Wallace:
Protecting teens from themselves
By Stephen Wallace / Guest Columnist
"Madness may be as old as mankind," wrote noted historian and
broadcaster Roy Porter. Sadly, it may also be as new as the latest act
of adolescent anarchy.
Luckily for teens, recent neurological research - not to mention decades
of developmental study - forestalls a marked increase in institutional
admissions. But what brain scans don't reveal are three fallacies that
often precede the risky practices of millions of young people populating
the outer edge of childhood: the myths of inevitability, invincibility
and immunity. A triple threat.
Left unchecked, these unreliable, unreasonable perceptions will propel
endless generations toward self-defeating thought and action.
The myth of inevitability portends an adolescent experience inextricably
linked with drinking and other drug use. Aided and abetted by many a mom
and dad (original research from SADD and Liberty Mutual Group reveals
that many parents consider these behaviors to be just a part of growing
up), such social-norming leaves teens with the false impression that
"everyone does it." Who doesn't want to try what everyone else is doing?
In truth, not all teens will drink or use drugs. Statistics may make
that argument hard to sell, but if three-quarters of 12th graders "do,"
that means the rest "don't." And that's a whole lot of kids. Young
people making good decisions need to be told by adults that they are not
alone. Communicating otherwise underestimates their capacity for
critical thought and diminishes the extraordinary efforts of peers and
parents seeking to provide alternative choices that promote adolescent
health and safety.
Research makes clear that:
The activities of peer-to-peer programs have positive effects on the
drinking and drinking and driving-related attitudes of students; and
Parents are a major reason that teens choose not to drink or use drugs.
Well, if not predictable, at least kids are invincible. Or so says yet
another generation of untouchable teens. The myth of invincibility
reflects a developmentally driven faith in one's own immortality and a
propensity to believe that bad results are unlikely. But that
self-deception comes at considerable cost.
Even low levels of alcohol can impair brain functioning. Underage
drinking is associated with violence, suicide, and educational failure.
Thousands of teens are killed each year in alcohol-related automobile
crashes.
Marijuana use is addictive, directly affects the brain, and has been
linked to increased apathy, loss of ambition, diminished ability to
pursue long-term goals, and a drop in school performance. This
myth also persuades more than a few rule breakers that detection is
similarly unlikely, especially given the intricate means of concealment
employed by many modern day adolescent practitioners: Only 23 percent of
teens cite fear of getting caught as a reason not to drink, and only 18
percent list it as a reason not to use drugs. Delusion and evasion
notwithstanding, the job of adults is to make very real - very often -
the very likely outcomes of bad choices. Extra vigilance wouldn't hurt,
either (a staggering 70 percent of teens surveyed, for example, said
that having their parents wait up for them to come home would make it
less likely that they would drink).
Last but not least, a more recent myth seems to be reaching epic
proportions: the myth of immunity. This myth suggests that personal
responsibility, accountability and, dare I say, restitution are the
purview of those less clever, less fortunate, or less able to mount an
effective (if ridiculous) parent-led defense aimed at undermining
institutional authority. Of course, try as we might, it is tough to
convince kids that owning up to poor decisions pays lasting dividends in
the bank of self-respect and self-discipline. But try we must. Parents,
on the other hand, are a different story. While they are right to insist
on due process, compelling "evidence" of wrongdoing, and consistency in
the application of punishment, they are wrong to blindly defend children
whose behaviors warrant consequence. Rules should have reason. Let's get
rid of those that don't and enforce the rest.
Shielding kids from timely and appropriate discipline, however severe,
hampers their ability to learn from experience, establish internal
controls over personal behavior, and assume responsibility for their own
actions. None foreshadows healthy functioning later in life.
Breathtaking displays of surprising teen behavior abound from all
corners of the country ... behavior born not really of madness but,
moreover, of an inability, or unwillingness, to link behavior and
outcome. Understandably, young people need guidance to appropriately
evaluate risk and support to embrace the positive choices sometimes
obscured by the shadow of destructive decisions. They also need help to
accept the myths of inevitability, invincibility and immunity for what
they are.
Then they can decide on their own.
Stephen Wallace, national chairman and chief executive officer of
SADD, Inc., has broad experience as a school psychologist and adolescent
counselor. SADD sponsors school-based education and prevention programs
nationwide and makes available at no charge the SADD Contract for Life
and the Opening Lifesaving Lines brochure, both designed to facilitate
effective parent-child communication. Toll-free: 877-SADD-INC. For more
information on the SADD/Liberty Mutual Teens Today research, visit
http://www.saddonline.com or http://www.libertymutualinsurance.com.
Back to articles
