T he P ortland O bserver • A prii 10 1996
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Jeenage Pressure Surveyed
Girls growing up in the 9 0 ’s may
have more opportunities than any
previous generation, but they also
tace more pressure on every front
from school to sex. According to a
survey of 1,000 American teenagers
by Seventeen Magazine and the Ms.
Foundation for Women, girls, even
when they get better grades than boys,
feel less self-confident, worry more
about school, feel depressed more
often, and are more likely to be pres­
sured to have sex before they are
ready, and which they later regret.
“This is a generation o f girls who,
on the surface are very sophisticated,
socially and sexually, but in reality
they’re not prepared to handle the
situations they find themselves in
and make good decisions for them­
selves,” said Caroline Miller, Edi-
tor-in-Chief, Seventeen Magazine.
How They See Themselves
More than fifty percent o f the fe­
male respondents also say they have
trouble handling criticism (53%), are
so worried about how others feel that
they ignore their own feelings(52%),
and have a hard time saying w hat's
really on their minds (50%). Nearly
halfofthem - 48% - wish they could
stand up for themselves more often.
Boys fare better than girls across
the board ranking higher than girls on
all measures o f self-esteem. Forty-five
percent (45%) have a hard time han­
dling criticism, 39% ignore their own
feelings because they’re preoccupied
with how others feel, 46% find it diffi­
cult to say what they really feel, and
36% would like to stand up for them­
selves more than they do.
How They Judge Themselves
And Are Judged By Others
One source o f their insecurity is
the fact that teenagers feel other peo­
ple judge them on superficial traits,
while teenagers themselves judge
their worth by more meaningful mea­
sures. For girls, nearly half -- 45% -
- believe being a good friend is their
most important trait, yet only about
one-quarter - 26% - think other
people judge them most on this qual­
ity. At the other end o f the scale for
these teenagers is their appearance.
Merely 5% o f girls surveyed say they
measure their own worth by how
they look. But six times that amount
-- 30% -- think others judge them
most on how they look.
Boys and girls judge themselves
equally on intelligence, w ithjust 14%
saying it’s their most important trait.
Only one-tenth o f boys - 10% -- say
others judge them on how smart they
are. Girls think others care even less
about their IQ. Only 5% say that
intelligence is the trait that others
judge them on most.
“Girls know w hat’s most valuable
about themselves -- and they’re wait­
ing for the world to catch up,” said
Wilson. “Being judged on their ap­
pearance — rather than on their abil­
ities -- has a devastating, silencing
effect on girls. Because they feel
others doubt them, girls distrust their
own opinions and are reluctant to
stand up for themselves.”
What Makes Them Depressed?
Girls report feeling depressed
more often than boys do. Sixty-seven
percent (67% ) o f female respondents
report feeling depressed a few times
a month or more, compared to only
51% o f boys. Almost three girls in
ten — 28% — admit to getting the
blues daily or a few times a week.
Twenty percent o f boys say they are
frequently depressed.
Why Do Most Girls Have Sex?
When girls were asked “ Why do
most girls have sex?” almost three-
quarters -- 73% -- replied “because
boyfriends want them to.” And more
than half (53% ) o f those responsible
for exerting sexual pressure -- the
boys — agree!
When asked if women have to
work harder to achieve the same lev­
el o f success as men, the majority o f
respondents think they do. Sixty-sev­
en (67%) o f girls and 6 1 % o f boys
say women have to put in more effort
to reap the same rewards as men do.
Despite the odds, girls remain
optimistic about their future jo b pros­
pects. They are ready to work harder,
with two-thirds (65% ) expecting to
earn half or more o f their family
income when they are married.
P age A5
"Immunize '96 Campaign"
Free Vaccinations Throughout Oregon At Over 115 Locations
Only 67 percent o f Oregon’s chil­
dren are adequately immunized by
age two. To help increase immuniza­
tion rates, a partnership o f health
professionals, health car systems,
business owners, local and national
organizations and government agen­
cies are launching a month-long im­
munization educational campaign as
well as holding Free immunization
clinics throughout Oregon during
April 21-27.
The Oregon Preschool Immuni­
zation Consortium (OPIC), a state­
wide public and private partnership,
has helped generate immunization
awareness for four years Its efforts
have helped increase the number o f
infants who receive vaccines each
year O PIC’sgoal is to raise immuni­
zation levels in Oregon to 90 percent
o f two-year-olds having been ade­
quately immunized by the year 2000
"Immunizations protect our chil­
dren against ten preventable diseas­
es,” said Megan Osborn, chairper­
son for the Immunize 96 Campaign.
“So many parents put their children
at risk by not having them adequately
immunized on schedule. We need to
reach parents and let them know that
during this campaign there are free
vaccines available in all counties in
Oregon.”
For "Immunize 96 Campaign,"
over 115 health departments and
public clinics will offer Free immu­
nizations during National Infant Im­
munization Week, April 2 1 - 27 in all
counties throughout Oregon. Indi
vidual county health departments will
determine dates and locations o f their
clinics during that week.
As well as education the public
through television and public service
campaigns, this year OPIC will re­
ceive help from M cDonald's restau­
rants. Over 150 M cDonald's restau­
rants throughout the area will carry
local information about immuniza­
tion sites and provide educational
materials that include trayliners, leaf­
lets and immunization records cards.
“ M cDonald’s has a commitment
to chiIdren and famiIies, and they can
reach so many people in our area,”
said Nancy Church, chairperson for
OPIC. "W e turned to them for assis­
tance because we know that they can
help get this important immunization
message to thousands o f parents.”
In addition, members o f the Rota­
ry International, Ki wan is Internation­
al, Oregon Nurses Association, O re­
gon National Guard and American
Legion Auxiliary local chapters will
assist w ith the campaign and clinics
throughout Oregon comm unities.
Schools, day care facilities and other
local organizations will receive im­
munization information and a list o f
local clinic sites.
Family physicians and pediatri­
cians are also making a special effort
to make sure their patients are fully
immunized.
In 1994, OPIC launched its first
statewide free immunization drive,
where nearly 7,000 individuals were
immunized during the event. Last
year, the one-day April 22 campaign
immunized more than 4,100 people
throughout the state.
For more information on immuni­
zations, contact your health care pro­
vider, local county health depart­
ment or the statewide SafeNet line at
1-800-SAFENET.
Officials Propose Oregon Health Plan Changes
Advocates worry that changes rec­
ommended in the Oregon Health Plan
will make it harder for as many as
5000 poor people to qualify for cov­
erage. State officials are recommend­
ing changes to the innovative plan to
offset cost overruns and shortfalls.
Health policy experts around the
world look to the health plan as a
model for making decisions about
how to distribute medical care for the
poor. It was established two years
ago to insure low-income people
basic health care. The plan services
116,000 Oregonians who otherwise
would not have medical coverage.
Under the current system a poor
person seeking help at a hospital is
given an application, coverage be­
gins from the time it was signed.
I'he new proposal recommends
changing the time for the date signed
to the date approved. Reducing al­
lowed assets from $5000 to $2000,
increasing enrolment in managed
care, lowering managed care rates
and reducing doctor’s fees are also
recommended.
Dr. Paul Kirk chairman o f the
Oregon Heath Services commission
said he thinks the "principles o f the
plan have been betrayed.”
Kirk was instrumental in forming
a list o f medical conditions and treat­
ments ranked according to impor­
tance and effectiveness.
The list, which Kirk calls the heart
o f the plan, is used to determine
which service would be eliminated in
tough economic times.
If the state runs short o f money,
the number o f medical services are to
be reduced according to their rank on
the priority list. Everyone would still
have basic care.
S tate o ffic ia l c o n sid e re d d ro p ­
ping se rv ic e s for the list. But
H ersh C ro w fo rd , O regon m e d i­
c a l d ir e c to r sa id th e fe d e ra l
H ealth C A re F in an cin g A d m in ­
istratio n d id n 't give the n eeded
perm issio n to cut item s in tim e to
m ake a fin a n c ia l d iffe re n c e. The
a g e n c y ’s ap p ro v a l is n ecessary
b ecause c o sts o f the plan are
shared by sta te and federal g o v ­
ernm ents. H ealth o ffic ia ls re c ­
om m ended the c u ts a fte r a s e r­
vice o f u n d e re stim a te s and m is­
c a lc u la tio n s.
Sexually Transmitted Disease Awareness Month
The American Social Health As­
sociation encourages people to learn
about sexually transmitted diseases,
one o f the nation’s most pervasive
and urgent health problems, during
National STD Awareness Month in
April.
T h ro u g h the N a tio n a l STD
Hotline, 800/227-8922, callers can
get free, confidential answers to their
questions and request free written
information on STD ’s.
ASHA is making information on
ST D ’s available to agencies all over
the country to use in their local aware­
ness promotion campaigns.
For 1996, the centerpiece o f this
cam paign is a poster promoting
condom use through the slogan “ In
Your Heart, You Know It’s Right."
We want people to understand
that loving safely is a way for couples
to show they care about each other,”
said ASHA president Peggy Clarke.
STDs infect at least 55 million
Americans - one in four adults - and
are spreading at the rate o f 12 million
new cases each year. “ Despite the
prevalence ofthese dangerous infec­
tions, there seems to be an alarming
gap between pubic awareness o f
STDs and the reality o f the epidem­
ic," Clarke said.
“ We counsel people to become
well informed o f the risks posed by
STDs and to learn how to protect
themselves and others from possible
infection,” Clarke said. “ Further­
more, we urge couples to share the
responsibility o f safer sex.”
STDs have a disproportionate
impact on woman, Clarke noted.
Because o f anatomical differences,
woman are more susceptible to STD
infection, less likely to experience
symptoms than men are and more
difficult to diagnose. Young people
are also at high risk for STDs Two-
thirds ofnew infections occur in peo­
ple under 25 and one-fourth occur in
teenagers.
Bacterial STDs can be treated and
cured, bu, are often undetected. Be­
cause chlamydia has no symptoms in
7 5 percent o f cases among woman and
25 percent o f cases among men, it has
become the most rapidly advancing
STD, with 4 million new infections
each year. Gonorrhea, also symptom­
less in many cases, accounts for
800,000 new infections annually.
Both viral and bacterial STDs can
place the infected person at high risk
for HIV/AID. If untreated, chlamy­
dia and gonorrhea are particularly
destructive to woman, causing pel­
vic inflammatory disease (PID ), in­
fertility and ectopic or tubal preg­
nancies. Some strains o f HPV are
associated with cervical cancer.
ASH A operates the National STD
Hotline, 800/227-8922.
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Free Adult Health Screening
Free Adult Community Health Screening Program,
sponsored by Providence Health System.
9 to 11:30 a.m., Thursday, April 4; at Tarkington Square, 357 N.
First Ave., Hillsboro, Ore. Call 648-3494
IW
9 to 11 3ft Thursday . April 11, at Holy Tree Village 5335 S W
Murray Blvd., Beaverton. Ore. Call 291-2655.
9 to 11:30 a m., Thursday, April 18; at St. Alexander’s Catholic
Church, 170 North IOth Ave., Cornelius, Ore. Call 359-0446.
9 to 11 30 a m., Thursday, April 25; at the North Plains Senior
Center, 31450 Commercial Ave., North Plains, Ore. Call 647-5666.
Free screenings include physical assessment, diabetes, blood pressure
checks, nutrition counseling, referral assistance to health professionals or
community resources, and pharmacist consultation. A special hearing test
also will be available.
There is a $5 charge for cholesterol and glucose testing, unless it is part
o f the full screening appointment. Please call for an appointment
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