The Scapegoat Generation

The Scapegoat Generation: America's War on Adolescents, Mike Males, Common Courage Press, 1996

Anyone who has read the mainstream media could be forgiven for thinking that America's teenagers are on an orgy of self-destruction. From teen pregnancy to teens on welfare to teen drug abuse, the crises seem to be never-ending. Mike Males, who has written extensively on youth issues for many years, comes out with a different perspective on these issues.

On the subject of teens and drugs, teen pot-smoking accounts for four of every 100,000 emergency room visits; during the War on Drugs, drug-related murders have skyrocketed and the number of adult drug deaths have risen sharply, while the number of teen drug deaths have stayed low. The biggest problem for teens and drugs is drug-abusing adults, something ignored by the media.

In the area of teen pregnancy, no one seems to mention that a significant number of pregnancies are the result of sex with men over 20, or are the result of rape, incest, or other sexual abuse, not the result of teen fathers.

A certain number of young people die each year; the authorities apply the label 'suicide' to a certain number of those deaths. Recently, the official definition of suicide was broadened (the book doesn't go into the specifics of the new suicide definition). The same general number of young people die each year, but with the broadened suicide definition, more deaths were classified as such. Therefore, America is in the middle of a sudden epidemic of teen suicide.

This book is full of footnoted tables and statistics, so everything is backed up by tangible facts. On the other hand, it can also be rather dry reading. That doesn't stop this book from being a highly recommended book for both adolescents and adults.