What's wrong with our youth? Is it a psychosocial disorder? Is it the parents?

[DSTCHAOS]

Originally Posted by cheerfulgreek

Well, people tend to think of small town life as stable and close, the opposite of big cities. Yet change has come to many parts of the United States. I think that dense social ties have given way to more impersonal relations in rural areas and small towns. We have to understand that demographic change brought on by migration and population turnover have disrupted tight social ties between families and neighbors. I do think that a lot of the violence among youths is indeed concentrated in poor areas of our nation's inner cities. You also have to understand that during the 1970s joblessness increased in inner city communities because of the outmigration of the middle class and the movement of blue collar jobs away from U.S. cities. Economic and social stress contributed to the breakdown of families and other community supports for children and adolescents. In search of support, identity, and meaning in the face of declining opportunity, more youths became involved in gangs, and with the introduction of crack cocaine, gangs turned to this volatile end of the drug market, where violence is the only available mode of protection and social control. Also rates of crime are much higher in the South than anywhere else.

I assume that you're speaking generally when you say "you/we also have to understand." None of what is being typed in this thread is a revelation. So it seems like we're typing in circles and repeating ourselves most of the time.

It doesn't change the fact that all violence is not created or responded to equally in this society. People have an image of the "types of people" that are violent and criminal and the "types of places" that this occurs--even if their assessment is inaccurate. It is this perception that feeds the fears and opinions. Not accurate information. Just another reminder for some people who are on the "what's new with our kids...why are they so violent all of a sudden" kick.

Originally Posted by cheerfulgreek

You also have to look at untreated mental illness as part of the problem too.

Everything's "part of the problem." But a moderate % of adults (and a smaller % of youth) have some degree of mental illness. Most of these people are functional so they have reasoning and self-regulation capacity. They won't end up criminal or deviant on most regards. So to that end, untreated mental illness has not been found to have a huge impact unless the person is unable to function without medication or counseling services.