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Britain’s poorest teenagers must be targeted by Government Youth Review

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26 July 2007

Teenagers who are most in need of constructive after school activities risk missing out in the potential new offer from the Government, according to the Institute for Public Policy Research (ippr).

The Government is due to publish its follow up to the Youth Green Paper today but ippr fears that they will only offer teenagers the chance to do after school activities and not ensure that all children are able to attend. ippr wants a legal extension to the school day so that every child has to do at least an hour a week of after school activities.

ippr research shows that regular participation in at least one extra-curricular activity each week can radically improve life chances of young people. Engaging in purposeful activities is the best way, outside the family, for children to learn the behavioural and emotional skills that they need, particularly when they are mentored by adult activity leaders and work towards specific goals. Examples include the Girl Guides and Scouts, Army, Air and Sea Cadets, martial arts, drama clubs and sporting teams.

ippr research shows that the most disadvantaged young people are the least likely to attend such activities - largely because of local cultural norms and peer group influences which discourage young people from attending constructive activities.

Julia Margo, ippr Senior Research Fellow, said:

“Britain has a real problem with its teenagers. British teenagers are more likely to get into fights, hang out with other teenagers, binge drink, take drugs and have underage and un-protected sex than teenagers is most other European countries.

“But it isn’t their fault. British teenagers spend more time 'hanging out' with their mates and less time with adults, while British adults are less likely to intervene to stop teenagers committing vandalism and other anti-social behaviour. Today’s announcement is an admission that successive Governments have left British youth to its own devices.

“The worry is that if the Government is too touchy feely and just offers teenagers the kinds of activities they say they want, we will fail another generation. Every child should be expected to do at least an hour a week of constructive after school activities. They might not like it but the evidence shows that the ones who don’t want to do it are the ones who would benefit the most.”

ippr’s analysis of surveys with people born in 1958 and 1970, shows that emotional and behavioural personal and social skills - like communication, self esteem, planning and self control - became 33 times more important, between generations, in determining earnings later in life. Poor children who have high levels of application and concentration are 14 per cent more likely to be well-off by age 30, than the average poor child. The report shows social mobility has stalled. Twenty two per cent of the decrease in social mobility was because working class kids lacked personal and social skills.

Notes to Editors

ippr’s report Freedom’s Orphans: Raising Youth in a Changing World, is available now.

The report shows that participation in structured youth activities is better for young people than unstructured youth clubs. ippr’s analysis of data from cohorts born in 1958 and 1970 shows that by the age of 30, young people who participated in sports or community centres at age 16 were three per cent less likely to be depressed; five per cent less likely to be single, separated or divorced; three per cent less likely to be in social housing; two per cent less likely to have no qualifications; four per cent less likely not to have achieved level two qualifications; and three per cent less likely to be on a low income. Attending uniformed activities (like the Scouts, sports or martial arts) mean you were three per cent less likely not to achieve level two qualifications, three per cent less likely to be on a low income and less likely to be depressed in adulthood. Young people who attended church were two per cent less likely to smoke in adulthood, three per cent more likely to experience psychological distress in adulthood and less likely to have no qualifications, low income or be an offender.

These results stand in marked contrast to youth club attendees, who were six per cent more likely to smoke in adulthood, one per cent more likely to be a single parent, one per cent more likely to be a victim of crime, five per cent more likely to have no qualifications and seven per cent more likely not to have reached level two qualifications. They were also five per cent more likely to be an offender and two per cent more likely to be on a low income.

At the moment, just one in four young people have access to ‘structured’ youth activities. There are 11,095 youth clubs in England providing for 1.2 million 11- to 16-year-olds. There are 4.6 million 11- to 16-year-olds in England to be provided for.

ippr’s report paints a picture of computer-literate, fashion-conscious children who are subject to more consumer choice and more pressure to ‘grow up quickly’ than any recent generation. The report says that contemporary British youth live accelerated lives and that the UK youth market of £30bn a year is being aggressively targeted by increasingly innovative advertising. The report shows:

On average British children spend half their spare time watching television, playing computer games and using the internet, even before the age of 10. Eight out of ten children aged five to 16 have a TV in their room and over half have a personal video recorder or DVD to go with it. And around one in five children – nearly 1.5 million young people – have access to the internet in their own room. Almost half of children (49 per cent) between aged 8 and 11, and eight out of ten aged 12 to 15 have their own mobile phone.

ippr’s report shows that growing up in a poor home is having a greater and greater effect on children’s self esteem:

56 per cent of children aged 10-12 from a disadvantaged background agreed with the statement: “I wish my parents earned more money”, but only 27 per cent of children from an advantaged background agreed.
75 per cent of children aged 10-12 from a disadvantaged background agreed with the statement: “I like clothes with popular labels”, but only 61 per cent of children from an advantaged background agreed.]
54 per cent of children aged 10-12 from a disadvantaged background agreed with the statement: “I wish my parents gave me more money to spend”, but only 45 per cent of children from an advantaged background agreed.
55 per cent of children aged 10-12 from a disadvantaged background agreed with the statement “When I buy something the brand name I buy is important to me”, but only 47 per cent of children from an advantaged background agreed.

ippr’s report shows that British teenagers spend more time with other teenagers than in other countries. The proportion of 15-year-olds spending time with friends four or more evenings a week:

60 per cent of boys and 40 per cent of girls in Ukraine,
59 per cent of boys and 48 per cent of girls in Scotland,
54 per cent of boys and 46 per cent of girls in Finland,
51 per cent of boys and 47 per cent of girls in Norway,
45 per cent of boys and 34 per cent of girls in England,
45 per cent of boys and 34 per cent of girls in Wales,
44 per cent of boys and 31 per cent of girls in Canada,
41 per cent of boys and 35 per cent of girls in Spain,
41 per cent of boys and 30 per cent of girls in Israel,
37 per cent of boys and 31 per cent of girls in the USA,
35 per cent of boys and 33 per cent of boys in Ireland,
34 per cent of boys and 29 per cent of girls in the Netherlands,
31 per cent of boys and 21 per cent of girls in Sweden,
29 per cent of boys and 27 per cent of girls in Germany,
28 per cent of boys and 26 per cent of girls in Denmark,
28 per cent of boys and 20 per cent of girls in Poland,
25 per cent of boys and 14 per cent of girls in Italy,
20 per cent of boys and 13 per cent of girls in Greece,
18 per cent of boys and 15 per cent of girls in Switzerland,
17 per cent of boys and 10 per cent of girls in France,
16 per cent of boys and 12 per cent of girls in Hungary,
14 per cent of boys and 8 per cent of girls in Belgium,
7 per cent of boys and 3 per cent of girls in Portugal.

The proportion of young people whose parents eat a main meal with them around a table several times a week was:

59 per cent in Finland,
62 per cent in the USA,
63 per cent in New Zealand,
64 per cent in the UK,
69 per cent in Greece,
71 per cent in Austria,
72 per cent in Canada,
74 per cent in Hungary,
76 per cent in Ireland,
80 per cent in Germany,
81 per cent in Argentina,
82 per cent in Japan,
82 per cent in Spain,
83 per cent in Denmark,
83 per cent in Sweden,
85 per cent in Portugal,
87 per cent in Belgium,
87 per cent in Russia,
89 per cent in France,
90 per cent in Hong Kong,
93 per cent in Italy.

The report also shows young people in Britain are much more likely to spend time ‘with friends’ on four or more evenings a week than those in other countries:

Scotland: 59 per cent of boys and 48 per cent of girls,
England and Wales: 45 per cent of boys and 34 per cent of girls,
USA: 37 per cent of boys and 31 per cent of girls,
Sweden: 31 per cent of boys and 21 per cent of girls,
France: 17 per cent of boys and ten per cent of girls.

The report finds that British teenagers are involved in more violence, drug taking and binge drinking than teenagers in other European countries. The proportion of 15-year-olds who have been involved in a physical fight in the previous 12 months:

25 per cent in Finland,
28 per cent in Germany,
35 per cent in Sweden,
35 per cent in Portugal,
36 per cent in France,
38 per cent in Italy,
38 per cent in Denmark,
39 per cent Poland,
39 per cent in Austria,
40 per cent in Ireland,
40 per cent in Latvia,
40 per cent in Spain,
41 per cent in Slovenia,
42 per cent in Malta,
44 per cent in the United Kingdom,
44 per cent in Greece,
45 per cent in Belgium,
48 per cent in Estonia,
48 per cent in Czech Republic,
48 per cent in Hungary,
49 per cent in Lithuania.

ippr’s report shows that cannabis remains by far the most common drug among young people, with 12 per cent of 11- to 15-year-olds having taken this in the last year, but that while trends in cannabis and class A drugs use rose only slightly over the last seven years, the use of stimulants such as poppers doubled from three per cent (84,000 children) to six per cent (144,000) and the abuse of glue and solvents increased sevenfold from one per cent (28,000 children) to seven per cent (168,000).

ippr’s reports shows that the numbers of teenagers drinking has shown little change since the late 1980s but that for those who do drink, consumption levels are steadily increasing and children are starting to drink earlier, particularly at younger ages.

In England, the average weekly consumption of alcohol for drinkers aged 11 to 13 more than doubled over the last decade, from 3.4 units in 1992 to 8.2 units in 2005.
For boys aged 15 the average number of units per week rose from 9.6 to 13.1 between 1992 and 2005.
For girls aged 15 the rise was even greater, from 6.0 to 10.5 units.
British adolescents are now ranked as the third worst binge drinkers in Europe, coming close behind Denmark and Ireland, with more than one in four British 15-year-olds claiming they had been drunk more than 20 times.

The proportion of 15-year-olds who had been drunk 20 times or more in 2003 was:

2 per cent in Cyprus,
3 per cent in France,
3 per cent in Greece,
3 per cent in Portugal,
4 per cent in Malta,
5 per cent in Italy,
6 per cent in the Netherlands,
7 per cent in Belgium,
10 per cent in Poland,
11 per cent in Hungary,
12 per cent in Germany,
14 per cent in Latvia,
14 per cent in the Slovak Republic,
15 per cent in Slovenia,
17 per cent in Sweden,
18 per cent in the Czech Republic,
21 per cent in Austria,
21 per cent in Lithuania,
26 per cent in Estonia,
26 per cent in Finland,
27 per cent in the United Kingdom,
30 per cent in Ireland,
36 per cent in Denmark.

The proportion of 15 year olds who had sexual intercourse in the period 2001/2 was:

15 per cent in Poland,
16 per cent in Spain,
18 per cent in Estonia,
18 per cent in Latvia,
18 per cent in the Czech Republic,
19 per cent in Lithuania,
21 per cent in Austria,
21 per cent in Hungary,
22 per cent in Greece,
22 per cent in France,
23 per cent in the Netherlands,
24 per cent in Italy,
25 per cent in Belgium,
25 per cent in Portugal,
26 percent in Slovenia,
28 per cent in Germany,
28 per cent in Finland,
28 per cent in Sweden,
38 per cent in the United Kingdom.

Proportion of 15 year olds who used a condom during their last sexual intercourse, 2001/2:

65 per cent in Sweden,
66 per cent in Finland,
70 per cent in Germany,
70 per cent in the United Kingdom,
71 per cent in Belgium,
73 per cent in Poland,
73 per cent in Portugal,
73 per cent in Estonia,
74 per cent in Slovenia,
76 per cent in Lithuania,
78 per cent in the Netherlands,
78 per cent in Hungary,
79 per cent in Latvia,
82 per cent in Austria,
82 per cent in France,
87 per cent in Greece,
89 per cent in Spain.

But the report also finds evidence of ‘paedophobia’ among British adults. When asked how confident they would feel intervening personally if they saw a small group of 14 year old boys vandalising a bus shelter, adults said:

In Great Britain, 30 per cent would definitely not challenge them, 32 per cent would probably not challenge them, 23 per cent would probably challenge them and 11 per cent would challenge them.
In Germany, 7 per cent would definitely not challenge them, 21 per cent would probably not challenge them, 40 per cent would probably challenge them and 24 per cent would challenge them.
In Italy, 13 per cent would definitely not challenge them, 28 per cent would probably not challenge them, 37 per cent would probably challenge them and 30 per cent would challenge them.
In Spain, 9 per cent didn’t know, 17 per cent would definitely not challenge them, 24 per cent would probably not challenge them, 34 per cent would probably challenge them and 17 per cent would challenge them.
In France, 19 per cent would definitely not challenge them, 34 per cent would probably not challenge them, 31 per cent would probably challenge them and 9 per cent would challenge them.
In the Netherlands, 19 per cent would definitely not challenge them, 30 per cent would probably not challenge them, 30 per cent would probably challenge them and 13 per cent would challenge them.

When British adults were asked how likely they would be to intervene if they saw two or three teenagers…

Spray painting on a building in their street – 36 per cent definitely ask them to stop; 24 per cent probably ask them to stop; 21 per cent probably don’t ask them to stop; 18 per cent definitely don’t ask them to stop.
Damaging property or cars in their street – 44 per cent definitely ask them to stop; 24 per cent probably ask them to stop; 15 per cent probably don’t ask them to stop; 15 per cent definitely don’t ask them to stop.
Being loud, rowdy or noisy outside their home – 36 per cent definitely ask them to stop; 27 per cent probably ask them to stop; 21 per cent probably don’t ask them to stop; 14 per cent definitely don’t ask them to stop.
Abusing, harassing or insulting an elderly person in the street – 68 per cent would definitely ask them to stop; 22 per cent probably ask them to stop; 4 per cent probably don’t ask them to stop; 5 per cent definitely don’t ask them to stop.

Contacts

Richard Darlington, ippr media manager, 020 7470 6177 / 07738 320 645 / r.darlington@ippr.org