ACADEMY OF ECONOMIC STUDIES

WRITTEN BY: ALEXANDER

ROSIP

CHECKED BY:

Essentially, "young people" fall into the period of life from the
beginning of puberty to the attainment of adulthood. This period is
usually concomitant with problems as they "struggle" to fit themselves
into society. The word "problem" doesn't necessarily imply that youth is
assumed to be a period in which storm and stress predominate; it can be
a period marked by good health and high achievement. Nevertheless
difficult decisions and adjustments face young people in today's society.
In this article, therefore I would attempt to identify some of the
fundamental problems faced by young people today and possible
solutions to these problems.
Perhaps the most fundamental problem faced by young people in Britain
today is unemployment. Because of the universal downturn in the
economy coupled with technology whereby particular jobs and skills are
made obsolete, many youth today are experiencing problems in obtaining
jobs. Young people today have certain needs and aspirations.
Consequently, the treat of unemployment means financial worries,
frustration and discouragement. How do the youth today respond to this?
Given that many youths in Great Britain may not be sufficiently mature to
cope with such problems, they go in the undesirable direction of
delinquency, drugs, vandalism, stealing, etc. Moreover, they compensate
for their feelings by striking out against society, revolting against adult
authority. People of their own age group invariably compound by peer
pressure whereby young people are forced either consciously or
unconsciously to become involved in those antisocial activities these
problems.
Another problem facing young people today is the tension, which exist
between parents and children. It is usually common for strained
relationships to develop between parents and young people. In their
eagerness to achieve adult status, young people may or rather usually
resent any restrictions placed upon them. Often times young people may
not be willing to admit that they have doubts and fears about taking on
adult responsibilities and freedom. They invariably believe that their
parents are overanxious and overprotective. This usually creates tension
between parents and young people. To correct this problem, psychologists
emphasize the significance of psychological weaning. This is the process
of outgrowing family domination and working towards the time when the
young person establishes his or her own home. Similarly, parents should
exercise control over young people, but with sympathy and
understanding.

An area of immense concern, and which poses a problem for young

people and their parents is sex and dating. Some parents today are
prepared to give their children some latitude as far as dating and sex are
concerned. In contrast, some parents are very overprotective, restricting
their children from going out with the opposite sex, thus, many young
people today are debarred from learning the valuable experience of
adjusting to other persons. They also show deficiency in the development
of social poise, which might not be available otherwise and this deprives
them of their privilege. Therefore, parents, school, and the church can
and should do more to promote wholesome relationships.
Teenage pregnancies and venereal disease are also common problems
facing the teenagers all over the world and also in Britain. This can
severely disrupt her education. Moreover, being pregnant at such an early
age can also have deleterious effects on one's health. Perhaps what is
most important is the risk of "catching" the deadly disease AIDS. Many
young persons today have contacted AIDS and are suffering the
consequences, being terminally ill. Across Western Europe, the rates of
under 20 pregnancies have fallen in recent years. The UK is the
exception. In England and Wales, conception rates fell between 1990 and
1995, but rose in 1996 - from 58.6 per thousand in 1994 to 63 per
thousand in 1996. In 1996, 8,829 girls under 16 in England and Wales 9.4 per 1000 population - became pregnant, half of whom had an
abortion and 4,279 of whom continued with their pregnancy. Family
planning organisations argue that, overall, the number of births to
teenagers has actually fallen by 42,000 between 1966 and 1996. Teenage
pregnancy rates vary widely around the country, tending to be higher in
inner cities and other urban areas. According to the Family Planning
Association, girls in these areas are more likely to have the baby than to
have the pregnancy terminated. Other research shows that certain
groups of young women have been shown to be more likely to become
pregnant than others. These are women from families which are large, in
lower socio-economic groups, headed by a lone parent and have low
levels of academic attainment. The most at risk women include those
whose families were born in Pakistan, Bangladesh or the Caribbean, who
have witnessed parental divorce when they were aged between 7 and 16,
have been sexually abused in childhood, or are leaving public care. The
daughters of women who were themselves teenage mothers appear to be
twice as likely as those of older mothers to become pregnant in their
teens. There is evidence that the future health and well-being of young
mothers and their babies may be worse than that of older mothers.
During pregnancy young women smoke more than mothers of any age
and there is an increased risk of suffering anaemia and pre-eclampsia.
Research shows that babies are likely to be born prematurely, to weigh
less or to be too small. They are less likely to be breastfed than the
children of older mothers.

British researches show that among 14-25 year olds, one in two males
and one in three females admits to having committed an offence. It is
estimated in 1996 that people under 18 commit 7 million offences a
year. 1996 statistics for offenders convicted or cautioned for an
indictable offence show that 10-15 year olds account for around 14% of
known offenders, and 10-17 year olds account for around 25%.
The great majority of young people who commit offences do so
infrequently. But a small hard core of persistent offenders is
responsible for a disproportionate amount of crime. It has been found
that about 3% of young offenders commit 26% of youth crime. Figures
for 1995 show that 0.3% of males born in 1973 had six or more court
appearances by age 17 and accounted for 21% of all court
appearances for that age group.
Most offences committed by young offenders are property crimes. But,
worryingly, between 1985 and 1995 known offending rates for robbery
and drugs offences have increased substantially.

There is no easy link of cause and effect between the factors

associated with youth crime and actual offending. A range of risk
factors is involved - which might include psychological, family, social,
economic and cultural factors, plus of course the opportunity to
commit an offence. These risks may be offset by positive influences
such as good parenting. Crime does not happen in a social vacuum. It
is correlated with social disadvantage and poverty. People living in
deprived circumstances are at greater risk of being perpetratorsand
victimsof crime. However, a simplistic, deterministic view of the
causes of crime is not supported by the facts and risks both insulting
those in deprived circumstances who do not commit offences and
making excuses for those who do.
According to statistics based on crimes, which have been resolved by
the police, the great majority of juvenile crime - like adult crime - is
committed by males. There were 142,600 males aged 10-17 convicted
or cautioned in 1996 and only 34,400 female.

A prevailing assumption behind youth justice policy has been the idea
that youngsters will grow out of their offending behaviour. For many
young offenders it is true that their first caution - or court appearance
is enough to divert them from crime. But this assumption is wide of the
mark when it comes to the hard core of persistent offenders who cause
so much crime.

While many young offenders do grow out of their delinquent behaviour,

research shows that this happens less markedly and far more slowly
for young men than young women. For young men, the positive effects
of personal and social development completing education, getting a
job, leaving home, settling down with a partner - tend to be
outweighed by the more powerful influences of the peer group and
siblings. Desistance from offending is even less likely for young male
offenders involved in regular drug or alcohol misuse.
The peak age of self-reported offending for males is 21 and for
females-16. For males identified by the police and courts, the peak age
of offending has increased over the last decade from 15 to 18 years.
The number of 18-20 year olds will increase by one sixth over the next
ten years, so if effective action is not taken, crime committed by young
adult males is likely to increase in future.

Another important problem in UK is a giant number of teen suicides.

Suicide rates among young adults in Great Britain have been a source
of long-standing concern both nationally and internationally - the
steeply upward trends amongst those under 20, particularly for males,
have gone against the trends for other age groups, and the increases
in youth suicide rates have been greater than those in other EU
countries. Suicide is now the second most common cause of death of
young men after accidents, claiming more lives than cancer. What
makes suicide a particularly important issue in terms of poverty and
social exclusion is the connection between suicide and socio-economic
conditions. For example, the unemployment rates of a sample of males
and females who attempted suicide during the 1980s were
considerably higher than the average unemployment rates for the age
group.
Racism is another aspect of life of young people in Great Britain.
Skinheads are the brightest representatives of racists: they are violent
and proud of the fact. The uniform worn by most of them consists of
trousers that are too short, enormous boots, and braces. As their name
suggests, they wear their hair extremely short or even shave it off.
Groups of skinheads mostly attack the immigrants and the minority
groups. Many are members of the National Front, a political party that
wants Britain to be for white people only. This way teenagers harm
each other: whites abuse blacks, Jews and everyone else whom they
simply dont like. Racism is just a reason for prejudice, hatred and
anger. Immigrant teenagers dont have a possibility to express
themselves only because they are of different nation.
As you see youth in Britain and in the world in general meets a lot of
problems that are really difficult to overcome. Problems of youngsters

differ from country to country and still most of the basic problems are
the same. There is only one way for all of young people to resolve
these problems: unite and exchange with experience. Especially for
that a lot of youth organizations are created. Another important thing,
that we all shouldnt forget about is that there is always someone near
us eager to help and in most of the cases this are our parents, so we
shouldnt neglect advices that they give us.