Society Caters To Reckless Young Males

At my 20th high school reunion recently, I stumbled across two male classmates who were my partners in a Summer of Destruction. With a little swagger and much regret, we recounted how, at the age of 16, we had ripped off a grocery store, smashed car windows and flung various objects from our speeding vehicle just to see how they would break apart.

In today’s world of drive-by shootings, ours was petty crime. But recalling it made me curious about that reckless and maniacal energy that seems to inhabit so many male adolescents. What is it in our bodies, or our culture, that encourages such destructiveness? And what would it take to reduce the danger and damage, if not the intensity of male adolescence?

Certainly, biology plays a role in teen-age troublemaking. Testosterone levels, which are linked to aggressiveness, increase by nearly 20 times during a boy’s puberty years. The body gets stronger and faster. Thought processes become more complex.

The result, says University of Missouri researcher Jeffrey Arnett, is a “sensation-seeking” animal that is primed for physical and emotional exploration - and potential delinquency.

Arnett, 38, who spent an adventurous adolescence in the Detroit area, has studied teen behavior in various societies. He finds that teens everywhere seem to be brimming with a risk-taker’s energy. “Adolescents are especially attracted to things that offer novelty and intensity of experience,” he says. “And males seem to be more attracted than females.”

Of course, whether that attraction is turned into action depends in part on the society in which a boy resides. In some cultures, Arnett says, this energy is channeled into play, work and other harmless activity. In others, it’s stifled; teens are punished severely for vandalism, shoplifting and similar acts.

But American culture, Arnett contends, is fertile ground for the reckless young male. Our society’s fundamental support for individuality and self-expression is often translated into a permissiveness, he says, that encourages male adolescents to act out.

“There’s not much risk for any teen” who uses drugs or alcohol, or commits vandalism, Arnett says. “Even if he gets caught, he probably won’t be punished.”

Arnett’s point rings true. Twenty-two summers ago, I misbehaved because I knew I could get away with it. But there was another reason: I thought being wild was a normal part of being male.

While my parents, teachers and other adults were telling me that wreaking havoc was wrong, another, very different message, was coming through. It said that only wimps and geeks follow the rules; real men make trouble.

University of Illinois psychologist Joseph Pleck picked up this phenomenon in a recent survey of 1,880 American adolescents.

He found that teens who got in trouble with sex, drugs and the police tended, like me, to believe it was expected of them. He also discovered that the most reckless teens were most likely to buy into other traditional male stereotypes - man as leader of the home, displaying little emotion, always ready for sex.

“This is the dark side of traditional male values,” Pleck concluded.

So what’s a society to do?

Arnett’s research indicates that we could help teens by taking a more intense interest in their daily activities. Where possible, parents should supervise adolescents more closely.

Our lawmakers also could put more limits on teens. Arnett points out that the auto-death rate among Danish teens is half that of American teens. Why? Because Danes can’t get driver’s licenses until they’re 18.

If Pleck’s research is accurate, however, law changes alone will not solve the problem. Rather, saving our male youth may require us to change our view - and the messages we send - of what it means to be a man.

Mention: Juvenile arrests for major violent crimes in the U.S. grew from 83,400 in 1983 to 129,600 in 1992. The murder rate among 14- to 17-year-olds increased 165 percent during that period.

Source: U.S. Justice Department

Male call: Men and women: What kind of risk-taking did you pursue as an adolescent? Why did you do it? Send responses to VoiceMale, P.O. Box 8071, Lexington, Ky. 40533-8071, or to e-mail address nchetaol.com.

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The following fields overflowed: CREDIT = Neil Chethik Universal Press Syndicate