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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 7 of 7. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by jrbecker on March 17, 2003, at 13:58:50
News release
3/16/2003 - Children Upset by Lack of Fame
Children are becoming increasingly depressed because they are obsessed with achieving celebrity or having supermodel good looks.
Independent on Sunday via NewsEdge Corporation : Children are becoming increasingly depressed because they are obsessed with achieving celebrity or having supermodel good looks.That is the conclusion of a study of 400 children aged between nine and 12 which was unveiled yesterday at the conference.
Psychologists found that those who believed happiness was linked to unattainable levels of money, fame and beauty were more likely to suffer from depression. Among the group, 16 were found to have clinical depression while 112 were found to be vulnerable to depression in the future.
The research, which was led by Dr Helen Street from the Queen Elizabeth Medical Centre in Western Australia, focused on children's beliefs about happiness and how these related to their goals in life.
A significant relationship was identified between the children's understanding of happiness and their vulnerability to depression.
Depressed children were more likely to believe that happiness was something achieved through the acquisition of money, fame and beauty. These children wanted to be rich and famous above all else in life.
Happier children were more inclined to believe that feeling good was about healthy attitudes and the experience of pursuing goals, whatever the outcomes might be.
They were more likely to seek positive relationships with others and to feel that they were developing personally through life.
Dr Street said that the research highlighted an important link between children who were driven by achieving material goals and their experience of depression.
"It is suggested that unhealthy conceptions of happiness as an outcome dependent upon the acquisition of wealth, fame and beauty are contributing to increasing levels of childhood depression in Western society," she said.
"Misconceptions of happiness as an outcome rather than a process lead to unhealthy motivations controlling goal settings and pursuit and to a tendency to increasing levels of rumination and depression."
Sophie Goodchild
Publication: Independent on Sunday
Distributed by Financial Times Information Limited
http://www.psychiatry24x7.com/news/detail.jhtml?itemname=e0316235.0iw0
Posted by fuzzymind on March 17, 2003, at 14:54:08
In reply to Another sign the apocalypse is upon us..., posted by jrbecker on March 17, 2003, at 13:58:50
If you crave fame and fortune, and attain one or the other, can you still be happy? Or will one be constantly unhappy? I've always had problems aiming low ....can't even see the positives in good things.
Posted by noa on March 17, 2003, at 16:20:46
In reply to Another sign the apocalypse is upon us..., posted by jrbecker on March 17, 2003, at 13:58:50
UGH, of course, is the only real response to depressing trends like that. But if so called "reality" tv shows stick around, anyone who wants to can get their 15 minutes. But think of the disappointments that come after the fame!
Noa (basking in my blissful obscurity)
Posted by WorryGirl on March 18, 2003, at 18:42:46
In reply to Another sign the apocalypse is upon us..., posted by jrbecker on March 17, 2003, at 13:58:50
Your findings don't surprise me at all. Even in the Elizabeth Smart case, I was looking at a post board and there were all kinds of comments about how she had gotten fat while kidnapped. Fat? Get real. This is a beautiful girl who was very slender at 14 and just starting to go through puberty. She appears to have matured a bit and is acquiring the normal curves that develop at that age. Does she have to remain a size 0 or 2 to be attractive in these people's eyes? For many, it seems so. Quite depressing. It does seem that the standards for teenagers have been raised to unreasonable expectations for many things.
Posted by Dinah on March 18, 2003, at 18:45:53
In reply to Another sign the apocalypse is upon us..., posted by jrbecker on March 17, 2003, at 13:58:50
Remember that it wasn't so many years ago that people would pack picnic lunches and their kids and go for a fun family outing to a public flogging or execution.
Even reality TV is not that bad (yet).
Posted by johnj on March 18, 2003, at 21:52:04
In reply to Another sign the apocalypse is upon us..., posted by jrbecker on March 17, 2003, at 13:58:50
s
Posted by Eggy on March 18, 2003, at 22:53:21
In reply to Bring it on, I'm ready....nfm, posted by johnj on March 18, 2003, at 21:52:04
This is the end of the thread.
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