Media Messages

We all know that “reality TV” is the new norm for network television, but what we don’t know is that its effect on children, particularly girls, is extremely detrimental.  The Girl Scout Research Institute conducted a survey of nearly 1,150 girls, ages 11-17, to find what their thoughts were about their favorite types of programming and how television changes the way they think about themselves and their lives.  The findings were disturbing; here is what they found:

Of girls surveyed, regular reality TV viewers* differ dramatically from their non-viewing peers in their expectations of peer relationships, their overall self-image, and their understanding of how the world works. The findings also suggest that reality TV can function in the lives of girls as a learning tool and as inspiration for getting involved in social causes.

Finding 1: Relationship Drama

All of the girls in the study feel that reality shows promote bad behavior.  The vast majority think these shows “often pit girls against each other to make the shows more exciting” (86%), “make people think that fighting is a normal part of a romantic relationship” (73%), and “make people think it’s okay to treat others badly" (70%).

Regular reality TV viewers accept and expect a higher level of drama, aggression, and bullying in their own lives as well. They are considerably more likely than non-viewers to agree that:

­  “Gossiping is a normal part of a relationship between girls”(78% vs. 54%);

­  “It’s in girls’ nature to be catty and competitive with one another”(68% vs. 50%); and

­  “It’s hard for me to trust other girls”(63% vs. 50%).   

Regarding boys, regular reality TV viewers are more likely than non-viewers to say “girls often have to compete for a guy’s attention”(74% vs. 63%).  As well, they admit they are happier when they are dating someone or have a boyfriend/significant other(49% vs. 28%).

Finding 2: Two Sides to Self-Image

In the study, we found that girls who view reality TV regularly are more focused on the value of physical appearance. 

• Seventy-two percent say they spend a lot of time on their appearance (vs. 42% of non-viewers).
•   More than a third (38%)think that a girl’s value is based on how she looks (compared to 28% of non-viewers).
•   They would rather be recognized for their outer beauty than their inner beauty (28% vs.18% of non-viewers).

At the same time, regular reality TV viewers are more confident than non-viewers.

­  This group of girls is more self-assured than non-viewers when it comes to virtually every personal characteristic we asked girls about, with the                           

­  majority of regular reality TV viewers considering themselves mature, a good influence, smart, funny, and outgoing.

­  They are more likely than non-viewers to both aspire to leadership (46% vs. 27%) and to think they are currently seen as a leader(75% vs. 63%).

­  In addition, they are more likely to see themselves as role models for other girls (75% vs. 61%).

Finding 3: Success = Meanness + Lying

The research indicates that regular reality TV viewers emphasize being mean and/or lying to get ahead.  A higher percentage of these girls as compared to their non-viewing counterparts claim that sometimes:

­  “You have to lie to get what you want”(37% vs. 24%);

­  “Being mean earns you more respect than being nice”(37% vs. 25%); and

­  “You have to be mean to others to get what you want”(28% vs.18%).

Even though these findings are negative, there are some positive effects:

Finding 4: Positive Spin-Offs

In the study, the benefits of reality TV most frequently noted by all girls were opening the lines of communication, serving as a learning and motivational tool, and encouraging girls to be active in social causes.

­  Seventy-five percent of girls say that reality shows have inspired conversation with their parents and/or friends.

­  Many girls receive inspiration and comfort from reality TV, with 68% agreeing that reality shows “make me think I can achieve anything in life” and 48% that they “help me realize there are people out there like me.”

­  Seventy-five percent of girls say that reality TV depicts people with different backgrounds and beliefs. Furthermore, 65% say such shows introduce new ideas and perspectives, 62% say the shows have raised their awareness of social issues and causes, and 59% have been taught new things that they wouldn’t have learned about otherwise.

Whatever the television programs – or other media messages - might be, it’s critical that girls have a strong notion of right and wrong, know that what they see on television is largely artificial, and recognize that their actions now will affect their futures.  This is just one of the strong positive findings of our Chrysalis After-School program, and we can be proud that when compared with other girls their age across the state, Chrysalis participants report higher levels of this type of resilience than non-participants.

December 7th

The meaning of “December 7” may be different for those of us not old enough to remember WW II and the attack on Pearl Harbor.  It happens to be a day that reminds us of the many Americans now at war, particularly an increasing number of women.

We know that the US Defense Department now bans women from participating in ground combat (although there is now a federal lawsuit to overturn this ban).  But with about 14% of our military personnel being women, a disturbing new finding is that women in general are more likely to develop post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) than men.  Up to twice as likely, some researchers posit.

Post-traumatic stress disorder did not exist as a “formal” diagnosis until 1980, when it was added to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders.  Prior to this, the terms shell shock, battle fatigue, or post-Vietnam syndrome were names given to various and severe adjustment problems experienced by recent war veterans.

A recent study at the San Francisco VA Medical Center found that women and men “learn” to fear differently.  This “fear conditioning” is vital to our safety, but in people with PTSD, a simple stimulus might trigger this stress or fear response.  Trash on the side of the road, or the smell of gasoline or fire may get associated with an actual traumatic military experience.  When female and male veterans were tested for reactions ranging from increased heart rate to rapid breathing when shown disturbing or violent images – and several of the images were paired with a slight electric shock,  women had more significant reactions.  The researchers believe this demonstrates that women may learn fear responses from different mechanisms, which may make them more susceptible to PTSD.

Patricia Resick and other researchers in the Women’s Health Sciences Division of the National Center for PTSD at Boston University are also seeking answers.  The group has linked significant diagnoses of PTSD to the types of trauma military women experience.  “In general, sexual trauma is a more significant risk for PTSD than combat or the types of trauma males in the military experience,” she reports.  “Combats, car accidents, or fights are impersonal events; when women are traumatized, it is often caused by the people who are supposed to love or protect them.”  When a fellow officer or commanding officer attacks a woman, the result is much more severe.

Sexual assault and severe sexual harassment - collectively known as military sexual trauma (MST) - is nearly epidemic in the armed service today . Amy Street, an assistant professor of psychiatry who leads a VA support team devoted to the issue, says that VA screenings for MST, mandated since 1992 for every veteran, reveal that 20%  of servicewomen report sexual assaults or severe, threatening harassment, compared to 1% percent of men.  And the numbers, she says, are most likely a gross underestimate. 

Many women veterans report that the sense of betrayal is compounded, and the trauma and shame intensified, when the chain of command fails to act on a reported incident, minimizes it, or even punishes women who report assaults.  Even reservists, the military part-timers who serve two weeks a year and one weekend a month, experience “high and impactful” rates of MST, among both women and men.  “So even people who had other lives outside of the military tended to experience a lot of harassment and assault,” Resick notes, “and even 10 or 20 years later, those experiences were associated with higher rates of depression, poorer functioning, and higher rates of PTSD.”

There’s much more to learn about the compounded effects of PTSD on both women veterans and women in the general population.  Because society doesn’t yet know how to understand the symptoms of PTSD in women, it’s much harder for them to find equilibrium.  And even with support from home, many female veterans also struggle because many do not see them as “real” veterans.

Since PTSD, its symptoms, diagnosis, and treatment may be very different for women than for men, it’s our work to raise awareness about this and other issues facing women and girls today.  Thank you for being a leader in this effort.

Youth and Violence: The Role of Video Games and Technology

Last week Chrysalis staff was invited to attend a conference on youth and violence at Mercy Medical Center, which is working with a community coalition (including Chrysalis) to reduce violence in women ages 12-24.

Prior to the coalition meeting, we were invited to listen to a Mercy children’s psychiatrist, whose presentation on youth and the media was frightening.  Among the points he made about the effects of today’s media were:

×          Four-year-old children who watched just 9 minutes of a fast-paced cartoon (such as SpongeBob) performed worse on attention and problem-solving puzzles for hours after the viewing, and lost up to ½ their capacity in “executive functioning” tasks over this period.

×          75% of young boys playing 90 minutes of video games daily exhibited a marked increase in aggression, lack of empathy, and violent tendencies.

×          For 18-29 year-olds exposed to 10 hours of violent video games per week, there was a significant loss of brain activity in attention, inhibition, and decision-making.  Their reading and academic performance is poor, and the video games result in youth role-play as a “rehearsal” for future violence.

×          Kids watching violent videos and television become desensitized to pain and violence, have nightmares and sleep disorders, have poor or no social skills, are more aggressive, have more physical fights, and are more likely to be obese.

There is even a new diagnostic tag known as “Facebook depression,” caused by experiences on Facebook such as bullying (such as posting demeaning photos or derogatory messages) and loss of self self-worth because one has fewer “friends” or “likes” than their peers.

, researchers at Stanford University reviewed an online survey taken by over 3,400 8- to 12-year-old girls and found:

Those who say they spend considerable amounts of time using multimedia describe themselves in ways that suggest they are less happy and less socially comfortable than peers who say they spend less time on screens.

The researchers suggest that girls (boys were not included in the survey) “need to experience the full pantheon of communication that comes from face-to-face contact, such as learning to read body language, and subtle facial and verbal cues.” The more media use of any kind, the less time for real-world interaction — and face-to-face contact was strongly associated with feeling good about social connections.  Boiled down to its simplest result, this survey reveals that the more time 8- to 12-year-old girls say they spend online, the less happy they are.

What the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends is this:

1.        no more than 1-2 hours of “media time” (television, internet, videogames, etc.) for children daily

2.       no television in children’s bedrooms

3.       no television for children under 2 years old

4.      parents watch television with their children, select programs, and talk about what they see

While this may seem impossible, what is possible is to encourage children and youth to spend time reading, playing outdoors, journaling, or participating in sports.  What is possible is providing quality experiences for youth to talk with adults, share with each other, learn to express feelings, make social connections, and give and receive support from their friends.  What is possible is to continue to provide Chrysalis After-School programs to hundreds of 9-14 year-old girls every year, where we deliver these quality experiences.

New Mental Health Research

Yesterday we held our bi-monthly meeting of Women’s Alliance members (nonprofit organizations that work with girls and women – this includes grantees and non-grantees) and heard a presentation from Laura Healless, LISW, MSW, who is the social worker involved in our DASH Pilot Project. 

Laura’s work is based on research including the Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE) Study, a study conducted at Kaiser Permanente (1995-97) involving over 17,000 participants.  Each participant had a standard physical examination and completed a confidential survey about their childhood (through age 18), particularly related to experiences and family dysfunction.  Attached is a copy of this simple survey.

Participants were then tracked according to health status and behaviors, and the groundbreaking results proved a direct correlation between traumatic (“adverse”) childhood experiences and a multitude of health and social problems throughout a lifetime.  And the severity and extent of health problems increases according to an increase in these adverse experiences.  The documented health problems noted included:

×          Adolescent pregnancy

×          Alcoholism and alcohol abuse

×          Anxiety

×          Chronic pain

×          Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)

×          Depression

×          Diabetes

×          Early death

×          Early initiation of sexual activity

×          Early initiation of smoking

×          Fetal death

×          Hallucinations

×          Health-related quality of life

×          Hypertension

×          Illicit drug use

×          Ischemic heart disease (IHD)

×          Liver disease

×          Lung cancer

×          Memory disturbances

×          Multiple sexual partners

×          Risk for intimate partner violence

×          Sexual abuse

×          Sexually transmitted diseases (STDs)

×          Smoking

×          Suicide attempts

×          Unintended pregnancies

×          Violence

Resulting from the ACE Study, the medical community is now being trained in both ACE and what is termed “Trauma-Informed Care,” meaning that clinicians are looking further into the social history of patients to uncover the factors that may have influenced the diseases and behaviors they are diagnosing.  By identifying and discussing these experiences, patients can then learn to model a healthier lifestyle – that they do not need to continue in a pattern set in childhood.  The medical and public health community is adopting this key understanding, including major funders such as the Gates Foundation’s Global Health Program.

If you’re interested, here are definitions of Adverse Childhood Experiences from the clinicians involved in the study:  

Adverse Childhood Experiences Definitions

The following categories all occurred in the participant's first 18 years of life.

ABUSE

Emotional Abuse
Often or very often a parent or other adult in the household swore at you, insulted you, or put you down and sometimes, often or very often acted in a way that made you think that you might be physically hurt.

Physical AbuseSometimes, often, or very often pushed, grabbed, slapped, or had something thrown at you or ever hit you so hard that you had marks or were injured.

Sexual Abuse
An adult or person at least 5 years older ever touched or fondled you in a sexual way, or had you touch their body in a sexual way, or attempted oral, anal, or vaginal intercourse with you or actually had oral, anal, or vaginal intercourse with you.

NEGLECT

Emotional Neglect
Respondents were asked whether their family made them feel special, loved, and if their family was a source of strength, support, and protection.  Emotional neglect was defined using scale scores that represent moderate to extreme exposure.

Physical Neglect
Respondents were asked whether there was enough to eat, if their parents drinking interfered with their care, if they ever wore dirty clothes, and if there was someone to take them to the doctor.  Physical neglect was defined using scale scores that represent moderate to extreme exposure.

DYSFUNCTION
Mother Treated Violently
Your mother or stepmother was sometimes, often, or very often pushed, grabbed, slapped, or had something thrown at her and/or sometimes often, or very often kicked, bitten, hit with a fist, or hit with something hard, or ever repeatedly hit over at least a few minutes or ever threatened or hurt by a knife or gun.
Household Substance Abuse
Lived with anyone who was a problem drinker or alcoholic or lived with anyone who used street drugs.
Household Mental Illness
A household member was depressed or mentally ill or a household member attempted suicide.
Parental Separation or DivorceParents were ever separated or divorced.
Incarcerated Household Member
A household member went to prison.

For Chrysalis, our role is to share this information and to teach it in our educational programs for grantees, other nonprofits, and Chrysalis After-School program staff – all in our continued efforts to strengthen and support girls and women.