Domestic Violence Through "Runaway Love" & "Independence Day"

Both Independence Day and Runaway Love are about domestic violence and emotional neglect.

Unlike Runaway Love, Independence Day’s message is about a mother who decides to set herself and her child free from painful days. This happens right after the Crisis Phase in the Cycle of Violence (2019). Why doesn't she escape from the fire? This is because she might feel guilty toward her child or she knew she couldn't be emotionally stable enough after the escape. According to the “battered woman syndrome" addressed by the book It Could Happen to Anyone (2014), a woman who involves in domestic violence is more likely to have “behaviors brought on by victimizations, learned helplessness behavior, and self-destructive coping behaviors" (p. 162). Based on this section of the book, we can be more empathetic to her decision. Since this domestic violence is long-term, it has shaped her tolerance and coping mechanism in a negative way. Also, she might feel stressful to explain things to her daughter after she kills her dad. This pressure might strengthen her decision somehow.

Runaway Love includes different stories with a similar background as domestic violence. In the video, a child tries to tell her mother that she is sexually abused by her stepfather. However, her mother doesn't believe her. Shouldn't the mother trust her daughter? To explain this, let's consider the Power and Control circle (n.d.). The stepfather might use emotional abuse to make the mother feel useless and doubtful of herself, which makes her unable to judge him. It might also because of the Clam/Honey Phase in the Cycle of Violence (2019). She has been comforted by her husband with sweet talk, loving messages that she completely believes in him. One more reason is that she might be abandoned by her previous husband, which strengthens her love and trust for the present one. Similar to other mothers in the video, she is left no choice but emotionally and physically neglects her child.

All the mothers in both videos can't leave because she believes that the man would change (LaViolette, Barnett, 2014, p. 40).

Eurus Thach.

_______________________

References:

Barnett, O. W., & LaViolette, A. D. (1993). It could happen to anyone: why battered women stay. Newbury Park, Calif.: Sage.

Domestic Abuse Intervention Programs. (n.d.). Power and Control. Retrieved from https://www.theduluthmodel.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/PowerandControl.pdf. 

Walker, L. (1979). Cycle of Violence, The Battered Woman. Retrieved from https://www.shelterforhelpinemergency.org/get-help/cycle-violence. 

[Martina McBride]. (2010, Mar 8). Martina McBride - Independence Day [Video File]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4VPpAZ9_qAw.

[Ludacris]. (2010, Jan 14). Ludacris ft. Mary J. Blige - Runaway Love (Official Video). Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ISvMS6s41vY. 

Should We Focus More On Intervention or Prevention Mental Health Problems and Disorders among Youngsters?

     Although the prevalence of mental health problems and disorders among youngsters is low, the focus on intervention is undeniable. Intervention, in other words, is a method that prevents patients’ symptoms from going worse. When researchers study interventions for different patients with different levels of impairments, they target the psychopathological symptoms and behaviors from mild to moderate level. Within the range of mild level, they aim to find the early signs of the mental problem or disorder. Therefore, if an adolescent or a child exhibit abnormal behaviors with a low frequency, we can keep track of them and try applying a few mild level interventions.

     Many people may argue that developing prevention is a better way to keep youngsters mentally healthy without suffering psychopathological symptoms. Understandably, children should not receive the intervention after an amount of time feeling unhappy or psychologically unstable. However, mental syndromes are various and hard to identify separately. Many syndromes share similar symptoms and signs. Moreover, the causes of a symptom can also vary. Looking for prevention for a specific symptom is like diving in the ocean to find a perfect fish out of thousands.

     Despite that, there are ways to improve youngsters’ mental health. Children and adolescents still emotionally depend on family. Parents and siblings can either a protector or a threat to their mental problems. The most important and basic thing for parents to do is to genuinely listen to their children. By showing respect and interest in their children, the youngsters will be able to appreciate their values and beings. This is a good sign that leads to a healthy mental life.

     Taking a closer look at eating disorders among teens, if the cause is about the distorted body image and altered appearance culture, comments from people around them are one of the most essential motivations for them to starve themselves or make a great effort to throw up. Researchers concluded from their studies that young patients who have this disorder tend to be influenced by society and their beloved ones. Besides medical and behavioral treatment for this disorder, all of these unhealthy activities can’t be ended successfully without mental support from their families.

     According to Smith, Robinson, and Segal(2019), what family members could do is to learn more about the eating disorder their youngsters are having. Besides that, avoiding negative comments about youngsters’ appearances is also necessary for recovery at home. It’s a good idea to have meals together as a family, which improves their eating habits and makes mealtime more enjoyable and relaxing. Smith et al. (2019) state that another thing to do is to help these youngsters gain more self-confidence through what they are good at. Hence, parents can encourage them to involve in activities that they might be interested in. One of the most negative, common things parents accidentally do in these situations is to blame themselves. Instead, she (2019) claims that parents should focus more on how to deal with eating disorders within their children.       

     To prevent this situation from occurring, boosting a youngster’s confidence is a good start. Family members should give compliments to each other’s appearance. Moreover, parents should comfort youngsters when they are teased with their look.

     Paying attention to children and adolescents is not always an easy task. However, if we invest enough mental support from the beginning, we can reduce the prevalence of psychopathological symptoms within our youngsters. In doing so, youngsters will appreciate their values and feel being loved.

Eurus Thach
_______________
Reference:
Smith, M., Robinson, L., & Segal, J. (2019). Helping Someone with an Eating Disorder. HelpGuide. Retrieved from https://www.helpguide.org/articles/eating-disorders/helping-someone-with-an-eating-disorder.htm.

Article Critique: Adolescent Social Networking by Oberst and Colleagues (2017) [Part 2]

     According to Oberst, Wegmann, et al. (2017), female participants scored higher in SNI (p. 55). Hypothetically, psychopathological symptoms might mediate higher SNS use in girls than they do in boys. The researchers explain that girls are more likely to involve in online communication, which causes distraction from their daily routine, brings them undesired outcomes like unhealthy relationships, disconnection with their families, etc. Since then, these female SNS users are supposed to develop higher anxiety and negative consequences of intense involvement in SNS (p. 57). 

     However, since Oberst and colleagues (2017) studied only social media users from Spanish-speaking Latin-American countries (p. 54). Their conclusion might not be ideal enough to apply to female social media users from other cultures. With this limitation, the relevant findings for females in this research can only be used as a stereotype, a potential idea for further studies with a larger sample. In my opinion, these findings are agreeable to some degree.

     Mood disorders like anxiety and depression in female adolescents, according to Steingard (n.d.), are more than twice as high as they are in male adolescents (par. 1). Anxious youngsters, without proper mental care, can develop unhealthy coping mechanisms to deal with their psychopathological symptoms, which mediates impairments in their studying and relationships (par. 9). Inappropriate coping mechanisms can vary from bottling up their emotions to seeking secure feelings through some intense activities.

     If an anxious female adolescent chooses to intensely involve in SNS to feel safe, she will likely to be distressed by public criticism. This stress comes from the failure to stay connected with others. It is FOMO discussed in Oberst and colleagues' research (2017) (p. 53). To satisfy her needs, it is reasonable for her to spend more time checking social media. When more female adolescents engage in SNS to cope with their anxiety, the relevant findings to females in Oberst and colleagues' research (2017) seem to be more persuasive and understandable.

     A study conducted in Dutch by CBS organization (2019) shows that 91 percent of female adolescents were on social media like Facebook and Instagram, which is more than male adolescents (83 percent) (par. 4). From this result, we acknowledge that girls from this culture and similar cultures form higher SNS use habit. This habit is maintained during their depression and anxiety. Since this is not a healthy activity to cope with these psychopathological symptoms, its negative consequences like more serious disconnection with others are reasonably predictable. As long as the number of girls who in SNS use nowadays increases, the number of female youngsters who have SNI also increases.

Eurus Thach.
_________
References:

CBS Staff. (2019, May 27). Girls more on social networks than boys. CBS. Retrieved from https://www.cbs.nl/en-gb/news/2019/22/girls-more-on-social-networks-than-boys.  

Newport Academy Staff. (2017, March 27). Looking for ‘Likes’: Teens and Social Media Addiction [Blog post]. Retrieved from https://www.newportacademy.com/resources/mental-health/teens-social-media-addiction/. 

Oberst, U., Wegmann, E., Stodt, B., Brand, M., Chamarro, A. (2017). Negative Consequences from Heavy Social Networking in Adolescents: The Mediating Role of Fear of Missing Out. Journal of Adolescence, 55, 51-61.http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.adolescence.2016.12.008.

Shepherd’s Hill Academy Staff. (n.d.). Teens and Social Media Addiction. [Blog post]  Retrieved from https://www.shepherdshillacademy.org/resources/teens-social-media-addiction/.

Steingard, R. (n.d.). Mood Disorders and Teenage Girls: Why They Are More Vulnerable Than Boys, and What Signs and Symptoms You Should Look For. Child Mind Institution, Depressive and Mood Disorders. Retrieved from https://childmind.org/article/mood-disorders-and-teenage-girls/. 

Article Critique: Adolescent Social Networking by Oberst and Colleagues (2017) [Part 1]

According to Oberst, Wegmann, Stodt, Brand, Chamarro (2017), severe social networking sites (SNS) use affect the mental health of adolescents. They study the role of fear of missing out (FOMO) and the intensity of checking SNS on mobile devices from this walk of life (p. 51). The purpose of this research is to study how these two factors mediate the negative consequences for young SNS users with psychopathological symptoms, like anxiety or depression (p. 57).   
The researchers (2017) used the cross-sectional method. They collected the available answers from the online questionnaires of the participants from age 16 and 18. These social media users were from Spanish-speaking Latin-American countries (p. 54).
Oberst, Wegmann, et al. (2017) conclude that the participants with psychopathological problems, especially female adolescents, are more likely to develop FOMO. This contributes to the maladaptive use of SNS and its negative consequences to these social media users. The result of this research is supposed to be a potential for further studying of SNS addiction (p.58).
The research reflects one of the biggest mental crisis of adolescents nowadays. Within the digital age, children have earlier and more access to mobile devices and access them. Newport Academy (2017) reports that many teens get used to social media since age 13. This technological attraction accidentally turns into a nightmare when addiction occurs among youngsters. According to Newport Academy (2017), one in every two teens believes that he or she is addicted to mobile devices. Teens can either spend their time chatting, playing games, or checking social media. The most favorable activity of all is social media involvement, which is chosen by 76% of teens (par. 2).

Oberst, Wegmann, et al. (2017) provide a persuasive aspect of how social media addiction is a product of psychological equifinality. Teens are more likely to stick with their phones when they have unstable, insecure feelings toward a situation or themselves. For instance, a teen can't help checking Facebook because he is afraid that he might miss an outstanding event, a meme, or a trend. He feels distressed by the fear of being left behind. Based on the material of Oberst, Wegmann, et al. (2017), he is suffering FOMO. A teen also tends to engage in social media more often when they feel unsatisfied with themselves or disconnected with people around. Shepherd’s Hill Academy (n.d.) claims that involving in the virtual world might help unhappy teens gain confidence. They suppose that social media is a safe place where they can receive attention and comforting messages (par. 7). In these cases, teens use social media as a shield to protect their emotional stability.

Understandably, teens with psychopathological problems who have poor self-control will suffer tolerance. When they repeatedly use social media to ease their anxiety and release their stress, they tend to increase the amount of time going online, which negatively affects their daily routine. Moreover, Newport Academy (2017) claims that intense social media use also increase anxiety in many teens. On the other hand, poor self-control in this activity can cause withdrawal. Teens will find it difficult to reduce social media time. Whenever they are not online, they can't stop thinking about being on social media (par. 9).

Poor self-control has a direct effect on the amount of time that an adolescent uses social media. Since it relates to our thinking and resistance, if one has SNS addiction, cognitive-behavioral therapy is an ideal choice to cope with this mental impairment. However, the therapy requires cooperation between the patient and the therapist. How can an adolescent realize that they need help with their intense SNS use before the negative consequences come to him or her? This is the remaining question that could be addressed in further studies. Because it's always the patients who decide the start and the success of their treatment, they should seek for help on time to prevent undesired outcomes that can further affect their emotional stability.

Oberst and colleagues (2017) studied the differences in SNI in different genders. However, the research has limited information about the LGBT+ community among adolescents. It gives readers confusion about whether the researchers were studying the psychopathological symptoms associated with biological sex or gender identity. In this case, the remaining question for further studies would be if LGBT+ adolescents are more likely to suffer FOMO. LGBT+ adolescents tend to cope with the greater stress from physical changes. They can also suffer isolation, prejudice from peers and the community. Studying this aspect means providing society with a chance to feel empathy and support LGBT+ adolescents.

To measure the correlation between psychological effect and FOMO, negative consequences, Oberst and colleagues (2017) used self-reports such as Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS), FOMO scale, the intensity of social network use, and Cuestionario de Experiencias Relacionadas con el Movil (CERM) which determined negative outcomes from intense mobile phone use (p. 54). The result showed that HADS- depression affected directly to CERM. On the other hand, HADS- anxiety had an indirect effect on CERM. HADS- anxiety and HADS- depression had a direct effect on FOMO which developed social network intensity (SNI) and CERM. However, both HADS- anxiety and HADS- depression had no direct effect on SNI (p. 56).

Through this report, we understand that both anxious social network users and depressed ones tend to suffer FOMO. They can either experience negative outcomes from this fear without the intense mobile phone use or increase the amount of social network use and get distracted from their daily life. Moreover, the terms "FOMO" and "negative consequences of mobile device use" were explained thoroughly and supported with specific examples (p. 53). Therefore, “the effect of psychopathological symptoms such as depression and anxiety lead to FOMO and negative consequences of mobile device use” is a clear conclusion drawn from the study (Oberst, Wegmann, et al., 2017, p. 58).

There is also a group of depressed social network users experience negative consequences using SNS without FOMO and SNI. The explanation for this case remains unclear. Because of that, if I could make a small change to the conclusion to make it more accurate, I would add that the word "might" or "can" before the phrase "lead to FOMO".


Eurus Thach.

__________________

References:

CBS Staff. (2019, May 27). Girls more on social networks than boys. CBS. Retrieved from https://www.cbs.nl/en-gb/news/2019/22/girls-more-on-social-networks-than-boys.  

Newport Academy Staff. (2017, March 27). Looking for ‘Likes’: Teens and Social Media Addiction [Blog post]. Retrieved from https://www.newportacademy.com/resources/mental-health/teens-social-media-addiction/. 

Oberst, U., Wegmann, E., Stodt, B., Brand, M., Chamarro, A. (2017). Negative Consequences from Heavy Social Networking in Adolescents: The Mediating Role of Fear of Missing Out. Journal of Adolescence, 55, 51-61.http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.adolescence.2016.12.008.

Shepherd’s Hill Academy Staff. (n.d.). Teens and Social Media Addiction. [Blog post]  Retrieved from https://www.shepherdshillacademy.org/resources/teens-social-media-addiction/.

Steingard, R. (n.d.). Mood Disorders and Teenage Girls: Why They Are More Vulnerable Than Boys, and What Signs and Symptoms You Should Look For. Child Mind Institution, Depressive and Mood Disorders. Retrieved from https://childmind.org/article/mood-disorders-and-teenage-girls/.