Addiction Treatment Magazine

Cybersex is making new headlines in connection with Facebook, and generating alarm about games that are geared toward children and teens but involve cybersex between virtual characters.

Teenagers are the target of millions of advertisements, and strangely, some of the advertisements are not even for products they are allowed to use. While industry regulations curtail some of the problem, many companies are still advertising adult products in full view of kids, with advertisements aired when kids are likely to be watching television.

A recent study suggests that adolescents with a large network of friendships on such social outlets as Facebook and Twitter cause them to be more apt to drink alcohol. Parents don’t deny the influence their children’s’ peers have on them, but they do wonder just how far their influence stretches.

What may at first seem like normal sexual interest expressed by a teenager can actually be a sign of a much more serious condition, such as sexual addiction or sexual compulsivity. As Internet sex sites rise into the millions and sexual material on television and other media forms hits all-time highs, teenagers are showing more [...]

A recent article in U.S. News pointed out concerns regarding the long-lasting effects of alcohol use on the teen brain, especially when it relates to binge drinking. Girls may be more vulnerable to alcohol than boys are to its harmful effects because of excessive consumption. Adolescents’ brains are still developing, especially in frontal regions that [...]

Teens start smoking to fit in, to experiment and to try to succumb to peer pressure – but recent research also says some may have genetic traits that make smoking as a teen more likely. These genes can also set them up for a stronger chance of becoming addicted. As the teen grows older, a [...]

Nurturing a child in the early years is very critical in the development of the child both physically and psychologically. Scientists are seeking to better understand the connections between parental roles and various facets of life as children move into adulthood. One area that has been explored is the connection between parents and drinking behaviors. [...]

Back in 1994 at the dawn of the Internet age, no one ever dreamed it would catch on so big and lay claim to so many of us. Flash forward to today and you can’t imagine the world without cyberspace. As parents, many of us probably gravitated toward the Internet in incremental phases. After all, [...]

While parents may believe their influence over their children diminishes over time, in reality, they can still play a significant role in teen choices. A recent study found this to be especially true in terms of tobacco use.

Parents and kids alike are aware that video games are a big part of the American youth culture. Some parents insist that their kids are, in fact, addicted to video games. Is this simply parents complaining about their kids’ hobbies that they may or may not appreciate, or is there scientific support for pathological video [...]