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Opinions arts domestic horace health international mann health Precocious Puberty Harmless Biological Glitch, or Dangerous Warning by Deborah Leffell American girls are developing breasts at as early as an early an age as 7 or 8 years old: a new reality. Recent studies are showing, more and more, the huge number of girls in America whose bodies are maturing faster than ever. There is much speculation as to what might be the cause of this strange biological change. The root of this issue is not known for certain, but some potential factors might be exposure of America’s youth to certain chemicals in plastic that are similar to estrogen, hormones in food, a lack of physical activity, or the growth of obesity in our country’s youth. Obesity is a very likely suspect due to the fact that fat can produce certain sex hormones. Experts are also calling for further exploration concerning the issue of artificial chemicals in plastic and the hormones in food that may contribute to the early maturation of children. If research were to prove this a valid hypothesis, there would be a very apparent demand that Americans need to be more careful about what substances they put in their bodies. It seems to be an open question as to whether these estrogen-like chemicals and hormones are also having injurious effects on boys. The signs of precocious puberty in girls consist of early breast development, underarm and pubic hair growth, rapid and early height growth, acne, early menstruation, and mature body odor. This sudden hastening of the maturing process is both a social obstacle for young girls, and it also may be a red flag indicating serious disease. Understandably, it is very difficult for those girls who begin puberty at an early age. They may be confused and embarrassed about certain changes in their bodies such as early breast development, early menstruation, or pubic hair growth. Bullying and teasing from peers is also inevitable. Another emotional issue, kidshealth.org reports, is that, “Even emotions and behavior may change in kids with precocious puberty. Girls can become moody and irritable.” It is also true that many of the girls who undergo puberty prematurely are simply not emotionally and psychologically prepared to understand and deal with their bodies’ changes. There is wide supposition that girls who mature early, in terms of menstruation, are more likely to have breast cancer later on. This is because there is longer exposure to estrogen and progesterone, which can feed certain tumors. There is also a theory concerning early height growth. Growth in bones stops as puberty slows down and comes to an end. Since girls have their growth spurts earlier with early puberty, they stop growing early as well, preventing danielle marcano them from reaching their full adult height potential. Furthermore, there is thought that this precocious puberty may have some ties to cardiovascular disease. Studies have been conducted to observe the demographic of girls dealing with precocious puberty. In a recent study, 1,239 girls between the ages of 6 and 8 were examined. Of the girls, 30 percent were white, 30 percent Hispanic, 30 percent black, and 5 percent Asian. Each girl was to be examined in one of three locations: Mount Sinai School of Medicine in Manhattan, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital or Kaiser Permanente Northern California, San Francisco. At age seven, 10.4% of white, 23.4% of black and 14.9% of Hispanic girls had begun puberty. At age eight, 18.3% among whites, 42.9% among blacks and 30.9% among Hispanics. The New York Times reported that “The percentages for blacks and whites were even higher than those found by a 1997 study that was one of the first to suggest that puberty was occurring earlier in girls.” It is very difficult to determine a “correct age” for girls to begin menstruation and puberty. In some cases puberty occurs late if a girl does not have enough body fat; if she is ill or suffers from malnutrition. In countries known for widespread starvation and disease, it may be cause for celebration if there is a downward trend in the average age of puberty because it may indicate that children are getting better nutrition. It is not easy to establish whether premature puberty is a sign of health and progress, or a sign of something that may be detrimental to the health of young girls. Still, it is important not to ignore the indications that precocious puberty may carry. This epidemic of hyper-maturity may be a signal of a much greater American issue. 14
horace international domestic health mann arts The Importance of a Father-Son Relationship by Greg Swong A recent study by the American Psychological Association (APA) found that men who developed strong relationships with their fathers when they were young manage stressful interactions with others better than men who did not have that connection with their fathers. These results highlight the importance of male role models in the development of coping mechanisms, psychology professor Melanie Mallers of California State University, Fullerton said. Researchers interviewed 912 men and women over a course of eight days about their day-to-day emotional and psychological states and their relationships with their parents as children. Their research found that men who recalled bad relationships with their fathers encountered arguments, disagreements, work-related, and family-related tensions and discrimination more frequently and were more likely to react unstably and emotionally when confronting these stresses than those who had healthy relationships. Study authors attribute these results to men’s tendency to learn coping mechanisms mainly from their fathers. Women who reported weak relationships with either parent did not show the same levels of stress over everyday life, a difference researchers attribute to the alternative coping skills women adopt, such as relying on people besides their parents for support. The research showed the importance of a positive parent-child relationship, especially between fathers and sons, in teaching children how to handle their relationships with others, study authors have said. Mallers noted that drawing concrete conclusions about father-son relationships required more detailed research since the study included men who grew up in different eras in which parental and gender norms differed greatly. “The role of fathers has changed dramatically from the time the oldest participants were children,” she said. “We do know that fathers have a unique style of interacting with their children, especially their sons. We need more research to help us uncover further influences of both mothers and fathers on the enduring emotional experiences of their children.” alice taranto COMPUGIRLS: A Click in the Right Direction by Juliet Zou In 2008, only 18% of women worked in the computer and information technology fields and that 56% of women in the technology workforce left at the mid-point of their careers. To respond to the lack of women involved in the technology industry, programs such have sprung up across the country to motivate young girls to be interested in technology and computer science. Although programs to retain women in the technology industry do exist, many feel that the most important thing to do is teach girls about technology while they are still young. One of these programs is the COMPUGIRLS program, which is part of the School of Social Transformation at Arizona State University. Available to girls in 8th through 12th grade from under-resourced school districts in the Greater Phoenix area, the program consists of six distinct courses in which students learn to bridge technology and social justice. The courses make use of various types of technology, especially those that are most appealing to teens today, such as The Sims, Scratch, and Teen Second Life. Each student is loaned a laptop, digital camera, and digital camcorder, and participants have the chance to create podcasts, Wikis, and other various databases. The girls are assigned projects like developing social justice projects to affect change in the Second Life world. Every summer, four girls get the opportunity to complete internships at firms such as the Morrison Institute for Public Policy and the Intel Corporation, which invites students to gain experience and explore career opportunities. In the current economy, the technology industry is one of the few that has not been severely affected. The COMPUGIRLS program and its many counterparts provides girls with a solid education in technology and allows them to take full advantage of technological job openings. Additionally, technology is one of the fastest developing areas in our world today, and it can be applied to solve many issues in the world. The COMPUGIRLS program not only teaches girls about technology in order to provide them with a greater range of activities, it also teaches them to use that technology as a means to find out more about the world and eventually solve issues facing us today. 15
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