What Gets Teens in Trouble

Debunking widespread perceptions that race, income and single-parent homes are the major factors predicting whether teenagers will get into trouble, a comprehensive survey released Thursday indicates that school failure and unsupervised time--”hanging out with friends”--are more powerful influences that put kids in the greatest danger of experimenting with risky behaviors, such as weapons, sex and drugs.

“If we make predictions about kids based on color of skin, their parents’ bank account or how many parents they live with, we’re going to be right only a tiny percentage of the time,” said Dr. Robert Blum, the lead researcher. “We need to go beyond . . . and start asking the right questions.”

The study, which was funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and conducted at the University of Minnesota, appears in the December issue of the American Journal of Public Health. Researchers surveyed a nationally representative sample of more than 10,000 teens and their parents and showed that 26% of them reported using a weapon, carrying a weapon--a gun or a knife--or being in an incident where they were or someone else was injured by a weapon.

Of those surveyed, 12.6% said they had either thought about--or attempted--suicide in the past year. Twenty-seven percent said they smoked cigarettes, while nearly half--47%--said they drank alcohol.

The study also found that reports of having had sexual intercourse increased “dramatically” with grade, from 16% among 7th and 8th graders to 60% among 11th and 12th graders.

The most powerful predictors of teens’ engaging in sex were “being in a romantic relationship, believing there were social benefits to having sex and the perception that ‘I know a lot about birth control,’ ” said Blum, a pediatrics professor at the University of Minnesota and director of the World Health Organization’s Collaborating Centre in Adolescent Health.

The study did not entirely discount racial differences. Blacks and Latinos were more likely than whites to be involved in weapon-related violence--37.5% for blacks and 36% for Latinos, compared to 14% for whites--while whites were more likely to drink alcohol--60% for whites, 53.5% for Latinos and 42.7% for blacks. Whites also were more likely to smoke cigarettes--37.8% for whites, 24.6% for Latinos and 14.7% for blacks.

What researchers found most surprising, however, was that “how young people do at school, and what they do with their free time, are the most important determinants . . . regardless of whether they are rich or poor, white, black or Hispanic, or come from one- or two-parent families,” Blum said. “These are powerful factors that put kids at risk--no matter who they are.”

In fact, school failure, substantial unsupervised and unstructured time and other related factors combined were three to eight times more likely to predict risky behavior among teens than race, income and family structure combined, the study said.

Put another way, race, income and family structure combined accounted on average for less than 5% of individual differences in all the behaviors studied.

But frequent problems with schoolwork and substantial time “just hanging out” with friends--especially friends who drink alcohol--explained on average about 25% of the differences between why one adolescent chooses to do something problematic, while another does not, the study said.

The differences ranged from as little as 9% for suicidal behavior--which is now widely believed to have a strong biological component--to as much as 49% for smoking among female adolescents.

To be sure, the study stressed that more than half of American youth had not engaged in these behaviors. Still, “the findings indicate that a great deal is at stake because many youth are at risk.” The report said that those adolescents who described a “connectedness” to their parents were less likely to get into trouble.

While no protective factor cut across all health risk behaviors, a positive parent/family relationship was “the single most consistent factor in reducing the risk of problem behaviors among teens,” the study said.

“We call ourselves a family-oriented society--we are not,” Blum said. “We are a work-oriented society,” noting that after school many children “are left to their own devices. Kids need structure to grow. Are we, as parents, willing to invest in our kids?”

The researchers urged parents of all backgrounds, races and income levels to stay as involved with their children when they become teenagers as they did when they were infants and toddlers.

“When we have little kids, we’re very involved in their lives--we go to every PTA meeting and every performance,” said Dr. Angela Diaz, vice chair of the department of pediatrics at the Mt. Sinai School of Medicine. “When they become teenagers, parents sometimes step back. They need to stay involved.”

And other experts called for new programs and funding to increase after-school activities for youths who do not now have them.

Richard Murphy, vice president and director of the Center for Youth Development and Policy Research, observed that the study provides new information “that once again supports the urgent need to provide more structured opportunities for adolescents during nonschool hours. Currently, the average adolescent has easily more than 40 hours a week when they are not in school, not with a parent, or participating in a structured activity.

“There needs to be public recognition and investment to provide safe places and opportunities for young people while parents and, really, all adults in the community struggle to meet the demands of work and home. We know what has to be done, and what works. It’s not only a matter of time, it’s a matter of money.”