Mike Males has a great Op-Ed today in the NY Times that says brain researchers are overstating neuro research about young people and its implications while ignoring the research that shows that American adults ages 35-54 are in more trouble than the youngins, and in more trouble then ever. He cites these stats about the 35-54 set: 18, 249 deaths from illegal overdose, up 550% since 1975; 46, 925 fatal accidents and suicides, "leaving today's middle-agers 30 percent more at risk for such dealth than people aged 15-19"; more than 4 million arrests in 2005 for violent crimes, up 200% since 1975; 21 million binge drinkers, which is "double the number among teenagers and college students combined"; and more than half of all new HIV/AIDS diagnoses in 2005 went to middle aged Americans. I appreciated his last sentence: "Commentators slandering teenagers, scientists misrepresenting shaky claims about the brain as hard facts, 47 year olds displaying far riskier behavoirs than 17 year olds, politicans refusing to face middle-aged crises...if grown ups really have superior brains, why don't we act as if we do?"
I think this may shed light on the overdiagnosis of bipolar disorder----if the above people are in charge, what kid wouldn't show symptoms of mental unbalance? When we focus on the problems of teenagers, are we just avoiding shining a light on the problems of adults?
No comments:
Post a Comment