More problem children today than 50 years ago
There has been a dramatic increase in children and teenagers with behavioural problems in Canada in the past 30 years, wrote The Globe and Mail Feb. 21, in a story about a report written by Anne-Marie Ambert (left), professor emeritus in York’s Faculty of Arts, for the Vanier Institute of the Family. As many as one in five young people are now demonstrating severe problematic behaviour – acts that intentionally hurt others, such as being disruptive, aggressive or delinquent – up from about one in 20 three decades ago, says Ambert. At some schools and in certain neighbourhoods, that ratio can be as high as one in every two young people.
In her review of hundreds of Canadian and US studies that looked at various causes of this "disturbing shift in behaviour," Ambert blames the evolution of an environment that essentially acts as a breeding ground for the development of problem behaviour, wrote the Globe.
She notes that, compared to the 1970s:
- Parents are now working longer hours and are less available to monitor and engage in their children's lives;
- Schools and neighbourhoods are no longer offering the strong community and social control they once did;
- There is less emphasis on religion in the home and in society as a whole;
- There is a rise in the number of single-parent homes, especially those living in poverty;
- Youth are now spending unparalleled amounts of time accessing media, through television, music videos, the Internet and video games.
In a 13-year study conducted between 1976 and 1989, yearly samples of parents and teachers increasingly reported that children destroyed things belonging to others, lied, stole, and hung around with others who got into trouble. Peer and teacher victimization has also become more frequent in the 2000s, she reports.
- The finger of blame points at everyone: parents, schools, neighbourhoods and the media, said Anne-Marie Ambert, a sociology professor who recently retired from York’s Faculty of Arts, wrote Canadian Press Feb. 20. “In the past, parents used to receive the support of their neighbours,'' she said. But now, she observed, people are often afraid to intervene if they see children or teens misbehaving in the neighbourhood or at the mall. Ambert said the only surprise she found when looking at the literature was that more girls are engaging in physically aggressive behaviour than in the past.
- The number of badly behaved youths in Canada has quadrupled since the 1950s, largely due to the spread of negative values on television and the Internet and in video games and movies, wrote the Ottawa Citizen Feb. 21. Anne-Marie Ambert, a retired sociologist from York's Faculty of Arts, said the role of the media has proved most detrimental to the development of well-integrated, empathetic young citizens.
Ambert said responsibility for children's increasingly antisocial behaviour can't simply be put on the backs of parents. "Parents, whether they're divorced or whatever, it just doesn't account for the aggressiveness and lack of civility and so on," she said. "These are things kids get from advertising, which influences their peer group and so on and so forth."
- According to Anne-Marie Ambert, the kids aren't all right, wrote Sue Bailey in an op-ed piece about the retired York sociology professor’s research in The Globe and Mail Feb. 22. More and more children are exhibiting "problematic behaviours," from irritability, lying and hitting to delinquency and, at the extreme, murder. The list of contributing factors includes, well, everyone: parents (particularly single parents), other children, society, genetics, poverty, materialism, individualism and, high on the list, the media's violent programming.
- There are many places to find fault for the increased number of problem children, says the author of a study from the Vanier Institute of the Family, wrote the Sudbury Star Feb. 23. Parents, schools, neighbourhoods and the media are all included, said Anne-Marie Ambert, a professor of sociology who recently retired from York’s Faculty of Arts. "In the past, parents used to receive the support of their neighbours," she said. But now, she observed, people are often afraid to intervene if they see children or teens misbehaving in the neighbourhood or at the mall.
It's important to remember and celebrate the many good teenagers out there. Those who excel at school, in community service, the arts or sports should be held up as role models. "There are still a lot of positives that society offers so that the majority of children don't fall into this (problem) category," said Ambert.
- Ambert spoke about her study on numerous television and radio stations across the country in the days after her report was published.
