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Page 4BAThe Battalion/Thursday, April 5, 1984 Study shows church important to young people United Press International MINNEAPOLIS — Young church people who value the and are active in it tend to en gage in less anti-social behavior than others, a new study shows. The $500,000 study by Search Institute of Minneapolis says such youth have more con cern for people and the world than those with a less positive posture toward the church. The .research project was i'outh- sponsored by 13 youth-serving organizations and includes 11 religious denominations, 8,165 young adolescents and 10,467 of their parents. Make This Weekend SOMETHING SPECIAL! Overall, the study indicates American families are stronger and healthier than often de picted and that the young ado lescent “has more redeeming qualities than many were willing to admit.” Predominantly church^re- lated families were involved in the research. The researchers said many fifth through ninth graders think about or experiment with areas many adults wish could wait until at least high school. They listed the following as trouble spots or areas deserving serious thought and reflection: —The nearly 20 percent of young adolescents who say they experiment with sexual inter course. —Sexual and physical abuse that a significant number of young adolescents express. —Involvement some young adolescents have with alcohol and marijuana. —Worry expressed by young adolescents about nuclear de struction. —Tension experienced by some families, including family violence and marital conflict. —’’The relatively common place occurrence of some forms of aggression among young adolescents.” —Social alienation experi enced by some youths, espe cially boys. Similarly, attitudes toward church become less favorable for boys and girls between those grades. But by the ninth grade, 40 percent of boys and 51 percent of girls still say the church is very important or extremely important to them. Most said they pray every day or most days. Eighty-six percent of the re spondents said they were sure or quite sure God exists, and 87 percent said they believe in the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Youth with a restrictive reli gious orientation that em phasizes God as judge and rule- giver instead of God’s love and forgiveness tended to be high on anti-social behavior and alco hol use, the study showed. This group also tended to have more racial and sexist prejudice. The study found alcohol us age quite common by the eighth and ninth grades. Twelve per cent of the fifth graders and 28 percent of the ninth graders re ported being drunk during the previous 12 months. Twelve percent of the fifth graders and 20 percent of the ninth graders said they had used marijuana once or more in the same period. The figures were slightly higher for plain cigarette smoking. Half the adolescents studied said they spent at least three hours daily watching television. Nearly one-fourth played video games three hours or more a week. Of the parents surveyed,86 percent said they found satis taction m parenting, tna More than one-third of the parents and children said thej wanted to talk more with each other about sexuality, drugs and alcohol, and morality. Search Institute, which made the study, is an independent non-profit organization with25 years of experience in youth-re lated research. It is headed by Dr. Merton P. Strornmen, i clergyman and educational psy chologist. The research was directed by a team headed by Dr. Peter Benson, a Search Institute re search director. It was largely funded by a grant from Lilly Endowment Inc. 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And since almost every large organization depends heavily on such equip- ment, you might qualify for similar civilian work in the future. If you’d rather work with computers than play with them, see your local Army Recruiter. He’ll help you devise a new game plan. Call 775-2199, OR COME BY, U.S. ARMY RECRUITING STATION 1679 BRIARCREST DRIVE BRYAN, TEXAS 77801 __ ARMY. BE ALLYOU CAN BI. The elderly are especially vulnerable to inadequate nutri tion, says Dr. Harold H. Sand- stead. “It’s a real tough problem” because of age-related diseases, denture problems, inability to grocery shop, limited income and alcoholism, Sandstead said in a telephone interview. “Many of these people need somebody else to thoughtfully help them, particularly it they’re alone,” the doctor said. “I think that the family ought to be involved in assisting in get ting people help.” Sandstead is director of the USDA’s recently established Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging at Tufts Uni versity, Boston. He said researchers there will try to determine whether nutri tion affects longevity and the occurrence of certain diseases and conditions associated with aging. For the elderly without fami lies, he said, life is is especially difficult. In such cases, he sug gests that neighbors and friends bring their situations to the at tention of people who can help. As a start, he said, the elderly need a balanced diet. “They need a broad variety of foods on a regular basis,” Sandstead said. “If they do that, they have a 1 high probability of meeting their,nutrient require ments for daily living.” Certain diseases associated with aging can cause potential problems with eating, such as gastro-intestinal tract function and food absorption. A physician and dietitian should design diets to meet in dividual needs. A dietitian also can provide counseling, recipes and “all sorts of practical ad vise,” he said. Those who have a mechani cal problem select softer foods. “If they have poorly fitting dentures or don’t nave dentures then they need to get dentures,” he said. “Old people have infirmities. They have difficulty getting around. Then their ability to shop is cut down and their choices are restricted. Underground Q TOWNflnENT QUALIFY FOR Championship Playoffs Men's G Women’s Divisions - April 28, 1984 i San Antonio, Texas El Tropicano Hotel Sign Up Now For Next Weekly Tournament The Basement of Sblsa Dining Room THURSDAY 7:00p.m. MARCH 29, APRIL 5,12,19 PLAY OFF APRIL 26 Wood Brook Condominiums Brazosland Realty Services, Inc. 4103 Texas Avenue Bryan, Texas 77802 409/846-5736 Yes, please send more Information to: □My Parents □Myself Name Address cm- State Z!iL Phone I Move over to the heart of the off-campus community. 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'‘Many of these peo ple need somebody else to thoughtfully help them, partic ularly if they’re alone,” the doctor said. “There are groups that will help deliver their meals to them.” Sandstead suggests friends and family do their shopping. “In some communities there are nurses who will look in on these people,” he said. Sometimes food selection is limited by income. After paying fixed living costs such as rent, heating and clothing, the el derly may have little or nothing left to spend for groceries, he said. Poor nutrition may increase susceptibility to infectious dis eases, delay recovery lime in a hospital and impair the persons ability to cope with minor ill nesses, he said. He said social isolation can be reduced with the help of com munity resources — suchasse- nior centers and churches or synagogues — where the el derly can meet to eat and social ize. “All of these have beneficial effects on their nuirilionf Sandstead said. “One of die problems if people are isolated or living alone is to gel themoui with their contemporaries Family members looking in oe them can also make a big differ ence in their nutrition.” Another problem arisei when a spouse dies. “The other member of tbf, family may become severely de pressed. And with tlepressbi they lose their appetite, ihey don’t eat well and thentheybe come malnourished. “It’s important that family and friends look in on the per son. It may be necessary for the (survivor) to live for a tempo rary time with the family uni they can recover and get bad on an even keel.” Sandstead said alcoholism is surprisingly common among the elderly. "It’s kind of ignored butt shouldn’t be.” , ... Heavy drinkers don’t eii properly, he said. “It’s important that people address the issue honestly- don’t brush it under the rug." Auto deaths drop; incidents rising United Press International NEW YORK — Auto acci dent fatalities dropped sharply in 1983 but the number of acci dents appears to be rising, says economist Sean Mooney. The vice president of the In surance Information Institute bases his statement on a study he made in 12 states. Mooney found accidents up 5.6 percent from July through December, compared with a 2.2 percent drop during the previous six months. In September alone, he said, accidents rose 10.2 percent, compared with September 1982. Mooney said some of the de cline in fatalities resulted froa efforts throughout the country to get drunk drivers off tbe roads. He said grass roo« groups such as Mothers AgaiiU Drunk Drivers and Stuck® Against Driving Drunk ha’ helped, as have many insuran companies and associations. 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