We heard a lot about emptiness. Houses that were empty and devoid of
supervision, adult presence, oversight. There was for far too many of the
adolescents a fundamental emptiness of purpose; a sense that they were not
needed, not connected to adults, to tasks, to anything meaningful other
than the raw and relentless pursuit of pleasure. And what empty pleasure-
seeking it was. On reflection, so many of the girls indicated that they
were feeling that emptiness, and one suspects that had one dug just a bit
deeper, many of the boys would have reflected similar sentiment.
Back in 1970 in his now classic book The Pursuit of Loneliness,
sociologist Phillip Slater spoke of American culture at the breaking point, and one
that willingly, senselessly embraced alienation and disconnection. That
drama was played out with such pathos in the lives of these adolescents who
were driven to extremes of self-destuctive behavior by a very normal and
healthy need, the need to belong. Bereft of meaningful expectations,
responsibilities, healthy options for recreation and entertainment, and
with a notable absence of adults who were capable of being adults and
active, involved parents, these young people turned to the basest of
impulses within and among themselves, with startling and pathetic results.
What our research is showing--indeed what the research of many colleagues who
focus on risky behaviors and protective factors in the lives of young people
has shown--is that parents, families and adults outside of the family are
fundamentally important to the healthy development of youth. It would seem
that some parents in America embrace the myth that once their sons and
daughters make it past childhood into adolescence, what they, the parents, say
or do or hope or believe is no longer relevant. Granted, many adolescents are
very skillful at telling us, as adults, that we have become irrelevant in their
lives. And WE make the mistake of beliving that! What is clear from the
national studies of adolescent health and resilience is that caring and
competent adults who recognize, value and reward pro-social behavior in young
people can have a profound effect on what adolescents value and believe, about
themselves and the world around them.
But the impact of connections in the lives of adolescents does not stop at
the borders of family. Indeed, we understand that adolesents who feel
closely connected to their schools, are adolescents who are emotionally
healthier, and far less likely to engage in risky behavior than their
counterparts who feel no sense of community in their school - where school is
not functioning, in the words of sociologist Roberta Simmons, as "an arena of
comfort". Without question it is the formation of friendship
networks within the school that help to provide that sense of community,
along with the perception that teachers care, that teachers are fair, and
that school is a place where one 'belongs.'
That this portrait of going to extremes is not an isolated incident is
shown in the repetitions of the next generation - the young girls and boys
who themselves are already enacting the empty dramas of adolescents but a
few years older than themselves.
But none of this is inevitable. Adolescents' quest for independence and the
desire to immerse themselves in the blended identity of a peer group does
not automatically consign anyone to a whirlwind of self-destruction. Most
appealing about this piece of journalism is its call to self-examination by
parents, by adolescents, by a wide range of players involved with kids.
Rather than resignation or despair, the underlying take-away message must
be one that assures that there is always something that can be done. It
requires our attention, our energy, and our care - and these very human
elements are what truly make a difference in the healthy development of our
children, in Rockdale and throughout the world.
Michael D. Resnick, Ph.D. is a sociologist and professor of Pediatrics at
the University of Minnesota, and director of the National Teen Pregnancy
Prevention Research Center. The Center is devoted to conducting and
disseminating research and information on best practices, programs, and
policies that prevent pregnancy among adolescents, and promote the healthy
development of youth. Resnick has particular interest in the study of risk,
resiliency and protective factors in the lives of youth, and how that
research can be used in programs, policies and practices with and on behalf
of youth.
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