Study: More than 1 in 4 teens have ‘sexted’

A new survey of hundreds of high school students in the Houston area finds that 28 percent have “sexted” — sent a naked photo of themselves through email or cell-phone texting. And more than half said they’d been asked to send someone else a naked photo, HealthDay reports. Boys were more likely than girls to ask for naked photos, and girls were more likely to be asked to send a photo, the survey found. Touted as the most advanced research on sexting in the United States, the survey does have limitations: The group of students surveyed had a higher rate of ethnic minorities than in American public schools overall, and only those whose parents agreed were allowed to answer the questions. Still, the findings suggest that sexting, the practice of sending explicit material or information via texting, “is a fairly prevalent behavior among teens,” said study lead author Jeff R. Temple, a psychologist and assistant professor at the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston. “And teens who engage in sexting behaviors may be more likely to have had sex. In other words, sexting may be a fairly reliable indicator of sexual behaviors.”

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To improve school nutrition, involve teachers and parents

To improve school nutrition and get children to eat healthier, involve parents, teachers and school administrators, new research finds, HealthDay reports. Researchers from Kaiser Permanente Southern California looked at 400 students at eight elementary and middle schools who took part in a three-year study that examined the use of a public-health approach to improve nutrition. During the study, the researchers worked with teachers and administrators at certain schools to improve nutrition practices. For example, they replaced food and beverage classroom rewards with non-food prizes and implemented healthy catering at school events and classroom celebrations. For fund-raising events, they served healthy foods and beverages, awarded non-food prizes and had games such as a “prize walk” instead of a “cake walk.” The researchers noted that schools actually made more money through healthy events such as jog-a-thons than carnivals with popcorn and pizza. There was a 30 percent decrease in the amount of unhealthy foods and beverages consumed by students at these schools during the study, compared to a 26 percent increase at other schools. The amount of healthy lunches students brought from home and other outside sources also increased at the intervention schools…

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Opinion: Teachers are educators, not entertainers

According to HealthDay, a questionnaire distributed to students at the University of Pittsburgh reveals students who texted less during college classes earned better grades and reported learning more than students who texted more often. While this is not exactly groundbreaking news, research author Fang-Yi Flora Wei made a controversial statement when she said it should be the burden of the instructors and not the students to combat student inattention related to texting, says Calvin Wolf for Yahoo! News. Basically, teachers and professors should focus on “interactive teaching methods or other strategies” to keep students’ attention instead of attempting to ban texting. While the research is specific to college students, it is likely only a matter of time until Wei’s accommodation of texting is extended to high school classrooms as well. It is upsetting researchers have taken a stand against respecting teachers as educators by insisting that they become more entertaining to combat student inattention. This is not exactly new…

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Teachers critical in helping abused kids succeed

With their teachers’ help, children who have been abused can return to school and excel academically, according to a new study, HealthDay reports. Researchers from the University of Missouri found that among children with a history of abuse, the most successful kids were those who focused on everyday management skills, such as self-control.

“The first step, of course, is for teachers to watch for signs and stop the abuse to the child,” said Stephen Whitney, associate professor in the department of educational, school and counseling psychology in the university’s College of Education, in a university news release. “My colleagues and I worked with Child Protective Services to examine test scores to determine what factors indicate future achievement, and of those factors, what ones actually translate to the classroom. Teachers and counselors can help the student succeed by focusing on daily living skills.”

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Teen ‘sexting’ common and linked to psychological woes

Some Boston parents might be in for a rude awakening: 13 percent of area high school students say they’ve received “sext” messages and one in 10 has either forwarded, sent, or posted sexually suggestive, explicit or nude photos or videos of people they know by cellphone or online, HealthDay reports. So found a study of more than 23,000 students, with the results scheduled to be presented Wednesday at the American Public Health Association’s annual meeting in Washington, D.C. Sexting can include overtones of bullying and coercion, and teens who are involved were more likely to report being psychologically distressed, depressed or even suicidal, according to the 2010 survey of 24 (of 26) high schools in Boston’s metro-west region.

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Too many hours on the job may put teens at risk

According to HealthDay, high school students who work more than 20 hours a week at part-time jobs during the school year may be more likely to have academic and behavior problems, according to a new study. U.S. researchers analyzed data collected in the late 1980s from 1,800 middle-class teens in grades 10 and 11 in order to compare students who had jobs with those who didn’t work…

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