Author: unitedfamilies

How do you know if someone is being abused?
Imagine you’ve introduced yourself to a woman new to your church who seems anxious and depressed. One day, this wife mentions how upset her husband became when she forgot to buy certain groceries. “I really goofed up,” she says, “So I don’t blame him for yelling at me. I know I have to be more careful, but I was sure I’d asked him about what he wanted. But he said I hadn’t asked him.”

You don’t know what to think about this information. Does it represent a typical argument, or could it indicate emotional abuse in marriage? You’d like to come alongside someone in distress, but you don’t want to jump to any conclusions, either.

One of the most detrimental and perhaps overlooked factors in the mental health crisis facing adolescents and young adults is hookup culture. A recent Tinder ad is a great example. The ad reads “Meet the love of your night.” Clever? Yes, but so disturbing. The message distorts the hope of finding love and connection into the promise of a fleeting moment of disconnected sex. According to the American Psychological Association, hookups are “brief, uncommitted sexual encounters between people who are not romantic partners or dating each other.” While the concept of “hooking up” isn’t new, easy access to apps has made hookup culture run rampant on college campuses and even in high schools. But how did we get here and how can we turn around a cultural movement that is so destructive to the health of our children?