Article January 26, 1987 Issue

Turning toward light

The Christian Science Monitor

Much attention is focusing these days—and rightly so—on the mental health of the younger generation. As the media continue to report incidents of teen-age suicide, the adult community examines the mental and emotional forces that are shaping young lives.

It is common knowledge that the young are an easy mark and lucrative market for escapist elements, and "their" music, books, and films are full of those elements. One letter to The New York Times cited the lyrics of popular songs and the incidents of suicide in movies as specific, contributing influences in recent teen-age suicides.

A ninth-grade teacher I know agrees, and also has insights about the influence of parents: "I've noticed how many of my students pick up on the feelings of futility their parents have. If parents start to believe there may not be any future life to look forward to, their kids start to devalue the life they have. This makes self-destruction seem like something acceptable, even rational. We are really coping with the spiritually empty expectations of parents, which reinforce darkness for their kids."

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