Seventeen Magazine and Bank of America Partner To Reveal Teens’ Anxieties About the Economy

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Results give key insight into teens and their money worries

Latina Teens

Latina Teens

As back-to-school approaches, teens have lots on their minds – from classes to social calendars. If that weren’t enough, teens – especially girls — are also stressed out about the economy and money matters, according to a new survey from Seventeen magazine and Bank of America that explores teens’ saving and spending habits.

Most teens are stressed about money, but teen girls are feeling slightly more anxious in today’s climate than boys, with more than eight in ten girls (85%) saying they’re worried about the economy, vs. 75% of teen boys. And nearly nine of ten girls (88%) say they’re fretting about money, vs. 82% of teen boys, according to the survey.

Girls’ fears range from not having enough cash to pay for things they want — like lip gloss and mini dresses — to how to pay for college, to having money to hang out with friends. Teen girls are more likely to be stressed about college funding than teen boys, with more than two-thirds of girls (69%) saying they’re frazzled about paying for education costs, vs. 59% of teen boys.

“Teens are largely recession-proof. They are still buying clothes, beauty products and entertainment. But they can’t avoid the larger cultural anxiety about the economy,” says Seventeen editor-in-chief Ann Shoket. “It’s our job to calm their fears and help them to make smart decisions about their money so they can grow into fiscally responsible adults.”

Two out of three girls say they save some cash, but admit it’s not enough, according to the survey. Girls also say they’re better at spending than stashing, and only one in three (34%) believe they’re in total control of their finances. The Seventeen magazine and Bank of America survey also revealed that when given a choice, teen girls are more likely to choose fun over finances. Notably, if given $100 for their birthday, 55% of teen girls say they would spend it on clothes, while 45% would save it for college.

Regardless of financial anxieties, the large majority of teen girls (76%) are still optimistic about their future and their ability to support themselves as adults. More than eight in ten girls (82%) think they’ll be better off than their parents some day. Nearly two-thirds (64%) of girls says they’d rather have a career that makes a difference over one that makes a lot of money.

“Teen attitudes about spending and saving mirror what all consumers are feeling,” says Beverly Ladley, Customer Strategy Executive at Bank of America. “While their parents still largely support them, teens are interested in learning how to become more financially independent and make smarter decisions about money — and we have the opportunity to help them.”

Other findings from the survey:

  • Nearly half (45%) of teens say their parents are worrying/fighting about money more often lately.
  • Four in 10 teens (38%) have had to alter their college plans in some way because of the current economic downturn, while one in five have had to either go with their second choice of because of cost or attend a state school instead of a private one in order to save money.
  • A large portion of teens have changed their spending habits as a result of the economy (65%); this is especially true among Hispanic teens (75%).

Methodology:

The research, conducted in April, surveyed 2,000 teens in the U.S. ages 16 to 21.

ABOUT SEVENTEEN:

Seventeen reaches more than 13 million readers every month and is today’s largest selling teen beauty and fashion magazine. Seventeen is published by Hearst Magazines, a unit of Hearst Corporation (www.hearst.com) and one of the world’s largest publishers of monthly magazines, with a total of 19 U.S. titles and nearly 200 international editions. Hearst Magazines reaches more adults in the U.S. than any other publisher of monthly magazines (73.4 million according to MRI, fall 2006). The company also publishes 19 magazines in the United Kingdom through its wholly owned subsidiary, The National Magazine Company Limited.

ABOUT BANK OF AMERICA:

Bank of America is one of the world’s largest financial institutions, serving approximately 55 million consumer and small business relationships with more than 6,100 retail banking offices, more than 18,500 ATMs and award-winning online banking with nearly 30 million active users. Bank of America offers industry-leading support to more than 4 million small business owners through a suite of innovative, easy-to-use online products and services. Bank of America is among the world’s leading wealth management companies and serves clients in more than 150 countries.

Source: Hearst Magazines

Effort to Improve Diabetes Self Management and Care

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Community-based Approach Aims to Improve Diabetes Self Management and Care

AADE, Emory University and Johnson & Johnson Diabetes Institute Partner to Educate and Improve Access to Care for Atlanta-area Minorities with Diabetes

The American Association of Diabetes Educators (AADE) today announced the launch of an Atlanta-based program aimed at improving self-management of diabetes among minority populations. In partnership with Emory University’s Latino Diabetes Education Program and the Johnson & Johnson Diabetes Institute, the program aims to advance diabetes education in Hispanic and African American populations and to improve clinical and behavioral outcomes. The announcement was made at the Association’s annual meeting.

The program will be offered in the Chamblee neighborhood, which is served by the North DeKalb Health Clinic. The clinic is part of the satellite neighborhood network of clinics of Grady Health System in the Metro Atlanta area. Emory’s Latino Diabetes Education Program is already serving the Latino community in this area, and will partner with Grady and AADE to implement this minority-specific model.

The “Increasing Access to Diabetes Self-Management Education as a Means of Decreasing Health Disparities in Minority Populations” project aims to:

  • Ensure high quality and culturally appropriate services for people with diabetes by involving different members of the disease management team including: physicians, educators, health promoters/community health workers and other health care professionals.
  • Teach the basics of diabetes self management to populations often lacking in education and community-focused support.
  • Build upon local program capacity to achieve desired clinical and behavioral outcomes.

Individuals from minority communities that participate in this program will receive support and tools that will empower them to:

  • Improve their health and clinical outcomes.
  • Change behaviors, set goals and gain problem solving and healthy coping skills.
  • Learn how to navigate the health care system to increase adherence to evidence-based guidelines and reduce high-cost emergency department utilization.

“This program is unique in that it promotes a team approach to diabetes care. Each member of the team — physician, diabetes educator and community health worker — supports and builds upon one another’s work,” said AADE President Marcia Draheim, RN, CDE. “Success will be measured by many factors including clinical improvements, behavioral outcomes, participation and patient satisfaction with the program.”

Emory University School of Medicine and Grady Health System have been serving Latinos with diabetes through the Emory Latino Diabetes Education Program. “The program started over three years ago and has reached more than 750 Latinos with diabetes and their families,” said Amparo Gonzalez, RN, CDE, director of the program. “This grant offers the opportunity to apply the successes and experiences that the Emory Latino Diabetes Education has had had with Latino community to the African American community.”

The program is sponsored through a grant from the Johnson & Johnson Diabetes Institute.

Facts about Diabetes in Minority Populations

Diabetes disproportionately affects minority individuals, who comprise a significant segment of the U.S. population. For example, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, Latinos represent the United States’ largest minority group making up 14.8% of the population or 43 million people.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention:

  • Non-Hispanic whites: 14.9 million, or 9.8% of all non-Hispanic whites aged 20 years or older, have diabetes.
  • Non-Hispanic blacks: 3.7 million, or 14.7% of all non-Hispanic blacks aged 20 years or older, have diabetes.

Moreover, health disparities are increasing in the U.S. Individuals in African American and Hispanic neighborhoods, in particular, face many barriers to achieving successful self-management of their diabetes. These barriers are attributable to structural factors (e.g., lack of sidewalks or access to food stores with affordable produce) as well as the cultural, socio-economic, and literacy characteristics of the people living there.

About the AADE

Founded in 1973, AADE was created by and for diabetes educators. We are dedicated to providing our members with the tools, training and support necessary to help patients change their behavior and accomplish their diabetes self-management goals.

As a multidisciplinary professional association, AADE represents and supports the diabetes educator by providing members the resources to stay abreast of the current research, methods and trends in the field and by offering opportunities to network and collaborate with other healthcare professionals. AADE is continuously working towards our vision of successful self-management for all people with diabetes and related conditions.

About the Emory Latino Diabetes Education Program

The Emory Latino Diabetes Education Program is a non-profit program aimed to provide diabetes education and lifestyle intervention to Latinos in Georgia. The program began in December 2005 and was accredited by the American Association of Diabetes Educators in 2008. It is the first nationally accredited all-Spanish diabetes education program.

About the Johnson & Johnson Diabetes Institute

The Johnson & Johnson Diabetes Institute is a global initiative that provides health care professionals with access to the latest information and skills training to deliver quality care at the community level, and do so in a care model that facilitates early glucose control and appropriate follow-up. Johnson & Johnson Diabetes Institute aims to be a catalyst for diabetes innovation, improved care and better outcomes worldwide through educational programs.

Source: The American Association of Diabetes Educators

Levelup.com Breaks the Alexa Top 2,000 Sites in the World

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Busca Corp announced today that on Sunday July 19th Levelup.com –www.levelup.com) our flagship site and an integral part of the Busca Corp Network — has cracked Alexa’s Top 2,000 sites in the world. With over 10 million total network page views, Levelup.com has transformed into one of the top sites in Mexico and Latin America.

“The growth of Levelup.com is a testament to the 60 Billion Dollar Video Game market,” says Ramon Toledo, President of Busca Corp Media Network. “Through our partnership with Prodigy MSN we are well positioned as the #1 Video Game Site for the Latin American and U.S. Hispanic audience.”

Prodigy MSN is the most popular website in Mexico with over 23 million users and features a wide array of world-class services, such as Windows Live Hotmail, Windows Live Messenger, as well as video, news, and the latest in entertainment, lifestyle and sports. Our partnership aims to target the rapidly expanding video game user base which in the 1980’s meant mostly males under the age of 20 but today includes both male and female gamers under the age of 35.

Levelup.com publishes user-generated video game content alongside professionally produced media content that offers tips, strategies, reviews, comments and a place to share experiences with a fully engaged online community. With its unique platform, Levelup.com has experienced strong and steady growth since its launch in 2007.

Levelup.com also recently entered, and is aggressively attacking, the U.S. Hispanic Market and, is opening a largely untapped demographic with huge potential.

Source: Busca Corp

African Americans, Hispanics Lead Mobile Internet Growth

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African Americans, Hispanics Lead Mobile Internet Growth

African Americans, Hispanics Lead Mobile Internet Growth

English-speaking Hispanics have made impressive gains in their use of mobile Internet, according to a study by the Pew Internet & American Life Project.

Between 2007 and 2009, the percentage of English-speaking Hispanics who reported going online via handheld device on a typical day climbed from 18% to 29%. African Americans registered an even bigger increase, from 12% to 29%. Both groups outpaced the growth in white users’ reported use of a handheld device to access the Internet on a typical day, which only grew from 9% to 17%.

The Hispanics surveyed reported the highest penetration of cell phone ownership, at 89%. On a typical day, 14% of English-speaking Hispanics reported playing music and 5% reported watching video on a cell phone or PDA. In terms of overall digital activities, English-speaking Hispanics who are online or are cell phone users outscored the other two groups.

The study was conducted in English, so the Hispanic population surveyed was skewed to a higher socioeconomic group, the study notes. When Spanish speakers were factored in to Pew’s Dec. 2008 study, the rate of broadband penetration in Hispanic homes was counted at 37%, while in the most recent study of English-speaking Hispanics, the rate was 68%.
Source: Billboard.biz – By Ayala Ben-Yehuda, L.A.

Hispanic unemployment rate in California exceeding AA

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Hispanic unemployment rate in California exceeds that of blacks

Hispanic unemployment rate in California exceeds that of blacks

Hispanic unemployment in California, which has been rising rapidly, reached 15.7% in the quarter ending June 30, exceeding African American joblessness for the first time in the current economic downturn, according to a new analysis.
The state’s Latino unemployment is projected to hit nearly 18% a year from now, says the report released Monday by the Economic Policy Institute, a Washington-based think tank.

Nationally, black unemployment continues to surpass Hispanic joblessness and that pattern is not expected to change soon, according to Algernon Austin, the study’s author. Still, across the country, unemployment among Hispanics has increased faster than for other groups.

Among 12 states with enough data to compare unemployment by ethnicity, California is the only one where Hispanic joblessness leads all other groups.

“One thing that is driving the Hispanic unemployment rate is the collapse of the housing market, which means the collapse of construction,” Austin said. “That has been a big factor.”

But in California, it is Hispanic women who appear to be tipping the unemployment scales. Latino female unemployment began overtaking that of black women earlier this year, according to Austin’s data. Black males still have higher unemployment in the state than Hispanic males. “Construction is certainly part of the story,” he said, “but I don’t think it’s the full story” of Latino job losses.

As the recession took hold in late 2007, black unemployment in California was 9.8%, compared with 7% for Hispanics and 4.6% for whites, the report says. For the second quarter of this year, black unemployment is estimated at 15.3% — slightly less than Hispanics — and white unemployment was 8.6%.

Source: L.A. Times – Rich Connell