Teenagers talking back? It could help them avoid peer pressure

Teenagers talking back may frustrate parents, but a new study says that teaching young teens to argue effectively (controlling emotions and using reason) will help them stand up to negative peer pressure.

By Samantha Koon,?Associated Press / June 18, 2012

Teenagers who argue with their parents, if taught to do so effectively, may be learning how to avoid peer pressure. A recent study shows that teens learn how to be "taken seriously" through interactions with their parents. Here, student union leaders Leo Bureau Blouin, left, and Martine Desjardins, respond to the negotiations over tuition hikes on April 26, 2012 in Quebec City, Canada.

Jacques Boissinot/The Canadian Press/AP

Enlarge

Though parents have been teaching their children not to argue with adults for generations, new research from the University of Virginia shows that young teenagers who are taught to argue effectively are more likely to resist peer pressure to use drugs or alcohol later in adolescence.

Skip to next paragraph

' + google_ads[0].line2 + '
' + google_ads[0].line3 + '

'; } else if (google_ads.length > 1) { ad_unit += ''; } } document.getElementById("ad_unit").innerHTML += ad_unit; google_adnum += google_ads.length; return; } var google_adnum = 0; google_ad_client = "pub-6743622525202572"; google_ad_output = 'js'; google_max_num_ads = '1'; google_feedback = "on"; google_ad_type = "text"; google_adtest = "off"; google_image_size = '230x105'; google_skip = '0'; // -->

"It turns out that what goes on in the family is actually a training ground for teens in terms of how to negotiate with other people," said Joseph Allen, a UVa psychology professor and the lead author of the study, results of which were published in a recent edition of the journal Child Development.

Allen said that parents are often "scared to death about peer pressure," but also frustrated by argumentative children.

"What we're finding is there's a surprising connection between the two," he said. Allen noted that teens "learn they can be taken seriously" through interactions with their parents.

"Sometimes, it can be counterintuitive to tell parents to let their teens argue with them," said Joanna Chango, a clinical psychology graduate student at UVa who worked on the study. In fact, learning effective argumentation skills can help teenagers learn to "assert themselves and establish a sense of autonomy," she said.

The study, part of a larger longitudinal study, observed 150 13-year-olds engaging in arguments, and then polled the same participants three years later about their experiences with drugs and alcohol.

At 13, the teenagers were tape-recorded summarizing disagreements between themselves and their mothers. The recordings were then replayed for the mothers to hear.

"Usually, it's sort of an ongoing disagreement they have that they haven't been able to resolve," Chango said, adding that topics ranged from household rules to grades to monthly allowances.

Once the discussion was reopened, Chango said researchers filmed the teens and their mothers for eight minutes. Teenagers who displayed "confidence" and used reason to back up their statements were more likely to have refused drugs or alcohol when polled by researchers three years later, Chango said.

"Basically, our main finding is that the more that these teens are able to openly express their own viewpoints and be assertive ... they are more likely to resist peer influence to use drugs and alcohol a few years later," Chango said.

Chango recommended parents teach their children how to effectively convey their thoughts and emotions during conflicts, which in turn teaches children to stand up to negative influences outside of the home.

"We sort of see this as a transition of skills," Chango explained. "Even if their viewpoints don't line up . the teen is going to be able to take those skills into other environments," Chango added.

She also noted that it is important for parents to listen to their children's concerns during a conflict.

Parents of teenagers should teach by example and model good discussion practices for their children, Allen said.

He added that parents should be firm and prove to teenagers that providing "good reasons presented in a moderate way" is more effective than whining or hostile behavior such as slamming doors.

"If they're able to learn how to be confident and persuasive with their parents, then they'll be able to hopefully do the same with their peers," Chango said.

martina mcbride terry jones andy reid elf on the shelf elf on the shelf 2012 grammy nominations stephen sondheim

5 Free Online Advertising Channels | Small Business Ideas

5 Free Online Advertising Channels  ImageWhat a wonderful invention it is, this thing we call the Internet!

If you would just take your time to know your way around, you could discover a lot of premium products and services being offered for free.? What?s best is that there is a seemingly endless number of these wonderful finds, what with the Internet being a vast network of constantly evolving ideas and all!

Among these magnificent benefits is the chance to be able to promote your business, any business, online, free of charge!? It doesn?t matter if your enterprise is a purely online or offline venture, the World Wide Web is home to a great number of marketing opportunities that you could avail of, with no damage to your business? budget whatsoever.

Advertising can be a big problem otherwise.? A lot of companies reserve a big chunk of their budgets to cover marketing expenditures.? Sometimes, these gambles pay off, but there are occasions when they fail miserably, putting to waste some good money that could have been used in other areas of development for the business involved.

But with the many channels available online, marketing has become a less risky course of action.? There so many avenues available online where you could advertise your business for free and attain more exposure for your products or services.? Here are some of them.

1. You could advertise through your own website.? Ordinarily, you should pay a nominal fee for web hosting and your domain name.? A paid web hosting service is more reliable.? Your own domain name would impress upon your visitors an immediate sense of professionalism.? But if you don?t want to spend for them, there are a lot of free web space providers on the Internet!

2. You could advertise through other people?s websites.? And you could do this in a lot of ways too!? You could create a banner that would summarize your business? offers and have it displayed on existing pages.? Or if you have your won website for your business, you could use the said banner to link to your pages, or you could even settle for simple links.? Additionally, you could have other webmasters rave about your venture and they could talk about it in their own websites.

3. You could create your own affiliate program.? By giving commissions as incentive, you could invite a lot of Internet users to become your affiliates.? Each affiliate would work to help you make a sale.? It?s like having a battalion of sales representatives that you?d only have to pay if they manage to refer a willing customer!

4. You could try viral marketing.? Viral marketing is the online equivalent of word o mouth advertising.? By giving away something for free, for as long as that something has a link or a simple reference to your business, you?re encouraging the recipient to spread the word about your business to the people he knows.? This would result in the exponential expansion of your business message like wildfire.

5. You could advertise in online communities.? Forums and mailing lists are popular venues that could likewise convey your business message.? Membership to these groups is usually free.? Additionally, you could also create your own mailing list and start capturing leads for future sales by doing some helpful follow-ups.

The Internet is a great place for promoting your business.? There are five million people online at any given time and the world is, quite literally, your market.? It would be best for your business to capitalize on this wonderful opportunity and expand your audience a thousand fold bigger!

jermaine jones hbo luck dwight howard unc asheville stephen jackson nba trade deadline cbs

China puts its first woman astronaut into orbit

JIUQUAN, China | Sun Jun 17, 2012 7:22am EDT

JIUQUAN, China

(Reuters) - China put its first woman into orbit on Saturday, one of three astronauts to attempt a critical space docking in the latest challenge for the country's ambitious space programme.

A Long March rocket blasted off in the early evening from the remote Jiuquan Satellite Launch Centre in the northwestern Gobi Desert, carrying with it the Shenzhou 9 spacecraft and the three astronauts, including 33-year-old female fighter pilot Liu Yang.

This is China's fourth manned space mission since 2003 when astronaut Yang Liwei became the country's first person in orbit, and comes as the United States has curtailed manned launches over budget concerns and changing priorities.

The launch was carried live on state television, and until moments before blast-off, a camera showed the three astronauts in the cabin occasionally waving. A red placard with the Chinese symbol for good fortune hung behind them.

Within days, the astronauts will try to dock with the orbiting Tiangong (Heavenly Palace) 1 module launched last September, part of a 13-day mission crucial to China's ambition to put a space station in orbit around 2020.

"I believe that we can achieve this goal, because we already have the basic technological capability," Zhou Jianping, the chief designer of China's manned space engineering project, told reporters before the launch.

A successful manned docking mission for China would be the latest show of the country's growing capabilities in space, to match its expanding military and diplomatic clout.

Still, Beijing is playing catch up with the United States and Russia, which, along with other countries, jointly operate the International Space Station some 240 miles above Earth.

Rendezvous and docking techniques such as those which China is only testing now were mastered by the United States and the former Soviet Union decades ago, and the 10.5 meter-long Tiangong 1 is a trial module, not a full-fledged space station.

Linking with the unmanned module will be an important hurdle in China's efforts to acquire the technological and logistical skills needed to run a full space lab that can house astronauts for long stretches.

Fears of a space arms race with the United States and other powers mounted after China blew up one of its own weather satellites with a ground-based missile in January 2007, though China has insisted its programme is peaceful.

"China's manned space programme has never been for military purposes. It is mainly to research how mankind can go into space, use space peacefully," He Yu, the general commander of China's manned spacecraft project, said before the launch.

The United States will not test a new rocket to take people into space until 2017, and Russia has said manned missions are no longer a priority.

But NASA has begun investing in U.S. firms to provide commercial spaceflight services and is spending about $3 billion a year on a new rocket and capsule to send astronauts to the moon, asteroids and eventually to Mars.

Chinese scientists have talked of the possibility of sending a man to the moon after 2020, the final step in a three-stage moon plan, which includes the deployment of a moon rover in 2013 and the retrieval of lunar soil and stone samples around 2017.

China's space programme has come a long way since late leader Mao Zedong, founder of Communist China in 1949, lamented that the country could not even launch a potato into space.

(Writing by Michael Martina in Beijing; Editing by Nick Macfie)

obama state of the union 2012 2012 state of the union address jorge posada maurice sendak state of the union sotu boehner

British pubs bank on Games to reverse fortunes

[ [ [['Connery is an experienced stuntman', 2]], 'http://yhoo.it/KeQd0p', '[Slideshow: See photos taken on the way down]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['Connery is an experienced stuntman', 7]], ' http://yhoo.it/KpUoHO', '[Slideshow: Death-defying daredevils]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['know that we have confidence in', 3]], 'http://yhoo.it/LqYjAX ', '[Related: The Secret Service guide to Cartagena]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['We picked up this other dog and', 5]], 'http://yhoo.it/JUSxvi', '[Related: 8 common dog fears, how to calm them]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['accused of running a fake hepatitis B', 5]], 'http://bit.ly/JnoJYN', '[Related: Did WH share raid details with filmmakers?]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['accused of running a fake hepatitis B', 3]], 'http://bit.ly/KoKiqJ', '[Factbox: AQAP, al-Qaeda in Yemen]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['have my contacts on or glasses', 3]], 'http://abcn.ws/KTE5AZ', '[Related: Should the murder charge be dropped?]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['have made this nation great as Sarah Palin', 5]], 'http://yhoo.it/JD7nlD', '[Related: Bristol Palin reality show debuts June 19]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['have made this nation great as Sarah Palin', 1]], 'http://bit.ly/JRPFRO', '[Related: McCain adviser who vetted Palin weighs in on VP race]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['A JetBlue flight from New York to Las Vegas', 3]], 'http://yhoo.it/GV9zpj', '[Related: View photos of the JetBlue plane in Amarillo]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['the 28-year-old neighborhood watchman who shot and killed', 15]], 'http://news.yahoo.com/photos/white-house-stays-out-of-teen-s-killing-slideshow/', 'Click image to see more photos', 'http://l.yimg.com/cv/ip/ap/default/120411/martinzimmermen.jpg', '630', ' ', 'AP', ], [ [['Titanic', 7]], 'http://news.yahoo.com/titanic-anniversary/', ' ', 'http://l.yimg.com/a/p/us/news/editorial/b/4e/b4e5ad9f00b5dfeeec2226d53e173569.jpeg', '550', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['He was in shock and still strapped to his seat', 6]], 'http://news.yahoo.com/photos/navy-jet-crashes-in-virginia-slideshow/', 'Click image to see more photos', 'http://l.yimg.com/cv/ip/ap/default/120406/jet_ap.jpg', '630', ' ', 'AP', ], [ [['xxxxxxxxxxxx', 11]], 'http://news.yahoo.com/photos/russian-grannies-win-bid-to-sing-at-eurovision-1331223625-slideshow/', 'Click image to see more photos', 'http://l.yimg.com/a/p/us/news/editorial/1/56/156d92f2760dcd3e75bcd649a8b85fcf.jpeg', '500', ' ', 'AP', ] ]

[ [ [['did not go as far his colleague', 8]], '29438204', '0' ], [ [[' the 28-year-old neighborhood watchman who shot and killed', 4]], '28924649', '0' ], [ [['because I know God protects me', 14], ['Brian Snow was at a nearby credit union', 5]], '28811216', '0' ], [ [['The state news agency RIA-Novosti quoted Rosaviatsiya', 6]], '28805461', '0' ], [ [['measure all but certain to fail in the face of bipartisan', 4]], '28771014', '0' ], [ [['matter what you do in this case', 5]], '28759848', '0' ], [ [['presume laws are constitutional', 7]], '28747556', '0' ], [ [['has destroyed 15 to 25 houses', 7]], '28744868', '0' ], [ [['short answer is yes', 7]], '28746030', '0' ], [ [['opportunity to tell the real story', 7]], '28731764', '0' ], [ [['entirely respectable way to put off the searing constitutional controversy', 7]], '28723797', '0' ], [ [['point of my campaign is that big ideas matter', 9]], '28712293', '0' ], [ [['As the standoff dragged into a second day', 7]], '28687424', '0' ], [ [['French police stepped up the search', 17]], '28667224', '0' ], [ [['Seeking to elevate his candidacy back to a general', 8]], '28660934', '0' ], [ [['The tragic story of Trayvon Martin', 4]], '28647343', '0' ], [ [['Karzai will get a chance soon to express', 8]], '28630306', '0' ], [ [['powerful storms stretching', 8]], '28493546', '0' ], [ [['basic norm that death is private', 6]], '28413590', '0' ], [ [['songwriter also saw a surge in sales for her debut album', 6]], '28413590', '1', 'Watch music videos from Whitney Houston ', 'on Yahoo! Music', 'http://music.yahoo.com' ], [ [['keyword', 99999999999999999999999]], 'videoID', '1', 'overwrite-pre-description', 'overwrite-link-string', 'overwrite-link-url' ] ]

red tails heidi klum heidi klum red tails trailer joe pa dead laura dekker stephen colbert south carolina

Woman drives car into street party, up to 30 hurt

?

By msnbc.com staff and news services

Around 30 people were hurt, some seriously, when a woman drove her car into a street party in Lima, Ohio, Friday night.

?It was unreal. There were bodies, and shoes and jewelry,? The Lima News reported Amee Truesdale as saying. ?They took many, many people to the hospital, and two or three of them looked seriously hurt ... I saw men pick up that car and move out a gentleman that was pinned underneath.?


The driver, who reportedly had a dog with her, was parked near the town's main square when she accelerated rapidly, a police spokesman told NBC News.

The driver's name will be released pending the investigation, the spokesman added.

"This is definitely an accident," Sgt. Jack Jarlock was quoted by Reuters as saying. "There may have been some confusion on her part. She may have gotten in a panic of some sort."

Craig J. Orosz / The Lima News via AP

The car that hit some 30 people sits next to the sculpture it crashed into Friday in Lima, Ohio.

The car plowed through tables and finally stopped when it hit a large sculpture, The Lima News reported.

The crowd was attending an event with music put on by ArtSpace Lima.

No fatalities were reported, but rescue workers said there were numerous head, neck and leg injuries, The Lima News reported.

St. Rita's Medical Center received some 30 people Friday night, a spokeswoman told NBC News. Four of them were admitted and, of those, two are in critical but stable condition. ?The two others are stable.

More content from msnbc.com and NBC News:

Follow US News on msnbc.com on Twitter and Facebook

?

?

doonesbury padma lakshmi daughtry lakers trade ann arbor news ides of march elizabeth smart

Tiger, others chasing Thompson on Day 2 of US Open

[ [ [['Connery is an experienced stuntman', 2]], 'http://yhoo.it/KeQd0p', '[Slideshow: See photos taken on the way down]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['Connery is an experienced stuntman', 7]], ' http://yhoo.it/KpUoHO', '[Slideshow: Death-defying daredevils]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['know that we have confidence in', 3]], 'http://yhoo.it/LqYjAX ', '[Related: The Secret Service guide to Cartagena]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['We picked up this other dog and', 5]], 'http://yhoo.it/JUSxvi', '[Related: 8 common dog fears, how to calm them]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['accused of running a fake hepatitis B', 5]], 'http://bit.ly/JnoJYN', '[Related: Did WH share raid details with filmmakers?]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['accused of running a fake hepatitis B', 3]], 'http://bit.ly/KoKiqJ', '[Factbox: AQAP, al-Qaeda in Yemen]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['have my contacts on or glasses', 3]], 'http://abcn.ws/KTE5AZ', '[Related: Should the murder charge be dropped?]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['have made this nation great as Sarah Palin', 5]], 'http://yhoo.it/JD7nlD', '[Related: Bristol Palin reality show debuts June 19]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['have made this nation great as Sarah Palin', 1]], 'http://bit.ly/JRPFRO', '[Related: McCain adviser who vetted Palin weighs in on VP race]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['A JetBlue flight from New York to Las Vegas', 3]], 'http://yhoo.it/GV9zpj', '[Related: View photos of the JetBlue plane in Amarillo]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['the 28-year-old neighborhood watchman who shot and killed', 15]], 'http://news.yahoo.com/photos/white-house-stays-out-of-teen-s-killing-slideshow/', 'Click image to see more photos', 'http://l.yimg.com/cv/ip/ap/default/120411/martinzimmermen.jpg', '630', ' ', 'AP', ], [ [['Titanic', 7]], 'http://news.yahoo.com/titanic-anniversary/', ' ', 'http://l.yimg.com/a/p/us/news/editorial/b/4e/b4e5ad9f00b5dfeeec2226d53e173569.jpeg', '550', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['He was in shock and still strapped to his seat', 6]], 'http://news.yahoo.com/photos/navy-jet-crashes-in-virginia-slideshow/', 'Click image to see more photos', 'http://l.yimg.com/cv/ip/ap/default/120406/jet_ap.jpg', '630', ' ', 'AP', ], [ [['xxxxxxxxxxxx', 11]], 'http://news.yahoo.com/photos/russian-grannies-win-bid-to-sing-at-eurovision-1331223625-slideshow/', 'Click image to see more photos', 'http://l.yimg.com/a/p/us/news/editorial/1/56/156d92f2760dcd3e75bcd649a8b85fcf.jpeg', '500', ' ', 'AP', ] ]

[ [ [['did not go as far his colleague', 8]], '29438204', '0' ], [ [[' the 28-year-old neighborhood watchman who shot and killed', 4]], '28924649', '0' ], [ [['because I know God protects me', 14], ['Brian Snow was at a nearby credit union', 5]], '28811216', '0' ], [ [['The state news agency RIA-Novosti quoted Rosaviatsiya', 6]], '28805461', '0' ], [ [['measure all but certain to fail in the face of bipartisan', 4]], '28771014', '0' ], [ [['matter what you do in this case', 5]], '28759848', '0' ], [ [['presume laws are constitutional', 7]], '28747556', '0' ], [ [['has destroyed 15 to 25 houses', 7]], '28744868', '0' ], [ [['short answer is yes', 7]], '28746030', '0' ], [ [['opportunity to tell the real story', 7]], '28731764', '0' ], [ [['entirely respectable way to put off the searing constitutional controversy', 7]], '28723797', '0' ], [ [['point of my campaign is that big ideas matter', 9]], '28712293', '0' ], [ [['As the standoff dragged into a second day', 7]], '28687424', '0' ], [ [['French police stepped up the search', 17]], '28667224', '0' ], [ [['Seeking to elevate his candidacy back to a general', 8]], '28660934', '0' ], [ [['The tragic story of Trayvon Martin', 4]], '28647343', '0' ], [ [['Karzai will get a chance soon to express', 8]], '28630306', '0' ], [ [['powerful storms stretching', 8]], '28493546', '0' ], [ [['basic norm that death is private', 6]], '28413590', '0' ], [ [['songwriter also saw a surge in sales for her debut album', 6]], '28413590', '1', 'Watch music videos from Whitney Houston ', 'on Yahoo! Music', 'http://music.yahoo.com' ], [ [['keyword', 99999999999999999999999]], 'videoID', '1', 'overwrite-pre-description', 'overwrite-link-string', 'overwrite-link-url' ] ]

gary carter this means war bobby brown suzanne somers colbert colbert report legionnaires disease

'Splinter Cell' Movie May Be In The Works

Sam Fisher may be the next video game character headed to the big screen. Deadline is reporting that two studios have been in talks with Ubisoft about adapting "Splinter Cell," their popular secret agent series. According to the report, Ubisoft has spoken with Warner Bros, but now it seems more likely that Paramount will take [...]

jessica sutta sexiest man alive 2011 ruben studdard ruben studdard black friday sales 2011 black friday sales 2011 whitney duncan

'Dallas' Reboot: Five Burning Questions

Wednesday night's series premiere left us wondering everything but who shot J.R.
By Kara Warner


Jesse Metcalfe and Josh Henderson in "Dallas"
Photo:

How about that highly entertaining return to "Dallas" Wednesday night (June 13)? TNT's reboot of the iconic '80s hit struck a chord with viewers, 6,863,000 of them to be exact, which made it the #1 scripted series premiere on all of cable so far this year.

Now that we've seen the first extended episode and been properly introduced to the new young castmembers, it's time to throw out a few burning questions we hope to have answered over the course of season one.

Whose Side Is Marta On?
Despite the aggressive scheming set up by the male characters on the show, the biggest surprise in the series premiere was in the reveal of the bait-and-switchery by Marta Del Sol (played by Leonor Varela). She's "working" for both sides of the Ewing family, or is she? J.R. told his son that he's known her for years and that she'll be the key to taking Soutfork from brother Bobby, and then we see John Ross and Marta having their own not-at-all-inconspicuous meeting on the 50-yard line of Dallas stadium. So who is Marta really working for? Bobby, J.R. or John Ross?

How Soon Will Christopher and Elena Rekindle Their Romance?
Clearly the love still burns between Christopher and Elena. We didn't even need that heated scene re-hashing the abrupt end to their too-recent engagement to know that their flame has yet to be extinguished. So what now? If John Ross is responsible for sending the email that ended their relationship, there are trying times ahead, no matter the fact that Christopher just married his second love, Rebecca. We're predicting to see a kiss between Christopher and Elena by episode three or four.

Who's Responsible for the Burglaries?
Over the course of this first extended episode there were two burglaries, one at Christopher's office and another at Bobby's home. Was it John Ross? J.R.? It's certainly easy to blame John Ross, since he is so obviously adept at manipulation and acquiring confidential information. And J.R. has no qualms about robbing his brother, but why make such a big show of it? And if it wasn't the J.R.'s, who did it and how will they use whatever was taken against their targets?

How Serious Are J.R. and Bobby's Illnesses?
Come on now, we just got the original Ewing boys back on the air and they both have life-threatening illnesses to deal with? Sure, it's realistic that Bobby and J.R. are dealing with cancer or perhaps other age-related ailments, but we cannot have their lives hanging in the balance of this first season, at least not due to medical reasons. We'll take a good ol' bounty on their heads or something appropriately more dramatic. In the meantime, how long will J.R. and Bobby be dealing with these problems?

Is John Ross Inherently Good or Evil?
All signs currently point toward evil, given the fact that John Ross is likely the reason for the end of Christopher and Elena's engagement, along with the burglary at Christopher's office. Not only that, but he wants to wrestle Southfork away from his own flesh and blood and defy the wishes of his beloved grandmother. According to actor Josh Henderson, who plays John Ross, the troublesome young lad is going to be walking a fine line all season.

"It's funny people keep asking, 'Who's good and who's bad?' " Henderson laughed. "We'll have to see. I follow in my father's footsteps basically, a little bit. Now how that describes my character we'll see, but it's definitely a lot of fun."

What burning questions do you have after the "Dallas" premiere? Leave your comment below!

hangout todd haley kareem abdul jabbar karl rove miramonte elementary school mark jenkins super bowl commercials 2012