CCC 27-1_LR

NEWS & NOTES

rate three times higher (54% vs. 18%) than those who do not. Those negative emotions can have a compound effect, which can cause a lonely person to make terrible, unstable decisions. 2 INHERENT DIFFERENCES BETWEEN MALE AND FEMALE BRAINS REAFFIRMED Stanford University recently conducted a study showing the brains and thought patterns of males and females are vastly different. The study also verifies the rise in scien tific evidence that upholds that the cognitive differences between males and females are hardwired from birth. This destructs academia’s prominent theory that gender differences are simply a “social construct” produced by “heteronormative” cultural habits. The study examined the “fingerprints” of brain activity at rest of nearly 1,500 people between 20 and 35, resulting in zero overlap be tween the thought patterns of male and female brains at rest. In addition, the “particular patterns of connectivity within male brains that accurately predicted cognitive functions such as intelligence had no predictive power for cognitive functions in women, and vice versa.” 3 MEDITATION FOR KIDS Schools are implementing meditation as a new approach to addressing concerns over kids’ mental health. Over the last two decades, youth anxiety and depression have escalated, intensified by social media and isolation from the COVID-19 pandemic. According to Pew Research

studies, parents’ leading concern is their children’s mental health, even greater than gun violence, alcohol, or drugs. Many schools are now offering directed meditation and yoga sessions to assist students. The effectiveness of school mindfulness sessions is being studied, with one study showing lowered blood pressure and heart rates in children. Another indicates an enhancement in overall psychological functioning. 4 NEARLY ONE IN THREE OF U.S. GEN Z RECEIVES MENTAL HEALTHCARE The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Admin istration’s (SAMHSA) yearly survey, The National Survey on Drug Use and Health, discovered that 8.3 million youth between the ages of 12-17 received mental healthcare in 2023, which “is equivalent to nearly one-third of the adolescents in the U.S. undergoing treatment for mental health issues,” according to The Epoch Times . This per centage has climbed nearly every year since 2009. Marlo Slayback at the Intercollegiate Studies Institute says, “Generation Z is surrounded by a ‘decaying culture,’ which inevitably affects them as they try to navigate through it.” Family Research Council’s senior fellow for Biblical World view and Strategic Engagement, Joseph Backholm, further stated, “It’s beyond dispute at this point that social media is harming the mental health of young people. Especially among the youth, the technological realm is ‘creating con stant comparison which leads to a lack of contentment.’ … it’s replacing real-life relationships with the appearance of

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