Dr. Wes Crenshaw, a board certified family psychologist and director of the Family Therapy Institute Midwest, raises concerns about teen ethics.  In a March 4, 2008 article, Dr. Crenshaw  states that  “an increasing number of teens do not consider life with any ethical frame of reference.    

Webster’s dictionary defines ethics as the study of what is good and bad; our moral duty and obligation, both as individuals and as a society; and the values we hold personally, in our families and in our culture. Of course, it’s better to act ethically than to be able to define it, and when it comes to ethical thinking and behavior, I fear we’re losing a greater and greater chunk of the next generation” 

Dr. Crenshaw states that he is “astonished at the increasing number of accounts I hear of kids stealing. 

They steal from shops downtown, some of which have actually gone out of business for inventory control losses. They especially like to steal from Wal-Mart, justifying this as a sort of political protest against large impersonal corporations. They steal from their parents. They even steal from each other. I did a little investigation on this and found that I’m not alone. Juvenile officers with whom I’ve spoken have seen an alarming increase in first-time offenders, and these are just the kids who get caught.” 

Both at the high school and college level, young people report that the work is getting harder and the demands greater. In response, cheating is on the rise. Just Google the word “cheating” and you’ll find multiple news reports. There’s also a distinct lack of ethics in personal relationships — bullying behavior, dumping a friend to improve one’s social status, spreading false rumors or embarrassing photos over the Internet, and cheating on their romantic partners. And lest you think these are the “bad kids,” I can assure you that they represent a cross-section of society. Of course it’s not that “everybody’s doing it” but there is distinct upward trend.”   

Ethical decision-making is nothing less than the basic foundation of all human interplay. Every choice we make as parents, teenagers, teachers, politicians, therapists and bloggers is an extension of what we believe to be good in the world. If we are violent, we are expressing the implicit belief that violence is an acceptable way of resolving conflict, or that the person receiving it deserves to be harmed. If we give our time or money to the needy, we are expressing the value of beneficence. If we teach or serve in the military or the Peace Corps, we are expressing the ethical position that we are serving the greater good, even if we are not paid well for it. How we express these values impacts others. When we make a decision for ourselves, we make a decision for everyone.”

We could write 35 columns as to why ethical conduct may be threatened. It could be culture, music, parental absence, lax discipline or cynicism. I suspect there’s a healthy dose of poor adult conduct, which in turn desensitizes teens to the impact of their own behavior. For example, I am astonished at how many parents I’ve seen over the years who cheat on their child’s other parent, and then hold their children to a rigid set of dating rules. Care to guess how well that turns out?”

LJWorld.com                                                                                                                                                          March 4, 2008