CHICAGO – A new study has found that five times as many high school and college students are dealing with anxiety and other mental health issues as youth of the same age who were studied in the Great Depression era.

The findings, culled from responses to a popular psychological questionnaire used as far back as 1938, confirm what counselors on campuses nationwide have long suspected as more students struggle with the stresses of school and life in general.

“It’s another piece of the puzzle — that yes, this does seem to be a problem, that there are more young people who report anxiety and depression,” says Jean Twenge, a San Diego State University psychology professor and the study’s lead author. “The next question is: What do we do about it?”

Though the study, released Monday, does not provide a definitive correlation, Twenge and mental health professionals speculate that a popular culture increasingly focused on the external — from wealth to looks and status — has contributed to the uptick in mental health issues.

Pulling together the data for the study was no small task. Led by Twenge, researchers at five universities analyzed the responses of 77,576 high school or college students who, from 1938 through 2007, took the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory, or MMPI. The results will be published in a future issue of the Clinical Psychology Review.

Overall, an average of five times as many students in 2007 surpassed thresholds in one or more mental health categories, compared with those who did so in 1938. A few individual categories increased at an even greater rate — with six times as many scoring high in two areas:

• “hypomania,” a measure of anxiety and unrealistic optimism (from 5 percent of students in 1938 to 31 percent in 2007)

• and depression (from 1 percent to 6 percent).

Twenge said the most current numbers may even be low given all the students taking antidepressants and other psychotropic medications, which help alleviate symptoms the survey asks about.

The study also showed increases in “psychopathic deviation,” which is loosely related to psychopathic behavior in a much milder form and is defined as having trouble with authority and feeling as though the rules don’t apply to you. The percentage of young people who scored high in that category increased from 5 percent in 1938 to 24 percent in 2007.

Twenge previously documented the influence of pop culture pressures on young people’s mental health in her 2006 book “Generation Me: Why Today’s Young Americans Are More Confident, Assertive, Entitled — and More Miserable Than Ever Before.” Several studies also have captured the growing interest in being rich, with 77 percent of those questioned for UCLA’s 2008 national survey of college freshmen saying it was “essential” or “very important” to be financially well off.

Experts say such high expectations are a recipe for disappointment. Meanwhile, they also note some well-meaning but overprotective parents have left their children with few real-world coping skills, whether that means doing their own budget or confronting professors on their own.

“If you don’t have these skills, then it’s very normal to become anxious,” says Dr. Elizabeth Alderman, an adolescent medicine specialist at Montefiore Medical Center in New York City who hopes the new study will be a wake-up call to those parents.

Students themselves point to everything from pressure to succeed — self-imposed and otherwise — to a fast-paced world that’s only sped up by the technology they love so much.

Sarah Ann Slater, a 21-year-old junior at the University of Miami, says she feels pressure to be financially successful, even when she doesn’t want to.

“The unrealistic feelings that are ingrained in us from a young age — that we need to have massive amounts of money to be considered a success — not only lead us to a higher likelihood of feeling inadequate, anxious or depressed, but also make us think that the only value in getting an education is to make a lot of money, which is the wrong way to look at it,” says Slater, an international studies major who plans to go to graduate school overseas.

The study is not without its skeptics, among them Richard Shadick, a psychologist who directs the counseling center at Pace University in New York. He says, for instance, that the sample data weren’t necessarily representative of all college students. (Many who answered the MMPI questionnaire were students in introductory psychology courses at four-year institutions.)

Shadick says his own experience leaves little doubt more students are seeking mental health services. But he and others think that may be due in part to heightened awareness of such services. Twenge notes the MMPI isn’t given only to those who seek services.

Others, meanwhile, say the research helps advance the conversation with hard numbers.

“It actually provides some support to the observations,” says Scott Hunter, director of pediatric neuropsychology at the University of Chicago’s Comer Children’s Hospital. Before his current post, Hunter was at the University of Virginia, where his work included counseling a growing number of students with mental health concerns.

While even Twenge concedes more research is needed to pinpoint a cause, Hunter says the study “also helps us understand what some of the reasons behind it might be.” He notes Twenge’s inclusion of data showing that factors such as materialism among young people have had a similar upswing. She also noted that divorce rates for their parents have gone up, which may lead to less stability.

Amid it all, Hunter says this latest generation has been raised in a “you can do anything atmosphere.” And that, he says, “sets up a lot of false expectation” that inevitably leads to distress for some.

It’s also meant heartache for parents.

“I don’t remember it being this hard,” says a mother from northern New Jersey, whose 15-year-old daughter is being treated for depression. She asked not to be identified to respect her daughter’s privacy.

“We all wanted to be popular, but there wasn’t this emphasis on being perfect and being super skinny,” she says. “In addition, it’s ‘How much do your parents make?’

“I’d like to think that’s not relevant, but I can’t imagine that doesn’t play a role.”

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On the Net:

Twenge’s site: http://www.jeantwenge.com/

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Martha Irvine is an AP national writer. She can be reached at mirvine(at)ap.org or via http://twitter.com/irvineap

EE's Newest Board Member

EE is proud to announce Chyrese Exline as the newest member of our Board of Directors. Chyrese is well known in the Colorado Springs community as a knowledgeable and driving force in providing vision for the district’s future.

Chyrese currently serves in a variety of capacities in the community:

• Eliminating the Achievement Gap Committee
• Martinez BAC Community Representative
• Galileo Advisory Board
• Colorado Springs Diversity Forum/Government Affairs and Public Relations Committee
• NAACP Exec. Committee
•  Project NOW (Policy and Communications Committee)
• African-American Initiative, Vice Chair
• Democratic Candidate Recruitment and Development Committee
• Toastmasters Member
• Women’s Resource Agency Outreach Committee
• Dyslexia Center Outreach Committee

As a former D11 school board candidate, Chyrese recognized the need to address current and relevant issues that students and parents deal with in the 21st Century, “ My idea of a quality comprehensive curriculum is one that brings new ideas and approaches to educating children and provides equal access for all children.”

Chyrese firmly believes that parental involvement is crucial in a child’s education. This belief aligns with the vision of the REAL course curriculum which emphasizes a “team” approach in which parents are invited to participate in the learning process with their student. Chyrese believes in fostering empowerment and self-advocacy in children and supports utilizing tools such as the REAL course that will provide additional support to parents.

Empowering Education is proud to have Chyrese Exline as our newest board member!

Check out the online January/February issue (p.16) of Doherty High School’s newsletter as the REAL course curriculum is introduced to the Doherty community : http://www.d11.org/doherty/Newsletters/Jan%20Feb%2010.pdf

On December 9th, at a forum hosted by CASEL (Collaborative for Social Emotional Learning),  new legislation was introduced that will directly support the efforts of social and emotional education.

“The Academic Social and Emotional Learning Act” (H.R. 4223) was introduced by Congressman Dale E. Kildee(D-MI), Congresswoman Judy Biggert (R-IL), and Congressman Tim Ryan (D-OH) .

This legislation authorizes the Secretary of Education to provide technical assistance via grants to states, schools, and community based organizations.  It also provides for the establishment of a national technical assistance and training center for social and emotional learning. This training center will provide ongoing high-quality professional development for school leaders and teachers and conduct research on best practices.

HR 4223 authorizes five-year competitive grants to states and school districts to work with the national technical assistance center to develop and implement social and emotional learning initiatives.

“There are so many bright students struggling to reach their full potential because they don’t have the kinds of communication and social skills they need to excel in the classroom,” said Congresswoman Biggert, a senior member of the House Education and Labor Committee and original co-sponsor of the bill. “This important legislation will help provide our children with the skills and tools to overcome social and emotional challenges, stay focused on learning, and emerge from school prepared to succeed in the world.”

This legislation could not come at a better time as Empowering Education seeks to implement the REAL course by August 2010.  As a non-profit organization, future funding to grow the REAL program in schools will be dependent on grants and donations.  The passing of this legislation will be key in determining this growth.

To view the full press release: http://casel.org/downloads/SELACT_2009_pressrelease.pdf 

To view HR 4223: http://casel.org/downloads/SELACT_2009.pdf

Today’s meeting between Empowering Education and several key D11 executives could not have gone any better. EE presented our mission, goals, and supporting research that stands behind the assertion that 21st Century high school students are prime for a course such as the REAL curriculum.

EE was extremely fortunate to have Dr. Brad Reedy, founder of Second Nature Wilderness Program, contribute to the discussion and add a distinct flavor of authenticity.  His real to life examples were both introspective and inspiring. Dr. Reedy provided supporting evidence, based on his own extensive experieince, that support  Empowering Education’s claim that a course of this nature will promote lasting positive changes in the lives of adolescents.

District 11 representatives including K-12 Director of Schools, John Keane and Deputy Superintendent Mike Poore gave encouraging feedback and helpful suggestions.  In addition, Doherty Principal Dennis Vigil was very enthusiastic and pointed Empowering Education in the proper direction for course approval.

Empowering Education will now focus its efforts on submitting the curriculum for course approval at the District level.  A goal of  course implementation is set for August 2010. Additionally,  EE will begin to seek a highly motivated, “outside the box” instructor to join our team.  Finding the right person for this job is critical to the success of the program.  Not only must the candidate be a CO certified instructor, the individual will need to understand and support the dynamic principals behind the materials they share with students.

More updates to come soon! It was an exciting day for EE!

Tomorrow, December 1st, the Empowering Education (EE) team will present a curriculum package unlike any other to some key members of District 11.  After four months of collaboration, the EE team has produced a detailed outline of a course entitled REAL (Realizing Empowered, Achieving Lifestyles) which will serve as a additional means of support in developing emotionally healthy adolescents.

The meeting, to be held at Doherty High School in Colorado Springs will include Doherty principal, Dennis Vigil, D11 Deputy Superintendent Mike Poore, Executive Director of Instructional Services Brenda LaBrasse, and Executive Director of K-12 Schools John Keane. 

Empowering Education will present an introduction of the REAL course including a rubric that outlines the content and design of the course aligned to Co State Standards,  a rubric that outlines how the goals of REAL  will reinforce the new 21st Century expectations for a D11 graduate, goals instructor options, and plans for implementation.  Empowering Education seeks to garner support from D11 that will allow them to move towards an implementation date of August 2010.