In the American Psychological Association Monitor October, 2006 issue, Z. Stambor shares about the adolescent brain and current research results of psychologist Dr. Elaine Walker:

At the APA 2006 Convention, Walker stated, "Brain and behavior changes during adolescence make it one of the most important times for people to receive preventive interventions for behavioral problems... Adolescence is the period when we often see the first clinical or subclinical manifestations of mental disorders," she explained.

Stambor states that researchers have found schizophrenia tends to take root between ages 14 and 20.
"Many people who develop schizophrenia and other major affective disorders show a number of behavioral and hormonal abnormalities, like increases in the stress hormone cortisol, before the major disorder fully develops. It is important to uncover and perhaps treat those abnormalities to help stave off the major disorders," said Walker.

Stambor further quotes Walker on the need to uncover hormone interactions for patients taking psychotropic medications. Stambor shares that in a 2004 study in the American Journal of Psychiatry (Vol. 161, No. 11, pages 2,021-2,027) that examined social and neuromotor interactions in people with schizophrenia, Walker found that in the United States and other industrialized countries psychotropic prescriptions for children have increased 500 percent since 1995. Moreover, pediatricians -rather than psychiatrists - prescribed most of the medications, and most of the recipients did not have an Axis I diagnosis.

Based on findings, Stambor shares that Walker urges caution regarding psychotropic medications for children and adolescents.

Walker cautions, "As psychologists, we need to be hypersensitive to the fact that the pharmaceutical industry...is promoting a range of drugs in psychotropic interventions, which may not be beneficial (for some) adolescents and may alter normal hormonal developmental processes in an adverse way."

Other issues effecting my teen

If you are concerned about the well being of your teen or any teen you know check out this free brochure from the American Psychiatric Association.

Facts About Teen Suicide

--A publication of The State Bar of California. Permission granted to reproduce for educational use only.

Privacy—the desire for it or the lack of it—is a concern to all. This is particularly true today when information about every aspect of our lives is stored in computers around the world, and new technologies continue to emerge. Issues related to privacy rights come up in a variety of situations and settings. Young people, however, are
usually most concerned about privacy-related issues which arise at school or at home, or which involve personal decisions. Here are a few examples:

Privacy at school: Parents and their children should understand that the U.S. Constitution protects only the reasonable expectation of privacy from government intervention. Whether a reasonable expectation of privacy has been violated and whether the state was involved have been points of controversy in privacy rights cases.

Some two decades ago, the U.S. Supreme Court decided that while teachers were considered state agents who must respect the constitutional right to privacy, searches of students could be conducted as long as they were reasonable and could be justified
under the circumstances. In that specific case, a teacher found a 14-year-old student smoking in the bathroom (a violation of school rules) and took the teenager to the principal’s office. The assistant vice principal then searched the student’s purse and found cigarettes, marijuana and other paraphernalia. The court found the search to be reasonable under the circumstances.

More recently, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld a public school policy authorizing the random drug testing of student athletes. While the court agreed that urine collection is a search covered by the Fourth Amendment, it said that the reasonableness of a search is determined by comparing the impact on the individual’s privacy rights with the legitimate governmental interests. Finding
that student athletes have a lower expectation of privacy than other students, and that the procedure used was relatively unobtrusive, the court held that the invasion of the student’s privacy was permissible.

In contrast, in 1985, the California Supreme Court found that the search of a student who was walking through the school grounds with his friends was unlawful. The student seemed to be trying
to conceal a black bag from the assistant principal. When the student refused to hand it over, the assistant principal took it by force, finding marijuana inside. The court found the search to be illegal since the assistant principal had no information concerning
the student’s use, possession or sale of drugs. The court noted: “Neither indiscriminate searches of lockers nor more discreet individual searches of a locker, a purse or a person, here a student, can take place absent the existence of reasonable suspicion. Respect for privacy is the rule—a search is the exception.”

Privacy rights at home: Youngsters often ask if their parents can legally permit police to search their bedrooms. As a general rule, the answer is yes. Most courts have stated that parents or guardians have a property interest in the entire home and are allowed to consent to the search of that property or to search it themselves. Also, courts have felt that children who remain at home are under the authority of their parents, which weakens the children’s privacy rights with regard to their rooms and the items in their rooms. This general rule, however, should not be taken too far. For example, roommates generally only have the authority to allow a search of areas they may use or common areas within the home (living rooms, for example). A California case also outlined some specific protections for minors regarding a child’s personal property.

Privacy and “private decisions”: This is an area of privacy that is of much interest to parents and their children. It involves questions of when, and if, children can make important, yet highly personal decisions without their parents’ knowledge. Parents who have custody of their child have the right to make many important
decisions about their child’s life and life plans. In California, however, there are a number of circumstances in which youngsters have the authority to make decisions without parental involvement. Some of these situations include:
● When a child is 12 or older and seeks medical treatment related to an
infectious, contagious or sexually transmitted disease. (FC § 6926)
● When a child is 12 or older and seeks medical treatment for rape.
(FC §§ 6927, 6928)
● When a child is 12 or older and seeks medical treatment related to a drug or alcohol problem. (FC § 6929(b))
● When a child is seeking medical care related to the care and prevention of pregnancy. This includes birth control information and devices, and (if the child is deemed sufficiently mature) abortion or any other care, short of sterilization.

California also has made it easier for youngsters who are 15 or older to obtain medical care when they show that they are living separate and apart from their parents and managing their own financial affairs. And minors who are married, have joined the military or have received a formal court decree acknowledging their emancipation need not confer with their parents regarding any decisions.

For information on additional privacy issues, see www.privacy.ca.gov.

Additional privacy issues

July, 2007 - Emotional Connection/Attunement facilitates Academic Achievement
May, 2006 - Teens and Excess Stress
Sept, 2006 - Essential role of School Counselors in Middle & High School
Nov, 2005 - Teen Depression
May, 2004 - Teen Depression, Suicide

Check these and other past issues out at