Excerpts: "..a presentation on affluent youth as a largely unrecognized at-risk group. Her research suggests a U shaped curve in pathologies among children, by class. At each extreme—poor and rich—kids are showing unusually high rates of dysfunction. On the surface, the rich kids seem to be thriving. They have cars, nice clothes, good grades, easy access to health care, and, on paper, excellent prospects. But many of them are not navigating adolescence successfully. ..One of the two major causes of distress, Luthar found, was the “pressure to excel at multiple academic and extracurricular pursuits. In one study, for example, kids were asked to choose and rank their parents’ top five values, from a list of 10. Half of the values were related to achievement (“attend a good college,” “make a lot of money,” “excel academically”), and the other half to well-being and personal character (“are honest,” “are kind to others,” “are generally happy with yourself and your life”). When the kids chose a greater number of achievement-related goals, that usually correlated with personal troubles, Luthar said. From their answers, Luthar constructed a profile of elite American adolescents whose self-worth is tied to their achievements and who see themselves as catastrophically flawed if they don’t meet the highest standards of success. The yardstick for the children of the meritocratic elite is different, and it can intimidate as much as it can empower. The second major cause of distress that Luthar identified was perhaps more surprising: Affluent kids felt remarkably isolated from their parents.
The kids in the affluent communities she studied felt their parents to be no more available to them, either emotionally or physically, than the kids in severe poverty did. Now, she reports, the teenagers have no sense of agency. They still complain bitterly about all the same things, but they feel they have no choice. Many have also fallen prey to what Levine calls a “mass delusion” that there is but one path to a successful life, and that it is very narrow." From the Link below to The Silicon Valley Suicides ---In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, <dhamiltony...@yahoo.com> wrote : Vulnerability Trending: Kids of the Higher and 'elite' income classes become high ranked (vulnerable) with behavior dysfunction (distress) as with the poorest of kids, but differently in their own case because of their peculiar 'elite' group cultural pressures for producing and showing individual perfectionism and achievement. That level of materialism does not seem very 'spiritual' or healthy. The Silicon Valley Suicides http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2015/12/the-silicon-valley-suicides/413140/ http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2015/12/the-silicon-valley-suicides/413140/ The Silicon Valley Suicides http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2015/12/the-silicon-valley-suicides/413140/ Why are so many kids with bright prospects killing themselves in Palo Alto? View on www.theatlantic.com http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2015/12/the-silicon-valley-suicides/413140/ Preview by Yahoo ---In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, <dhamiltony...@yahoo.com> wrote : Jefferson County, Iowa is relatively a little above the national average by stats. About average? By State: QuickStats: Age-Adjusted* Suicide† Rates, by State§ — United States, 2012 http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm6345a10.htm http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm6345a10.htm QuickStats: Age-Adjusted* Suicide† Rates, by State§... http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm6345a10.htm * Age-adjusted rates per 100,000 based on the 2000 U.S. standard population. Populations used for computing death rates are postcensal estimates based o... View on www.cdc.gov http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm6345a10.htm Preview by Yahoo By County Iowa Suicide http://www.worldlifeexpectancy.com/usa/iowa-suicide http://www.worldlifeexpectancy.com/usa/iowa-suicide Iowa Suicide http://www.worldlifeexpectancy.com/usa/iowa-suicide Discover Suicide rankings for all Iowa counties and all magor causes of death. View on www.worldlifeexpect... http://www.worldlifeexpectancy.com/usa/iowa-suicide Preview by Yahoo The C.D.C. reported last year that Wyoming has the highest suicide rate in the nation http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm6345a10.htm, almost 30 deaths per 100,000 people in 2012, far above the national average of 12.6 per 100,000. ---In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, <dhamiltony...@yahoo.com> wrote : "Although imbalances between city and country have long persisted, “we weren’t expecting that the disparities would be increasing over time, .." “The rates are higher, and the gap is getting wider.” "Suicide is a threat not just to the young. Rates over all rose 7 percent in metropolitan counties from 2004 to 2013 http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm6414a9.htm, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In rural counties, the increase was 20 percent." "The problem reaches across demographic boundaries, encompassing such groups as older men, Native Americans and veterans. .." Small Towns Face Rising Suicide Rates http://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/03/health/small-towns-face-rising-suicide-rates.html?utm_source=nextdraft&utm_medium=email&_r=1 http://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/03/health/small-towns-face-rising-suicide-rates.html?utm_source=nextdraft&utm_medium=email&_r=1 Small Towns Face Rising Suicide Rates http://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/03/health/small-towns-face-rising-suicide-rates.html?utm_source=nextdraft&utm_medium=email&_r=1 People living in rural areas kill themselves far more often than those in urban settings. One reason: poor access to mental health care. View on www.nytimes.com http://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/03/health/small-towns-face-rising-suicide-rates.html?utm_source=nextdraft&utm_medium=email&_r=1 Preview by Yahoo ---In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, <dhamiltony...@yahoo.com> wrote : "Although imbalances between city and country have long persisted, “we weren’t expecting that the disparities would be increasing over time, .." “The rates are higher, and the gap is getting wider.” "Suicide is a threat not just to the young. Rates over all rose 7 percent in metropolitan counties from 2004 to 2013 http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm6414a9.htm, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In rural counties, the increase was 20 percent." "The problem reaches across demographic boundaries, encompassing such groups as older men, Native Americans and veterans. .." Small Towns Face Rising Suicide Rates http://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/03/health/small-towns-face-rising-suicide-rates.html?utm_source=nextdraft&utm_medium=email&_r=1 http://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/03/health/small-towns-face-rising-suicide-rates.html?utm_source=nextdraft&utm_medium=email&_r=1 Small Towns Face Rising Suicide Rates http://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/03/health/small-towns-face-rising-suicide-rates.html?utm_source=nextdraft&utm_medium=email&_r=1 People living in rural areas kill themselves far more often than those in urban settings. One reason: poor access to mental health care. View on www.nytimes.com http://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/03/health/small-towns-face-rising-suicide-rates.html?utm_source=nextdraft&utm_medium=email&_r=1 Preview by Yahoo
