Reuters (12/11, Bond) reports on a study appearing in Child Abuse & Neglect finding that “threatening or screaming at teenagers may put them at higher risk for depression and disruptive behaviors such as rule-breaking.” The study found that “mothers had to be both verbally and physically abusive to increase the kids’ risk for depression and behavior issues,” though fathers had to adopt only one of those behaviors “to produce lasting ill effects.” The study covered 239 “troubled adolescents” who completed surveys, along with parents who also completed surveys on their behavior. The authors concluded that physicians should ask adolescent patients about verbal as well as physical abuse.
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— “Yelling, threatening parents harm teens’ mental health, “Allison Bond, Reuters, December 10, 2013.