Let me tell you about the kids these days

Epidemic! Catastrophe! Violence! Drugs! Sex! Moral Corruption!

The headlines are filled with upsetting incidents, dire warnings and frightening predictions about the condition of teens these days. Well, it turns out that while teens have issues and problems that need to attention from their parents, families and communities (as always), teens these days are a pretty healthy and impressive bunch. Take a look.

Crime and violence. One frequently discussed concern about youth these days is their violent criminal behavior. It is an epidemic, in case you haven’t been reading the news. Fortunately, the facts don’t bear this out. When you compare the rates of youth crime in 2010 to other decades, our teens have never looked better. Murder and non-negligent manslaughter is down 70% since 1960.1 Violent crime (i.e., murder, rape, robbery, violent assault) is down 49% since the high in the mid-’90s. 1 Property crime (i.e., burglary, larceny, theft, motor vehicle theft, arson) is down 56% since the high in the 1970s.1 Vandalism is down 51% since the high in the ’90s.1 Fewer teens have reported carrying a weapon (26% in 1991 vs. 17% in 2009).4 In addition, fewer have reported carrying weapons on school property, fewer have been in physical fights, and fewer report being in physical fights at school.4

Alcohol and drugs. Another commonly expressed concern about teens is their alcohol and drug use. While there was a gradual increase in the mid-1990s, alcohol and drug use among teens (9th-12th grade) began to decrease and is currently down to the early 1990 levels which was at its lowest levels since the peak years of use in the late 70s.3 The majorityof teens say they think taking a drink or two every day is wrong  (73%), binge drinking every day is wrong (90%) and binge drinking even once on the weekend is wrong (67%).8 Fewer teens reported ever having used alcohol (71%), fewer reported having 1 drink in the past 30 days (41%) and fewer have reported binge drinking in the past 30 days (24%).3 Fewer kids also reported drinking on school property (4.5%).3

Sixty-eight disapprove of trying marijuana even once, 79% disapprove of smoking it occasionally and that jumps to 89% who think it is wrong to smoke marijuana regularly.8 The majority of kids (63%) have never tried marijuana and only 20% report having tried it in the previous 30 days.3 Over 90% of teens think all other drug use is wrong.8 Cocaine, methamphetamines and steroids use are all down (and they were extremely low to begin with).3 Seventy-one percent of teens disapprove of smoking one or more pack of cigarettes a day.8 Fewer teens are trying (46%) and fewer are using tobacco (7%).3 And, by the way, kids are most likely to get their drugs from friends and relatives rather than a drug dealer.8

Sex and sexuality. And then there is sex. It’s rampant, right? Teens are doing it in the streets! Or are they? Fifty-four percent of teens have never had sexual intercourse.3 Teens are waiting longer to have their first sexual encounter and more kids (78% of females and 85% of males) are using protection at the time of their first sexual intercourse.3 The top three reasons teens give for not having sex is that sex is “against religion or morals”, “don’t want to get pregnant” and “haven’t found the right person yet”.9 The proportion of never-married teens aged 15–17 who have had sex declined from 37% to 27% among females and from 50% to 28% among males.9 The rate of teen pregnancies continues to decline (down 40% from 1990 to 2005).3 And, by the way, teens are just at likely (21%) to say that pornography should be illegal to everyone as did their parents’ and grandparents’ generation (when asked this question at the same age).5

Education. What about adolescent educational achievements? Everyone knows the American education system is failing teens. Well, not exactly. College enrollment (39%) and high school graduation (84%) are at an all-time high,  while high school drop-out rates are at an all-time low (9.3%).5 The number of students taking Advanced Placement (i.e., college level classes) continues to increase. Teens are getting more A’s compared to 10 years ago.2 The percentage of students who achieve a perfect score on the ACT scores has risen every year for the past 10 years, and 72% of teens met at least one of the four benchmark scores of college readiness.11 More kids graduate from college compared with all previous generations.5 And, here’s something interesting: Intelligence test scores have been consistently increasing over the past 60 years. (This has become known as the “Flynn effect” http://www.indiana.edu/~intell/flynneffect.shtml.)  

Values and character. Yeah, but kids these days are losing any sense of right and wrong. They have no morals. Well, organizations like the Josephson Institute’s Center for Youth Ethics www.charactercounts.org have been checking on this. Here are some of the things they found.

·   76% of teens believe there are absolute values of right and wrong.5

·   97% of kids think it is important or very important to be a person of good character.10

·   89% think it is more important to be a person of good character than to be rich.10

·   78% disagree that people who are willing to lie, cheat or break the rules are more likely to succeed.10

·   96% of kids agree or strongly agree that it is important for people to trust them.10

·   84% agree or strongly agree that it’s not worth it to lie or cheat because it hurts your character.10

·   57% frequently volunteer to help others or perform charity work.10

·   83% think it is essential or very important to have good moral character.10

·   73% think helping others is essential or very important.10

·   86% think treating others with respect is essential or very important.10

·   78% have never stolen anything from a relative or parents.10

·   82% have never stolen anything from a friend.10

·   72% have never stolen anything from a store.10

·   78% have never mistreated someone because they belonged in a different group.10

·   79% have never cheated or bent the rules to win in sports.10

·   69% say their peers are mostly kind on social networking sites.5

·   Kids consistently rank the value of family higher than that of friends (10 vs 75)7

·   60% report engaging in some sort of volunteer work13

Religion. OK, but everyone knows that kids these days are spiritually adrift, rejecting all religious beliefs as they worship the gods of money, consumerism and excess. While teens are less affiliated with religion than older generations and fewer say that religion is important in their lives that still leaves 77% of them reporting a religious affiliation.5 The number of kids who say they pray is comparable to that of older generations.5 They are just as likely (41%) to report practicing daily prayer as their parents and grandparents (at that same age).5 Sixty-four percent of young adults believe in God, which makes them comparable to their parents when asked at the same age.5 Fifty-seven percent report that religion is essential or very important to them.10

And then there is this: In a comprehensive examination of the spiritual and religious lives of teens, they turn out to be a religious (and questioning) group.6 Eighty-four percent of teens characterize themselves as religious. They participate in their parents’ religious observances and report that religion is important in their lives. Teens have a conventional (i.e., same as their parents) view of religion. The vast majority of teens are happy to accept the religion in which they were raised, with very few kids being interested in trying to develop their own, personal spiritual path outside of religion.6

Health. What about teen health? Well, the percentage of kids who are overweight and obese is shockingly high. And ? Around 60% of kids participate in school athletics 12 and 62% report participating in club sports.13 Many kids participate in scouting organizations, martial arts, skateboarding and paintball. Fifty-two percent have participated in music, art or dance outside of school.13 More kids are wearing seat belts than ever before (from 74% in 1990 to 90% in 2009).4 More kids are wearing bicycle helmets.4 Fewer have been riding in a car with a driver who had been drinking, and fewer have driven while under the influence.4 Fewer have considered suicide or have attempted suicide.4 And, and, 82% report being in very good to excellent health 4

Does this mean that teens do not need the ongoing involvement, structure and encouragement of their parents? Of course they do. Are there areas in need of greater attention and instruction? Of course there are. Teens are entirely too quick to respond to challenges with aggression and social violence (e.g., bullying, harassment, etc.). The use of recreational drugs throws many teens off track toward a productive adulthood. Their casual view of sex (when the culture doesn’t provide a context within which to make sense of it) puts them at risk of confusing it with real emotional intimacy. Insuring that every kid graduates from high school well educated and prepared for this rapidly changing, highly technologically oriented society (whether they attend college, technical training or acquire a skilled trade) is a significant challenge. Insuring that kids become honorable, productive citizens (in the ancient sense of that word) is essential. As ever, your teens will need shepherding through the spiritual questioning years of adolescence and young adulthood to ensure they emerge with a faith that will be an anchor in times of turmoil and catastrophe. And, perhaps most importantly, parents are challenged with the need to promote a healthy lifestyle for teens who face a future of work and play in an environment that requires little physical exertion with access to an abundance of food (both nutritious and otherwise).

Most of these issues have been present since humans have been telling stories about youth. Some present new and unique challenges. Throughout it all, our kids have been doing quite well in making the best of the lessons provided by parents, their community and their culture.  They are turning out better than ever.

Sources: 1. http://youthfacts.org/
2. http://www.collegeboard.org/
3. http://www.cdc.gov/HealthyYouth/alcoholdrug/index.htm#4
4. http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/adolescent_health.htm
5. http://pewresearch.org/millennials/
6. Soul Searching
7.  www.Iconoculture.com
8. http://monitoringthefuture.org
9. http://www.guttmacher.org/sections/adolescents.php
10. http://charactercounts.org/programs/reportcard/index.html
11. http://www.act.org
12. http://www.childtrendsdatabank.org/sites/default/files/37_Tab01.pdf
13. http://www.publicagenda.org/press-releases/survey-sports-arts-clubs-volunteering-out-school-activities-play-crucial-positive-role-kids

Dr. Wellborn is a child, adolescent, and family psychologist with a private practice in Brentwood. More information can be found about Dr. Wellborn by visiting his website at www.JamesGWellbornPhD.com. Click here to see his recent columns.