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George Gallup Jr.: Teen Alienation

by George H. Gallup Jr.

To commemorate the 25th anniversary of the Gallup Youth Survey (GYS), Tuesday Briefing staff interviewed George Gallup Jr. about GYS findings over the past 25 years and his opinions on what those findings tell us about today's youth. The following is the second in a series of interview excerpts, and focuses on teen alienation.

Q: Adolescence is a time of uncertainty for most people. What do you think are teens' greatest fears and how might they have changed over the course of the last 25 years?

A: Well, I would say that when teens look at the future, they basically see a world of uncertainty, even danger. Most teens seem to take a rather dim view of the condition of their world and their future in it. A majority of teens think the world they are growing up in now is worse than their parents knew when they were young.

Q: What are some of teens' more specific fears?

A: The results of one Gallup Youth Survey really shocked and saddened me. It showed that sizable numbers of teens expect that some of life's most distressing experiences will happen to them. The majority of teens expect one day to be the victim of some form of crime. Nearly half of today's teens think they will be mugged. And one-third of teens say it is likely that an even more violent crime will befall them, such as being shot or stabbed.

Q: Do teens think that they themselves might commit crimes?

A: As a matter of fact, yes. An astounding 18% of teens said that they feel that it is somewhat likely that they will get into legal trouble at some point, with another 6% considering it very likely. Those who gave these answers were mostly males.

Q: What are kids' greatest fears in school?

A: Well, a fifth of young people say they fear for their physical safety each day at school. Actually, this was the figure long before the Columbine school shooting. Ever since the GYS was started we have found that classroom disturbances have topped teens' lists of problems at school.

Q: Do some kids think of themselves as "outsiders"?

A: Absolutely. And it certainly behooves all students to be on the lookout for such kids -- to walk alongside them -- to get to know them. Frankly, sometimes you cannot tell what's going on in the minds of youth. I just read an article in Parade magazine that reported that up to 8% of American teen-agers suffer from major depression. Girls, apparently, are twice as susceptible as boys.

Q: How big a problem is suicide among teens?

A: A huge one -- in fact, we have one of the worst records in the world on this score. Our own studies have shown that up to 20% of teens have at one point or another thought about suicide, or have come close to taking their lives, or have actually tried to do so. And, according to the article that I just mentioned, about eight to 11 in every 100,000 teens do take their own lives -- as many as those who die from all other natural causes combined.

Q: What do you see as the main reasons for that high suicide rate?

A: There are a lot of factors: peer pressure, alcohol and drugs, and certainly clinical depression itself is a very important factor. Also, a sense of alienation, the feeling that one does not belong. Several years ago we developed an "alienation index," and discovered that about one-fifth of teens fall into the "high alienation" category.

Our findings also indicate that while a majority of teens are satisfied with who they are, a significant number nevertheless wish they were somebody else. Three percent (3%) of teens were willing to tell our interviewers that they wish they had never been born.

Q: We've been talking about the dark side of the teen world. Is there any upbeat news?

A: Absolutely. American teens by and large say they are happy and excited about the future, feel close to their families, see college in their future, say they would like to marry and have children. They want to reach the top of their chosen careers and expect to live to a ripe old age.


Gallup https://news.gallup.com/poll/5995/George-Gallup-Jr-Teen-Alienation.aspx
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