An advertising campaign is being launched to raise awareness of domestic violence in teenage relationships.

The adverts will target boys aged 13 to 18, urging them not to use violence against their girlfriends.

The £2m TV, radio, internet and poster campaign is part of a government strategy announced last year to reduce violence against women and girls.

Home Secretary Alan Johnson said it was essential to change attitudes in order to stop abuse against females.

He said: “We want to see young people in safe and happy relationships and this means tackling attitudes towards abuse at an early age, before patterns of violence can occur. “We hope this campaign will help teenagers to recognise the signs of abuse and equip them with the knowledge and confidence to seek help, as well as understanding the consequences of being abusive or controlling in a relationship.”

The campaign follows research by the NSPCC.

The study suggested a quarter of girls aged 13 to 17 had experienced physical violence from a boyfriend and a third had been pressured into sexual acts they did not want.

The children’s charity said it was alarmed by the number of young people who viewed abuse in relationships as normal.

Source: BBC NI News

Chris, Web Designer at Input Youth

A book aimed at helping children with parents who have alcohol or substance problems is being launched.

It is estimated that one in every 11 children of primary school age live with a parent with addiction problems.

The book, called Rory, was compiled by ASCERT, Barnardo’s, the South Eastern Trust and the Public Health Agency.

It tells the story of a dog who cannot understand why his owner is acting in a certain way, until it is explained this is because he has an alcohol problem.

Cathy Mullan, interim lead for Alcohol and Drugs at the Public Health Agency, said the book was an “excellent resource for young children where alcohol is having a negative impact on their lives”. “The plan aims to raise awareness of the impact of drugs and alcohol on families and to increase the range of support services available to them,” she added.

The book is available in all libraries across Northern Ireland.

Source: BBC NI News

Chris, Web Designer at Input Youth

A significant minority of children leave primary school without having their communication difficulties picked up and addressed, a charity claims.

Communication charity Ican said research suggested the problem was most severe in areas of social deprivation.

These youngsters’ communication problems were often picked up later in the youth justice system, Ican said.

The claim comes as a survey suggests 50% of parents believe their children cannot communicate effectively.

The poll of 2,000 parents of children under 11 also found 54% felt they did not have enough time to talk to their children. And one in four of these say they believe this impacted on communication with their child on a daily basis.

The survey suggests the most popular activity shared between parent and child was watching television, but only 1 in 10 felt this was a time when they communicated well with their child.

Source: BBC Education News

Chris, Web Designer at Input Youth

There is a strong link between heavy Internet use and depression, UK psychologists have said.

The study, reported in the journal Psychopathology, found 1.2% of people surveyed were “Internet addicts”, and many of these were depressed.

The Leeds University team stressed they could not say one necessarily caused the other, and that most Internet users did not suffer mental health problems.

The conclusions were based on 1,319 responses to an on-line questionnaire.

Recruitment was via links on social networking sites. People were asked how much they used the Internet and for what purposes.

They were also asked a series of questions to assess whether they suffered from depression.

The respondents were aged 16 to 51, with an average age of 21.

The authors found that a small number of users had developed a compulsive Internet habit, replacing real life social interaction with online chat rooms and social networking sites. They classed 18 respondents – 1.2% of the total – as “Internet addicts”. This group spent proportionately more time on sex, gambling and online community websites.

The Internet addicts were significantly more depressed than the non-addicted group, with a depression score five times higher. The average score of the Internet-addicted group put them in the category of moderate-to-severe levels of depression.

“Our research indicates that excessive Internet use is associated with depression, but what we don’t know is which comes first – are depressed people drawn to the Internet or does the Internet cause depression?” said Dr Morrison. “Now we need to investigate the nature of that relationship and consider the issue of causation.”

Critics of the research say that Internet addiction cannot be diagnosed reliably, and the recruiting method could have resulted in a biased sample.

Sophie Corlett, of the mental health charity Mind, said: “Evidence suggests that active pursuits such as exercise and socialising with people face-to-face are among the factors that help us stay in good mental health. “Although excessive Internet use can’t be said to cause mental health problems, if a web addict is substituting meaningful friendships and socialising with virtual contact on the Internet, this might have an adverse affect on their mental well being.”

Source: BBC Tech News

Chris, Web Designer at Input Youth