are at greatest risk from infections – particularly the overwhelming, life-threatening immune reaction known as sepsis – or from inflammation-induced multiorgan failure. Now, a device developed by Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) investigators that measures the movement of key immune cells may help determine which patients are at greatest ...

Brain can plan actions toward things the eye doesn't see

2013-06-20
People can plan strategic movements to several different targets at the same time, even when they see far fewer targets than are actually present, according to a new study published in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science. A team of researchers at the Brain and Mind Institute at the University of Western Ontario took advantage of a pictorial illusion — known as the "connectedness illusion" — that causes people to underestimate the number of targets they see. When people act on these targets, however, they can rapidly plan accurate ...

New microfluidic chip can help identify unwanted particles in water and food

2013-06-20
A new process for making a three-dimensional microstructure that can be used in the analysis of cells could prove useful in counterterrorism measures and in water and food safety concerns. The research, conducted by members of Virginia Tech's Microelectromechanical Systems Laboratory (MEMS) Laboratory in the Bradley Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, is the focus of a recent article in the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers' Journal of Microelectomechanical Systems. In their engineering laboratory, the researchers developed a new microfabrication ...

Biological fitness trumps other traits in mating game

2013-06-20
When a new species emerges following adaptive changes to its local environment, the process of choosing a mate can help protect the new species' genetic identity and increase the likelihood of its survival. But of the many observable traits in a potential mate, which particular traits does a female tend to prefer? A new study from the National Institute for Mathematical and Biological Synthesis finds that a female's mating decisions are largely based on traits that reflect fitness or those that help males perform well under the local ecological conditions. Males' bright ...

Researchers explain how neural stem cells create new and varied neurons

2013-06-20
EUGENE, Ore. -- (June 19, 2013) – A new study examining the brains of fruit flies reveals a novel stem cell mechanism that may help explain how neurons form in humans. A paper on the study by researchers at the University of Oregon appeared in the online version of the journal Nature in advance of the June 27 publication date. "The question we confronted was 'How does a single kind of stem cell, like a neural stem cell, make all different kinds of neurons?'" said Chris Doe, a biology professor and co-author on the paper "Combinatorial temporal patterning in progenitors ...

Less is more: Novel cellulose structure requires fewer enzymes to process biomass to fuel

2013-06-20
LOS ALAMOS, N.M., June 19, 2013—Improved methods for breaking down cellulose nanofibers are central to cost-effective biofuel production and the subject of new research from Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) and the Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Center (GLBRC). Scientists are investigating the unique properties of crystalline cellulose nanofibers to develop novel chemical pretreatments and designer enzymes for biofuel production from cellulosic—or non-food—plant derived biomass. "Cellulose is laid out in plant cell walls as crystalline nanofibers, like steel reinforcements ...

A battery made of wood?

2013-06-20
A sliver of wood coated with tin could make a tiny, long-lasting, efficient and environmentally friendly battery. But don't try it at home yet– the components in the battery tested by scientists at the University of Maryland are a thousand times thinner than a piece of paper. Using sodium instead of lithium, as many rechargeable batteries do, makes the battery environmentally benign. Sodium doesn't store energy as efficiently as lithium, so you won't see this battery in your cell phone -- instead, its low cost and common materials would make it ideal to store huge amounts ...

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:

McGill discovery sheds new light on autism, intellectual disabilities

Cellular changes occur even below the hexavalent chromium limit

Study suggests a new way to curb social media’s body image toll

Plant doctor: An AI system that watches over urban trees without touching a leaf

Study tracks chromium chemistry in irradiated molten salts

Scientists: the beautiful game is a silver bullet for global health

Being physically active, even just a couple of days a week, may be key to better health

High-fat diet promote breast cancer metastasis in animal models

A router for photons

Nurses and AI collaborate to save lives, reduce hospital stays

Multi-resistance in bacteria predicted by AI model

Tinker Tots: A citizen science project to explore ethical dilemmas in embryo selection

Sensing sickness

Cost to build multifamily housing in California more than twice as high as in Texas

Program takes aim at drinking, unsafe sex, and sexual assault on college campuses

Inability to pay for healthcare reaches record high in U.S.

Science ‘storytelling’ urgently needed amid climate and biodiversity crisis

KAIST Develops Retinal Therapy to Restore Lost Vision​

Adipocyte-hepatocyte signaling mechanism uncovered in endoplasmic reticulum stress response

Mammals were adapting from life in the trees to living on the ground before dinosaur-killing asteroid

Low LDL cholesterol levels linked to reduced risk of dementia

Thickening of the eye’s retina associated with greater risk and severity of postoperative delirium in older patients

Almost one in ten people surveyed report having been harmed by the NHS in the last three years

Enhancing light control with complex frequency excitations

New research finds novel drug target for acute myeloid leukemia, bringing hope for cancer patients

New insight into factors associated with a common disease among dogs and humans

Illuminating single atoms for sustainable propylene production

New study finds Rocky Mountain snow contamination

Study examines lactation in critically ill patients

UVA Engineering Dean Jennifer West earns AIMBE’s 2025 Pierre Galletti Award

[Press-News.org] U of M researchers identify risk and protective factors for youth involved in bullying