Bullying the real cause of violence, and delinquency
oped submitted September 8 2000
Nineteen year old Ronald Howard shot and killed a Texas state trooper in 1992. Mr Howard claims the music he was playing in the stolen vehicle he was driving made him do it. A jury didn't buy this defense and convicted Mr Howard of capitol murder after 45 minutes of deliberation (Roc issue 13 ).
Understanding behavior does not excuse someone's conduct. With understanding however, comes prevention.
The April 1998 issue of the ‘Archives of General Psychiatry', presented a possible modest link between violence and the media. An article in ‘American Psychologist' states such link depends on how much a child relates to the character, and if the media representation it portrays real life. Archives of General Psychiatry, April 1998, expressed that violent the viewing media images do not harden children to violence.
Music and videos are artistic expressions. Fans lives aren't filled with song and dance, while riding around in expensive cars. People listen to music as an escape from real life. If media does cause violence, reality based shows like Jerry Springer are more likely to be the cause than an artist like Marilyn Manson.
There have been claims that artist have placed backwards subliminal messages within their music. Others claim to have heard these messages when the record is played backwards. According to a November 1986 issue of ‘American Psychologist,' what is heard is mainly in the mind of the listener. They also pointed out that subliminal are extremely limited in their influence. Associate Professor Borgeat MD of the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Montreal stated he would be surprised if the human brain could understand and respond to the meaning of such backwards messages.
The fall 1994 issue of "Adolescence", pointed out that youths who listen to a certain type of music that cause psychological distress, had these problem before they listened to that type of music. It also pointed out that troubled youths are attracted to a certain type of music because it gives them a sense of identity and power.
The fact that music's impact can be beneficial is often ignored. The Journal of the National Cancer Institute has said music can enhance pain control, help communication and allow Cancer patient to relax.
Music can assist the effect of drugs administered during psychotherapy by acting as motivator. Singing drumming and dancing can reduce outburst, agitation, anxiety, and it improves perceptual, motor, and verbal skills in Alzheimer patients.
Music also releases the bodies own natural substance that aid in relaxation and pain relief, according to a November 1999 issue of ‘Alternative Therapies in Health and Medicine'.
A February 1970 issue of "Mental Retardation" reported music helps the disabled learn in other areas. The South African Medical Journal, agreed saying music therapy helps in the treatment, rehabilitation, education and training of people suffering physical, mental or emotional disorders. "Perceptual and Motor on Skills" December 1997, also noted that back ground music improves performance during testing.
If we take away or downplay, the music factor what can be a cause violent, or extremely adverse youth problems? Bullying or belittling by one's peer group could be one significant cause.
Parents anticipate their child's sixteenth birthday. They cannot imagine their child not making it to sixteen. the LA times, (January 3, 1999) reported that one morning Brian Head took a revolver to class and yelled "I can't take anymore" Brian then place the gun to his head and pulled the trigger. This horrendous action ended years of bullying. This issue of the LA times also cited research that said, children with leukemia would rather continue chemotherapy and spinal taps, because "the worst pain was going back to school and being teased."
Research that appeared in the fall 1999 issue of ‘Child Psychiatry and Human Development' stated killing by youths who showed bullying tendencies rose 124 percent. Sixty-nine percent of the bullies reported being bullied. The same survey reported one third of victims of bullying wanted a transfer to another school. Fifteen considered suicide.
Seventy three percent of incarcerated youths had been bullies or victims at a previous institutions. Forty five percent had been bullies or victims in school, according to the Feb 1996 issue of ‘Journal of Adolescence'..
According to the August 1999 of the ‘British Medical Journal'. The symptoms of bullying include anxiety, fear of going to school, low self esteem, insomnia, headaches, abdominal pain, being more introverted, less assertive, and depression. "Depression and severe suicidal ideation are strongly linked to being bullied or to acting as a bully. Even an infrequent involvement in bulling (being bullied or being a bully) increases the likelihood of severe suicidal ideation". Being bullied has been associated with delinquency, alcohol abuse, violence in adulthood, and criminal behavior.
We as a society can only hope that parents, teachers, and policy makers will pay attention to protect our children against the very real hazard of bullying, at least as much as they would against the perceived threats, such as popular music.
As run in the Fairbanks Daily Newsminer on Tuesday, November 14, 2000
By CHUCK ROLLINS
Ronald Howard was 19 when he shot and killed a Texas state trooper in 1992.
Howard claimed the music he was playing in the stolen vehicle he was driving made him do it. A jury didn't buy this defense and convicted Howard of murder after 45 minutes of deliberation. He received the death penalty.
Understanding behavior does not excuse someone's conduct. With understanding however, comes prevention.
Music and videos are artistic expressions. Many people listen to music as an escape from real life. If media is a contributing factor in violence, reality based shows like Jerry Springer are more likely to be the cause than an artist like Marilyn Manson.
There have been claims that artist have placed backwards subliminal messages within their music. Others claim to have heard these messages when the record is played backwards. According to a November 1986 issue of American Psychologist, what is heard is mainly in the mind of the listener and limited in its influence. Francois Borgeat, a professor of psychiatry at the University of Montreal, has stated he would be surprised if the human brain understands and responds to backwards messages.
A study discussed in the fall 1994 issue of Adolescence, noted that youths who listen to a certain type of music linked to psychological distress, had similar problems before they listened to the music. It also pointed out that troubled youths are attracted to types of music because it conveys a sense of identity and power.
What's often ignored is music's beneficial side. The Journal of the National Cancer Institute has reported that music can enhance pain control, help communication and allow cancer patients to relax. Music can serve to enhance drugs administered during psychotherapy by acting as motivator. In Alzheimer's patients, singing, drumming and dancing has been demonstrated to reduce outbursts, agitation and anxiety, as well as improving perceptual, motor and verbal skills.
Music also releases the bodies own natural substance that aids in relaxation and pain relief, reports the November 1999 issue of Alternative Therapies in Health and Medicine.
If we take away, or downplay, the influence of music, what might be causing violence and other youth problems?
Many researchers have pointed to bullying or belittling by one's peer group as a significant factor.
Parents anticipate their child's 16th birthday. They cannot imagine their child not surviving to that tender threshold of adulthood. In an incident reported in the Los Angeles times, Jan. 3, 1999, teen-ager Brian Head took a revolver to class and yelled: "I can't take anymore." Brian then place the gun to his head and pulled the trigger. This horrendous action was linked to years of bullying. The newspaper cited research that indicated some children with leukemia preferred chemotherapy and spinal taps to the pain of "going back to school and being teased."
Child Psychiatry and Human Development' stated in a fall 1999 research report that killing by youths who showed bullying tendencies is on the increase. But consider, 69 percent of the bullies under study also reported being bullied. The same survey reported one third of victims of bullying had requested a transfer to another school. Fifteen percent considered suicide.
Looking at another study on incarcerated youths, 73 percent had been bullies or victims at a previous institutions. In that same sample, 45 percent had been bullies or victims in school, according to the Feb 1996 issue of Journal of Adolescence.
According to the August 1999 issue of the British Medical Journal. The symptoms of bullying include anxiety, fear of going to school, low self esteem, insomnia, headaches, abdominal pain, being more introverted, less assertive, and depression. "Depression and severe suicidal ideation are strongly linked to being bullied or to acting as a bully. Even an infrequent involvement in bulling (being bullied or being a bully) increases the likelihood of severe suicidal ideation." Being bullied has been associated with delinquency, alcohol abuse, violence in adulthood, and criminal behavior.
We as a society can only hope that parents, teachers, and policy makers will pay attention and protect our children against the very real hazard of bullying. I would suggest they might take this subject more seriously than other perceived threats, such as popular music.
Chuck Rollins, a North Pole community activist, takes a layman's interest in research on the social pressures facing youth.
Friday December 7 2001
By Charnicia E. Huggins
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - For years researchers have debated whether social exclusion and rejection caused aggressiveness or resulted from it. Now new study findings, as well as anecdotal evidence from the recent series of school shootings across America, suggest that social exclusion or rejection may indeed lead to aggressive behavior, as well as violence.
``Thus, children who might not have been aggressive otherwise will often become aggressive after they have been rejected by their peers,'' lead study author Dr. Jean M. Twenge of San Diego State University in California told Reuters Health.
``Almost all of the school shooting incidents, including Columbine, involved rejection by peers,'' Twenge said. ``This research suggests that social rejection may have played a crucial role in the violence perpetrated by the school shooters.''
The researchers performed a series of experiments in which undergraduate students, divided into pairs of two, completed personality questionnaires and essays. The students arbitrarily received bogus negative or positive feedback on both their personality tests and their essays, but were told that the essays were evaluated by their respective partners. Each individual was then asked to evaluate their partner, who was supposedly applying for a competitive job as a research assistant.
Students who were told that the scores from their personality tests indicated that they would ``end up alone later in life,'' and that their essay was ``one of the worst'' the reader had read, reciprocated by giving their partners an extremely low rating--an average 26 on a scale of 10 to 100, the researchers report.
``Anticipating a lonely future made people sharply more harsh and aggressive toward someone who had recently criticized them,'' the authors write in the December issue of the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology.
In contrast, students who received negative feedback about their essay but were told that they would either have ''rewarding relationships throughout life,'' or that they were ''likely to be accident prone later in life,'' gave their partners a more neutral rating.
However, those who were told they had written very good essays tended to reciprocate by giving their partners high ratings, even when they were given negative predictions about their future, the researchers report.
In a separate series of experiments, Twenge's team measured how rejection affected aggression. Students participated in a group ``get acquainted'' exercise, and were then asked to choose the two people they would want to work with on an individual basis. Half of the students were then told that no one wanted to work with them; the rest were told everyone wanted to work with them.
The researchers then had the students play a computer game, in which the winner was able to blast the loser with unpleasant noise. The students were told they were playing against another person, but in fact the computer was mimicking the response of another player.
By giving the students a weapon that could hurt someone--the loud noise--the researchers attempted to make their conclusions applicable to the school shootings and other violent behaviors observed outside the laboratory.
The rejected students exhibited more aggression than their peers, study findings indicate. They tended to blast noise that was of a higher intensity and longer duration, even when they were told it would not be directed towards the individuals who rejected them from the group assignment, the researchers note.
``Even innocent bystanders are targets of the aggression of rejected people,'' Twenge said. ``This is very similar to the school shootings, in which the perpetrators marched into their schools and killed innocent people who had nothing to do with the rejection.''
In light of the findings, Twenge stressed the need for adults to intervene when they see students being bullied, rejected, or cruelly teased.
``Although the rejected child should be taught not to be aggressive, it is also important to start at the source and try to emphasize to children how much bullying and cruel teasing hurts,'' Twenge said.
SOURCE: Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 2001;201:1058-1069.
Friday December 14 2001
Music During Surgery May Ease Patients' Recovery
By Merritt McKinney
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Hearing soothing music and encouraging words while under anesthesia may ease patients' recovery after surgery, results of a Swedish study suggest.
Women undergoing hysterectomies who listened to relaxing music and sounds of ocean waves while under general anesthesia experienced less pain, were less fatigued when released from the hospital, and were able to sit up sooner after their operation than patients who did not listen to music, researchers report.
And women who listened to music and encouraging words during the operation needed less pain medication immediately after surgery and were also less likely to feel tired when they went home from the hospital, according to findings published in a recent issue of the journal Acta Anaesthesiologica Scandinavica.
Even though people are unconscious when under general anesthesia, research suggests that the brain may be more aware of what happens during surgery than previously thought. Because of this so-called intra-operative awareness, patients may overhear the remarks of doctors and nurses, which could lead to anxiety and dissatisfaction after surgery, Dr. Ulrica Nilsson at Orebro Medical Center Hospital in Sweden and colleagues report.
To protect patients from inappropriate or misinterpreted comments overheard during surgery, ``taped soothing music or music in combination with therapeutic suggestions could be provided to all patients undergoing surgery under general anesthesia,'' Nilsson told Reuters Health.
``It is a noninvasive and inexpensive intervention that can improve some postoperative outcomes such as pain and fatigue,'' she said.
Nilsson's team based their conclusions on a study of 90 women who were randomly assigned to listen to music, a combination of music and therapeutic words or ordinary sounds of the operating room during a hysterectomy.
Although music and therapeutic suggestions provided benefits to patients, it did not have any effect on several other factors, including nausea, length of hospital stay and bowel function after surgery. It is unclear, the researchers note, why music alone and music in combination with soothing words did not provide the same benefits.
The findings need to be confirmed in additional studies, the authors note.
SOURCE: Acta Anaesthesiologica Scandinavica 2001;45:812-817.
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