Environmental Influences on Happiness

Environmental Influences on Happiness Critical Evaluation: The Contagion Effect of Happiness The thought of happiness had sparked much interest among past psychologists. Dated back in the 20th century, happiness had been a rising area of concern. However, many studies have yet to converge on a universal definition of happiness. Despite so, several longstanding studies permit the definition of happiness to be a subjective well-being construct consisting of positive affect, negative affect and life satisfaction (Bartels Boomsma, 2009; DeNeve Cooper, 1998; Diener, 2009). In recent years, the factors that predict happiness has caught great amount of attention in the realm of psychology. Specifically, the question lies in whether happiness can be contagious either through the social network or genetic influences. A recent paper by Matteson, McGue, and Lacono (2013) has offered insights to address the discrepancy between social network and genetic influences. The central tenet of the paper investigates the contagion hypothesis of happiness. Specifically, it seeks to find the impact of the well-being of family members on individual well-being. In an attempt to account for previous ethological findings by Fowler and Christakis (2008), the authors had adopted an adoption design as an alternative test of shared environment effects on happiness. A sample consisting of 284 adoptive, 208 non-adoptive and 123 mixed families were selected from the Sibling Interaction and Behaviour Study (SIBS; McGue, Keyes, Sharma, Elkins, Legrand, Johnson, 2007). Results revealed that family members have no similar levels of happiness when they are not genetically related. In fact, the authors have noted that the findings demonstrated the consistency with behavioural genetic literature among genetically related famil y. Hence, challenging the contagion hypothesis. In view of these findings, the current paper will review the findings of Matteson et al. (2013) to further justify and suggest drawbacks that may have been oblivious to the authors. In addition, this paper will employ various key works to provide auxiliary for the review of methodology, results and discussion sections of Mattesson et al. (2013). In Fowler and Christakis (2008) study, a social network analysis was employed to study the impact of happiness level of people in an individual’s social network. However, although Mattesson et al. (2013) had also focused on the contagion hypothesis of happiness, they have noted that both genes and environment could have played a role in the influence of happiness among people. Thus, a superior component of Matteson’s study was that they drew on the adoption design to include both genetic and environmental effects in the investigation of the contagion hypothesis. This had allowed them to examine if genetically unrelated family members in a shared environment would have similar levels of happiness (Matteson et al., 2013). However, an adoptive family environment may not be representative of the general family environment (Lemery Goldsmith, 1999). Rueter, Keyes ,Iacono, and McGue (2009) have noted that the interactions between families could have differed between adoptive and non-adoptive families. This suggests that interaction factors could have impacted child adjustments. In addition, McGue et al. (2007) found that there is an increased in parent-child conflict in adoptive as compared to non-adoptive families. Such factors could have influenced the well-being of adoptees. As a result, the inclusion of adoptees for the contagion hypothesis illustrates that the authors could have oversight the assumption of family environment. Also, it should be noted that instead of a shared environment in adoptive studies, siblings might experience a unique environment instead. A unique environment is an environment that is not shared by siblings or families (Neisser, Boodoo,Bouchard, Boykin, Brody, Ceci, Halpern, Loehlin, Perloff, Sternberg, Urbina, 1996). According to Braungart, Plomin, DeFries and Fulker (1992), siblings raised in the same family might experience a unique environment whereby both siblings may have diverse range of peers, attend different education systems and may experience different style of bonds with their parents. As a result, the authors failed to notice that a unique environment may be experienced by siblings in an adoption design. Future research in this area could include the use of family design (Lemery Goldsmith). Family design enables the assessment of siblings, parent versus off-springs. half-siblings, uncle versus nephew, auntie versus niece, grandparent versus grandchild and first cousin pairs (Pike, McGuire, Hetherington, Reiss, Plomin, 1996). This would allow more in-depth opportunity to investigate both shared and unique environments on the contagion hypothesis as it investigates a variety of relationships as compared to the limited parent-child and sibling relationships in an adoption design. Previous work by Fowler and Christakis (2008) utilized the items from the Center of Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale (CES-D; Radloff, 1977) as a measure of happiness. Although the CES-D was developed to examine depression, items pertaining to happiness were chosen to question about experiences and feelings on happiness in the past one week. In contrary, Matteson et al. (2013) had employed a Multidimensional Personality Questionnaire to examine happiness. The MPQ is a personality measure which assesses cognitive and affective components of life. Diener (2009) have noted that test-retest reliabilities have demonstrated that a correlation of .54 to .73 accounts for stability in well-being scales of MPQ. Thus, the use of MPQ could be a reliable measure for the well-being construct of the affective component on happiness. However, the authors could have overlooked the purpose of MPQ as a measure of trait instead of state happiness (Stones, Hadjistavopoulos, Tuuko, Kozma, 1995). As MPQ was mainly developed as a personality measure, the items were inclined towards trait-like properties of well-being and happiness. Thus, the results on happiness construct could have actually reflected the trait happiness instead of state-level happiness. Tellegen (1982) have noted that MPQ is a self report questionnaire to measure the disposition to feel good. Also, the utilization of this measure in other studies tends to yield genetic influences on happiness (Weiss, Bates, Luciano, 2008). In other words, MPQ was oriented towards the assessment of trait happiness instead of state-level happiness. Therefore, the use of MPQ by Matteson et al (2013) may have been an oversight as they failed to recognize that the use of MPQ could have skewed the data towards the findings of trait personality instead of happiness on the ba sis of situations. Hence, resulting in their findings of familial correlations among genetically related instead of unrelated family members. It is suggested that the authors could have employed the Oxford Happiness Questionnaire (OHQ) in conjunction with the MPQ to assess the subjective well-being of participants (Hills Argyle, 2002). The OHQ is a 29 item measure that taps on the self-esteem, sense of purpose, social interest and sense of humour. The combination of both OHQ and MPQ would serve as a better stringent methodology to elicit an equal amount of trait and state-level happiness. Extensive studies by McGue et al. (2007) have demonstrated that the Siblings Interaction and Behaviour Study (SIBS) provides a good basis for the selection of participants for adoption design. Participants from the SIBS consisted of adoptive, non-adoptive and mixed families. This allowed identifications of characteristics between biological and adoptive families. Matteson et al. (2013) employed participants from the SIBS which is fairly representative for an adoption design. However, McGue et al. (2007) have noted that in order to differentiate adoptive and non-adoptive families in SIBS, they recruited participants on the basis of selection effects of certain factors. Evidence by Stoolmiller (1999) has shown that selection effects in a research study could actually affect participants who do and do not participate in the study. As cited in Matteson et al. (2013), McGue et al. (2007) have noted that after interviewing non-participants in adoptive and non-adoptive families, non-participating but eligible families differed minimally from participating families. However, the authors failed to recognize that McGue et al. (2007) were unable to interview 27% of non-participating families and this 27% could have differed significantly from the interviewed participating and non-participating families. Ruggles, Sobek, Alexander, Fitch, Goeken, and Hall (2004) concluded that this difference could have resulted in minimal sampling bias. Therefore, the details concer ning recruitment of SIBS sample could have inadvertently influence the results obtained. Furthermore, there are issues regarding the generalizability of the results presented by Matteson et al. (2013). The author did not report in the paper that SIBS samples were recruited from Minnesota only and not internationally. McGue et al. (2007) noted that adoptive families were ascertained from infant placements made by Minnesota agencies and non-adoptive families were determined by Minnesota State birth records. This suggests that the average sample were from Minnesota and hence, the results can only be generalizable to families of Minnesota. Therefore, the sample chosen could have implicated the results. A further consideration influencing the generalizability of the results presented by Matteson et al. (2013) is the choice of participants. Despite the participants being from the SIBS study, the authors did acknowledge that eligibility is limited to siblings of five years apart and adopted siblings who were adopted before age of two years (McGue et al., 2007). However, this age criteria suggest the limitation of generalizing the results to siblings of more than five years apart or adopted after the age of two years. Thus, the age criteria could have been an oversight by the authors as it suggests the inability to further generalize the results to others in a shared environment. Another limitation noted within the research was the onetime assessment of parent’s personality within the three years interval of the study. An established body of knowledge on personality have shown that personality changes throughout the lifespan (Haan, 1981). Findings by Haan (1981) revealed that re-test intervals on personality yielded that it does not remain stable overtime. In addition, Moss and Susman (1980) converged on a conclusion that the increased in time interval between personality tests contributes to the evidence of decreasing stability in personality. Matteson et al. (2013) have taken the changes in personality into consideration. In their study, the authors assessed well-being twice across a three years interval; allowing change over time. However, they had only assessed parent’s personality once. As mentioned, personality stability decreases over time. Thus, neglecting a second assessment of parent’s personality over the three years interval m ay have accounted for important information being overlooked and distorted the results. It is suggested that parent’s personality should be assessed at least twice as it constantly changes across the lifespan (Haan, 1981). Other methodological constraints in Matteson et al. (2013) paper include the use of results after a large dropout rate. Out of the adolescents participating at intake, only 83% returned and completed the well-being measure at follow-up. In other words, 17% of the adolescent have failed to complete the well-being measure at follow-up. It is possible that this 17% of dropout could have found the procedure to be dull or mundane which in turn, inflated the results attained. In addition, the authors had included the scores of the dropouts who had previously completed the intake but not the follow-up. Although they noted that the intake well-being scores of those who did not complete the well-being measure did not differ significantly from the well-being scores of those who did return, it should be known clearly that those results should not be taken into account as it reflected only the intake and not the follow-up scores (Matteson et al., 2013). Thus, it is inappropriate for the authors to make an assumption that the similar results would be obtained for the follow-up. Hence, the comparison was not clear and fair. As a result, the inclusion of the 17% at the intake results could have affected the entire study’s results. In summary, the findings suggest that shared environmental influences on happiness may not reflect contagion effects. While shared environment is an important aspect in the adoption design, it should also be noted that siblings in both adoptive and non-adoptive families may experience unique environments (Neisser et al., 1996). As such, biologically related siblings showed more support as genes could have played a higher factor in the influence of happiness as compared to environment. This suggests that the findings of the paper by Matteson et al. (2013) do provide some novel insights. However, intense research is required to understand more details between shared environment and unique environment. The authors have failed to recognize that despite the high reliability MPQ well-being scale might not be the most suitable measure for happiness. Future research is needed to examine a comprehensive well-being scale to measure happiness as evidence suggests that the use of MPQ well-being scale could have been skewed more towards trait happiness. References Bartels, M., Boomsma, D. I. (2009). Born to be happy? The etiology of subjective well- being. Behavior Genetics, 39, 605-615. Braungart, J. M., Plomin, R., DeFries, J. C., Fulker, D. W. (1992). Genetic influence on tester-rated infant temperament as assessed by Bayleys Infant Behavior Record: Non- adoptive and adoptive siblings and twins. Developmental Psychology, 28, 40-47. DeNeve, K. M., Cooper, H. (1998). The happy personality: A meta-analysis of 137 personality traits and subjective well-being. Psychological Bulletin, 124, 197-229. Diener, E. (2009). Assessing subjective well-being: Progress and opportunities. In E. Diener (Ed.), Assesing well-being: The collected works of Ed Diener. Social Indicatiors Research Series 39(pp. 25-65). Dordrecht, NL: Springer. Fowler, J. H., Christakis, N. A. (2008). Dynamic spread of happiness in a large social network : Longitudinal analysis over 20 years in the Framingham Heart Study. British Medical Journal, 337, a2338. Haan, N. (1981). Common Dimensions of Personality Development: Early Adolescene to Middle Life. In D. H. Eichorn, J. A. Clausen, N. Haan, M. P. Honzik, P. H. Mussen (Eds.). Present and Past in Middle Life (pp. 117-151). New York: Academic Press. Hills, P., Argyle, M. (2002). The Oxford Happiness Questionnaire: A compact scale for the measurement of psychological well-being. Personality and Individual Differences, 33, 1071-1082. Lemery, K. S., Goldsmith, H. H. (1999). Genetically informative designs forthe studyof behavioural development.International Journal ofBehavioralDevelopment, 23, 293-317. Matteson, L. K., McGue, M. K., Lacono, W. (2013). Is Dispositional Happiness Contagious?: The Impact of the Well-Being of Family Members on Individual Well- Being. Journal of Individual Differences, 34(2), 90-96. DOI: 10.1027/1614- 0001/a000103 McGue, M., Keyes, M., Sharma, A., Elkins, I., Legrand, L., Johnson, W. (2007). The environments of adopted and non-adopted youth: Evidence on range restriction from the Sibling Interaction and Behavior Study (SIBS). Behavior Genetics, 37, 449-462. Moss, H. A., Susman, E.J. (1980). Longitudinal study of personality development. In O.G. Brim, Jr., J. Kagan (Eds.), Constancy and change in human development (pp. 530- 595). Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. Neisser, U., Boodoo, G., Bouchard, T. J., Jr., Boykin, A. W., Brody, N., Ceci, S. J., Halpern, D. F., Loehlin, J. C., Perloff, R., Sternberg, R. J., Urbina, S. (1996). Intelligence: Knowns and unknowns.American Psychologist, 51,77-101. Pike A., McGuire S., Hetherington E. M., Reiss D., Plomin R. (1996). Family environment and adolescent depressive symptoms and antisocial behaviour: A multivariate genetic analysis. Developmental Psychology, 32(4), 590-603. Radloff, L. S. (1977). The CES-D Scale: A self-report depression scale for research in the general population. Applied Psychological Measurement, 1, 385-401. Rueter, M. A., Keyes, M. A. Iacono, W. G., McGue, M. (2009). Family interactions in adoptive compared to nonadoptive families. Journal of Family Psychology, 23, 58- 66. Stones, M.J., Hadjistavopoulos, T., Tuuko, H. Kozma, A. (1995). Happiness has traitlike and statelike properties: a reply to Veenhoven. Social Indicators Research, 36, pp 129-144. Tellegen, A. (1982). Brief manual for the Multidimensional Personality Questionnaire. Unpublished manuscript, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis. Weiss, A., Bates, T. C., Luciano, M. (2008). Happiness is a personality thing: The genetics of personality and well-being in a representative sample. Psychological Science, 19, 205-210.

Media Influence on Eating Disorders Essay

Women are given the message at a very young age that in order for them to be happy and successful they have to be thin and beautiful. It is also not surprising that eating disorders are on the rise because of the value society places on being thin. Most women and girls feel like being thin is the ultimate achievement and quite possibly the most important aspect of themselves. Eating disorders used to just be a way for women and young girls to keep their weight off. However, the sad truth is this isn’t just a diet, but a silent killer. In recent years, girls with low self esteem are becoming increasingly younger. According to the National Association of Eating Disorders, 47% of girls in 5th-12th grade reported wanting to lose weight because of magazine pictures (12). When young girls compare themselves to images of women who appear â€Å"perfect† their self image lessens, and in turn creating a vulnerable platform for an eating disorder to take over. The medias unrealistic portrayals of women, societies obsession with being thin, and lastly the rise in weight loss advertising are problems discussed throughout this paper as reasons for the growing epidemic of eating disorders. Women constantly ask themselves â€Å"what is the perfect body type? †. As our adolescence ages into adulthood many women struggle with trying to answer this question. Societies idea of what the perfect body type is constantly changing. However, it is always influenced by the medias perception of what the perfect body image should look like. We all idolize these images we see on television and in magazines and some of us would do anything to look just like them. When they are constantly being compared to what they see in the media, its no wonder these young girls develop self esteem issues. One study showed that 69 percent of girls stated that magazine models influenced their idea of the perfect body shape (Does the media cause eating disorders? 3). I believe the media and how they portray women unrealistically is one of the reasons for the increase in eating disorders over the years. Instead of focusing on what college they are going to attend, these girls are worried about how many calories are in an apple. Between TV, magazines, and movies, girls are constantly comparing themselves to unrealistic images that are painted everywhere. It’s almost impossible to step outside without seeing these illusory images. By 17, the average woman has received over 250,000 commercial messages through the media (Mass-Marketing of Disordered Eating and Eating Disorders: The Social Psychology of Women, 212). These advertisements are damaging to both mental and physical states to the girls and women trying to live up to the medias perception of the perfect body type and are more likely to develop one of the many body image disorders (Media and Eating Disorders 1). Trying to live up to these expectations can be detrimental to the health and well-being of these girls, all to achieve the â€Å"perfect look† they see so often. Thin models and actresses in the eye of the media are often the ones these girls are looking up to, and strive to look like, which can also pose a problem as many times these women are unhealthily thin. It’s no secret that female celebrities appearances have shifted in recent years. Celebrities and models exude a sort of power over people, partly because they are so highly visible in our society. There is a meaning behind what celebrities and models look like; it is the message that these women are powerful, they are sexy, they are beautiful; they are wanted (Ahern et al. , 2008). The influence of the stereotypical vision of a woman is taking a toll. When a girl becomes obsessed with dieting and looking better, they can easily become anorexic or bulimic. 79% of teenage girls who suffer from eating disorders are readers of women’s magazines (â€Å"Media and Eating disorders† 2). This just shows how influential images in the magazines can be, and its upsetting that these are the images young girls and women chose to compare themselves to. I’m not quite sure when the idea of beauty went from the curvy size 14 figure of Marilyn Monroe to a sickly looking size 0 model. It’s understandable that the fashion industry wants models to wear their clothes efficiently, but what’s the harm in having women look like women to model their clothing? Fashion editors and models believe they are just responding to a supply and demand, or in other words, trying to market their product efficiently despite the underlying issues it presents. If these marketers don’t realize that what they chose to display is harmful, the issue at large will continue to rise. So what can we do to change this problem? Some media influences started to realize that the media was to blame for this self-hatred amongst girls and began to do something about it. DOVE, for example, released a campaign called â€Å"The Dove Campaign for Real Beauty† in which they began airing commercials displaying women who looked like real women, not sticks. Dove has realized the medias negative effect on adolescent girls and has taken matters into their own hands by publishing a new ad with healthier looking models. This ad is one step in the right direction to building back up young girls self esteem and making them comfortable with their bodies. They also launched a self-esteem movement where they travel and do workshops with young girls who have self esteem and image issues. DOVE also released a video titled â€Å"Real Beauty Sketches† in which a trained FBI sketch artist drew the women based on their own self- perception, then based on that of a stranger. The strangers depictions of the women were more attractive and actually similar to what they looked like, while their own perception was extremely harsh and a less beautified image. This short, but powerful video enlightened these women how critical they are towards themselves and how women usually do not realize how they appear in everyone else’s eyes, just how they view oneself. If prominent brands in the media created these kind of campaigns, there would be more girls inclined to look up to an realistic image, versus something that is not attainable. Women will never stop wanting to improve themselves, but by advertisers embracing all the different beautiful attributes women have they will refrain from practicing unhealthy methods and will work towards realistic goals that will make them happy. There have been many studies about the effects media has on women and how it could eventually lead to eating disorders. One study was done examined how the viewing of fashion magazines affected middle school and high-school-aged girls. In one particular survey, this study found among middle school-aged girls that viewing fashion magazines influenced them to consider a thin body type as the â€Å"ideal† body type. This seems to be the initial effect of viewing media that continuously and predominantly displays abnormally thin women. (Field, 2000). As for the high-school-aged girls, a connection was made between idealizing and desiring the body types that were seen repeatedly in the fashion magazines to the point of development of symptoms of eating disorders (Field, 2000). The influence of these images in relation to these girls made a large impact. When they are comparing themselves to these images, in their minds they have to take measures to alter their physical appearance, and in turn leading to symptoms of eating disorders. However, fashion icons and magazines are not the only culprit for the rise of eating disorders and body image issues. Weight loss promotion is everywhere we look, and seen every time we turn on the television. Between ads like â€Å"Jenny Craig† and â€Å"Atkins†, these campaigns are telling women everywhere â€Å"you can be happy too, if you follow this plan and become thin like me! †. Women are constantly confronted with the message that they need to lose weight, and since the weight industry is booming, they are buying into the hype. Health and well-being are often mixed up with weight-loss. However, there is a difference between being healthy and being unhealthily thin. There is nothing wrong with working out and keeping active to be healthy, but when exercising begins to replace meals and self image starts to deteriorate, that’s when it becomes a problem. Being thin is portrayed to equal being strong, healthy, and powerful. The exploitation of images that display women’s bodies benefits both weight-loss companies and companies selling beauty and fashion products. Yes, it is good for the business, but can be damaging to women. If women continue to convince themselves they need to look a certain way or be a certain size, the easier it will be for consumers to sell them into â€Å"looking better† (Hesse-Biber et al, 2006). As unfortunate as it is, these marketers are benefiting in the end from the presence of eating disorders in our society. Weight loss advertising goes hand-in-hand with fashion and beauty advertising. Both display unrealistic expectations and convincing them that to be happy, they must be thin. Saying that weight-loss advertisers should cease is a stretch, but what is possible to promote change is to begin to reiterate the idea of being healthy and active, versus taking diet pills and being on diets, because often enough diets turn into serious eating disorders. I can attest this to my personal life because I understand what they going through, myself having suffered with an eating disorder for 6 years. The first time I had the idea of not eating to lose weight was when I saw Mary-Kate Olsen on the cover of a magazine for her problem with anorexia. My 12 year old brain saw the cover and thought â€Å"if that’s how she lost weight, that’s how I will†. even though I was a slender 115 pounds, I still thought I was overweight. It started by not eating lunch sometimes, or telling my mom I was full at the dinner table. The weight fell off easily, and I liked all the compliments I was receiving, It made me feel important and special in the moment, but when I would look in the mirror I didn’t see what everyone did. I felt as though everyone was lying to me to make me feel better. Little white lies about my weight started turning into bigger lies and as my disorder got worse, so did I. There was a time I didn’t eat anything but an apple for 3 days straight. It begun to affect my grades, my social life, and worse of all my health. My family all knew something was wrong with me but I never listened to anyone or wanted help. My mom noticed me weight-loss and forced me to see a therapist and a doctor. I gained the weight back almost instantly and fast. Once again I was drowning in the same negative thoughts about myself as I had for so many years, but this time I looked how I felt, and it made it even worse. I felt huge and disgusting and became severely depressed. It took all that I had in me just to get out of bed and get dressed. So many times I just wanted to slip back into the cycle of not eating, but I knew everyone had a close eye on me. Then one day I was at a friends house with a bunch of girls and one of them starting talking about bingeing and purging. It sounded like the best idea ever to me; I was able to eat, but not consume the calories. I began the cycle of bingeing and purging every day. At first it felt like an adrenaline rush and the weight was falling off fast, and that invincible feeling started up once again. But this began to take a toll on my body even worse than not eating. My mom was suspicious and confronted me one day to let me know she was worried and she knew I had a problem, but of course I was in denial and insisted I was fine. The day I threw up blood and fainted I knew this was much more serious then I had thought. My body was finally shutting down on me after all these years. I told my mom everything that had happened and she brought me to the doctor and had many tests done. The doctor said my esophageal passage was damaged and if I didn’t stop purging soon there would be permanent damaged. He also said I had anemia and my bones and organs were weak. The dentist said my enamel was destroyed. This disorder had not only permanently damaged my body, but my soul felt broken. I felt like I had no life left in me and it took a long time and a few therapists to learn how to love myself and my body the way it is. I just hope one day I can tell my story to young girls so they know that they aren’t alone and they won’t have to grow up thinking they need to destroy their bodies to feel beautiful. Eating disorders are something that will continue be a problem in this country until the media along with society decides to make an impact. We find unrealistic images of extremely thin women plastered everywhere in television, magazines, television, weight-loss promotions, and are glamorized by celebrities. These media advertisements are all contributing factors to the self-hatred these girls feel. Women who see these images firsthand try to live up to the â€Å"perfect† image of what a woman is supposed to look like, when in fact this perfect image doesn’t exist. There is the underlying idea that to be happy, powerful, and satisfied in your life, being thin will get you there. The advertisers, even though are trying to keep their business successful, should make it so the images they chose to display are representations of women who look like women. If there were images of real women, with real curves, girls might be able to not only relate, but be inspired instead of bashing and hating themselves for not achieving their own idea of what their supposed to look like. Having too have suffered from an eating disorder I understand what these girls are going through and how serious this disease is. When the media finally realizes that displaying unrealistic images of women are doing more harm then good, the cycle of these women and young girls feeling like they have to starve themselves to be beautiful will hopefully come to an end. Having women who represent women will not only provide inspiration for girls, but also give them positive influences to look up to. Hopefully one day society will learn that there isn’t just one vision of beauty or weight, and the horrible cycle of eating disorders will cease to exist forever.

Challanges Young Adults Face Essay

The general purpose of this speech is to show the various problems affecting young adults today. They pose a major risk to the lives and well being of the individuals and their families. The specific purpose for the speech is to create an overall understanding of the circumstances that have left young adults vunerable to these problems and, the measures it will take to remedy the problem. In the society that we have grown up in, the youth are continuing to face numerous problems that ultimately hinder their development and there lives. These problems require immediate attention from all aspects of life and, we need to come up with a solution to help young adults with their personal and professional development. Introduction: A. Did you know about 16 million girls aged 15-19 give birth each year? B. In the United States 86% of 14 year old have tried alcohol and 5% have used drugs. C. There are 12 types of bullying in the Us that have been recognized. Body: A. Pregnancy is affecting young adults more each year. 1. The peer pressure and lack of sexual education has caused adolesent pregnancy to become more apparent. 2. The society we are shown is teaching young adults that it is ok to parent a child no matter what age you are. B. Alcohol and drug abuse is increasing at a high rate among young adults. 1. The demands and frustrations of this society cause many young adults to find themselves engaged in excessive alcohol consumption or drug abuse. 2. Drugs and alcohol have been made easily available to young adults, which has aggravated the drug and alcohol problem. C. Bullying has taken an unexpected rise in young adults recently. 1. Bullies can come in all shapes, ages, and sizes. 2. It has been proven that one out of four people have or will bully someone. Conclusion: Pregnancy, alcohol and drug abuse, and bullying are major challenges confronting young adults today. Speaking from experience and perceptions, I have found that numerous factors have contributed to these problems. They have shown to hinder their personal development and compromise their relationships with other members of society. we need to take action and address these rising issues.

The Yellow Wallpaper Literary Analysis - 1486 Words

The setting of these two stories emphasize, on visually showing us how the main characters are based around trying to find freedom despite the physical, mental and emotional effects of living in confinement. While on the other hand, dealing with Psychology’s ugly present day behavior showing dystopia of societies views of women during the time period they lived. Comparatively, the relationships between the two main characters in the stories portray women’s yearning for freedom with different types of confinement. Psychological and physical confinements are terms that we can see used through out both stories. While â€Å"Story of an hour† basis its character being emotionally confined, and her great awakening being the room in which she grasps†¦show more content†¦Upon hearing the news of her husband’s death, Mrs. Mallard â€Å"wept at once, with sudden, wild abandonment† (Chopin 65) Specifically, Chopin makes us believe Mrs. Mallard was never happy, even from the shock in the beginning to a new outlook; she never had the life she wanted. She sits calmly down: There stood, facing an open window, a comfortable, roomy armchair.(Chopin 65) Mrs. Mallard in turn shows us that the word â€Å"comfort† is used to imply a different reaction than we would expect normally from losing a loved one. Discovering w hen she looks out the window she views life in a different way. Mrs. Mallard starts studying the nature outside the window: The delicious breath of rain was in the air. In the street below a peddler was crying his wares. The notes of a distant song which some was singing reached her faintly, and countless sparrows were twittering in the eaves.(Chopin 66) Bringing attention to new life, and a fresh start I believe the author was emphasizing on. At the same time we see as she runs off to her room. â€Å"When she abandoned herself a little whispered word escaped her slightly parted lips. She said it over and over under her breath: free, free, free!†(Chopin 66). This feeling; the feeling of freedom is obviously something Mrs. Mallard hasn’t felt for a very long time I believe. Mrs. Mallard has felt restrained and controlled throughout her whole marriage, emotionally and physically by her husband as we see in theShow MoreRelatedLiterary Analysis : The Yellow Wallpaper992 W ords   |  4 PagesLiterary Analysis: The Yellow Wallpaper In the story The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman she writes of a woman severely oppressed in her marriage. The women in the story is an open mind individual. John; her husband is a psychologist and thinks that his wife has a mental disorder because of all the free thinking and puts her through the rest cure. Through analysis of the story, we can see that this story displays a creepy tone in order to depict a serious matter at a time when women’sRead MoreLiterary Analysis Of The Yellow Wallpaper1226 Words   |  5 PagesIn the story, The Yellow Wallpaper the author Charlotte Perkins Gilman brings to life the tale of a woman suffering from post partem depression. Her husband is a physician and makes the mistake of keeping her closed off from the world. (John) thinks that the right thing to do is to keep her alone in an unfamiliar room. In this room, there is a bed that is nailed down to the floor and a yellow wallpaper that at first, she despises. However, she eve ntually becomes obsessed with it and goes completelyRead MoreLiterary Analysis of The Yellow Wallpaper860 Words   |  4 Pages wrote The Yellow Wallpaper, showing her disagreement with the limitations that society placed on women during the nineteenth century. According to Edsitement, the story is based on an event in Gilman’s life. Gilman suffered from depression, and she went to see a physician name, Silas Weir Mitchell. He prescribed the rest cure, which then drove her into insanity. She then rebelled against his advice, and moved to California to continue writing. She then wrote â€Å"The Yellow Wallpaper,† which is inflatedRead MoreLiterary Analysis Of The Yellow Wallpaper1512 Words   |  7 PagesIn 1892, Charlotte Perkins Gilman published the story, â€Å"The Yellow Wallpaper†; a short story that addresses the sensitive topic of inequality between men and women during the nineteenth century. The courageous feminist discusses an issue that many were afr aid to talk about, the inhumane treatment of women diagnosed with hysteria. She was the voice for the helpless women who didn’t know how to speak up during this revolting oppression. Gilman created the striking novel by using powerful images toRead MoreLiterary Analysis Of The Yellow Wallpaper1111 Words   |  5 Pagesobstructing man he’s vanquished on the floor and she walks over him, as it were!† The woman in the story of â€Å"The Yellow Wallpaper† is seen as a wife to a successful man, a woman who is sickly but well taken care of. In her mind she is trapped and finds a means of escape through the wallpaper, she finds the full escape she craves but at the cost of her mind. The house and the wallpaper are a metaphor of her life. The woman in the story is seen as sickly by those around her, and maybe she reallyRead MoreLiterary Analysis Of The Yellow Wallpaper2144 Words   |  9 PagesWith these views in mind, it is common knowledge that in 1892 Charlotte Perkins Gilman published her well-known short story â€Å"The Yellow Wallpaper† to address a large problem from her time. This story was controversial and groundbreaking because most people at that time did not understand Postpartum Depression. Most doctors believed only in what they could see, and as a result, the majority thought that women were just nervous and had slight hysterical tendencies. Gilman experienced first hand theRead MoreLiterary Analysis The Yellow Wallpaper589 Words   |  3 PagesIn Charlotte Perkins Gilmans â€Å"The Yellow Wallpaper† we are introduced to a woman who enjoys writing. Gilman does not give the reader the name of the women who narrates the story through her stream of consciousness. She shares that she has a nervous depression condition. John, the narrator’s husband feels it is â€Å"a slight hysterical tendency† (266). She has been treated for some nervous habits that she feels are legitimately causing harm to her way of life. However she feels her husband, a physicianRead MoreLiterary Analysis Of The Yellow Wallpaper1174 Words   |  5 PagesThe Woman Rocks the Cradle Charlotte Perkins wrote the short story The Yellow Wallpaper. For this analysis paper, I am only going to mainly talk about three characters and they are as follows: the narrator (some call her Jane), John (a certified physician and the husband), and the narrator’s brother (also a physician). This story starts off with the narrator talking about the new transition she has made with her husband John into a new house. On the very first page, she begins to explain how sheRead MoreThe Yellow Wallpaper Literary Analysis803 Words   |  4 PagesThe Truth is Insanity The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins Stetson is a short story told from the viewpoint of a young woman who has been taken to a house in the countryside to improve her health. The concept of truth explored within the story is equivocal as the way in which the characters are presented is inhibitory when deciding what is true and what is not. To begin, the young woman’s mental and physical health is a great point of dispute between her and her husband, John, as he â€Å"assuresRead MoreLiterary Analysis Of The Yellow Wallpaper By Charlotte Perkins Gilman1138 Words   |  5 PagesFebruary 2016 Literary Analysis of Symbolism in The Yellow Wallpaper During the late 1800’s, life for women was much different than it is today. Home and family were expected to be their priorities rather than education or the pursuit of a career in the professional world. Married women were not allowed to own property, keep the wages they earned or sign contracts. No woman could vote either. In short, women in the 1800’s were essentially second class citizens. In The Yellow Wallpaper, Charlotte