AAP News Vol. 13 No. 7 July 1997, p. 11
© 1997 American Academy of Pediatrics
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Expert debunks top 10 myths about teens

Mike A. Males

Adolescents behave like the adult society that raises them. They did not land on a meteorite. We raised them. They share our values. They act like us. When we criticize their behaviors, we are really engaging in devastating self-criticism without a mirror. ... If teen-agers behave like the adult society that raises them, their evil is the same as ours, and it is not curable by aiming increasingly absurd, cosmetic panaceas at the young.

Myth # 1: Teen-agers are uniquely violent and crime-prone.

Facts: Youths have slightly higher arrest rates than adults for public violence. But arrest figures substantially overstate youth violence. Police are over-inclined to arrest juveniles, especially minorities, therefore youths are arrested in much higher proportion than the volume of crimes they commit. In terms of crime volume, youths and adults contribute roughly equal rates for their respective populations.