What are your thoughts on the two opposing viewpoint editorial articles (the breakdown of the family). Provide thorough explanations to the following questions. (1) Which viewpoint do you most agree

The Breakdown of the Family Is Not the Cause of Teen Violence
Source Database: Opposing Viewpoints Digests: Teen Violence

It has become fashionable to blame all of society's problems on the breakdown of the traditional two-parent family and the demise of "family values." We have been told repeatedly that children who grow up with only one parent (usually their mother) are vulnerable to a wide range of problems in life, including poverty, emotional disorders, teenage pregnancy--and teen violence.
This focus on the single-parent family structure is misplaced. It is true that the family structure has changed; the number of single-parent families has risen dramatically in recent decades. It is also true that a single-parent family is more likely to be poor than a two-parent family. But it does not follow from these facts that the single-parent family structure is the source of all of society's social problems and the root cause of teen violence.
Correlation Does Not Prove Causation

For argument's sake, let's assume that it is true that teenagers from single-parent homes are more likely to commit violence. This fact does not prove that the single-parent family structure is the cause of the violent behavior. As psychologists Arlene Skolnick and Stacey Rosencranz state, this type of reasoning "ignores the principle taught in elementary statistics that correlation does not prove causation."1 Skolnick and Rosencranz point out that the actual cause of the problem might lie in any of a number of factors:

Single-parenthood may be correlated with many problems affecting children, but the causes may lie elsewhere--for example, in economic and emotional problems affecting parents that lead to difficulties raising children and greater chances of divorce.2 Blaming teen violence on single-parent families and women who have babies out of wedlock is a simplistic response to a complex problem.

If the breakdown of the traditional family structure is not to blame for teenage violence, what is? Several factors stand out as key causes: growing up amid poverty and violence, the availability of guns, and discrimination against women and minorities.
The Role of Poverty and Violence

The primary cause of teen violence is poverty. If single-parent families are more likely to raise teens who commit violence, it is because such families are more likely to be poor. Indeed, approximately 50 percent of female-headed families with children under eighteen live in poverty. It is the poverty of these families, rather than their structure, that produces violence. Mike Males, the author of The Scapegoat Generation: America's War on Adolescents, has studied violent crime and has concluded that violence is caused by "the stresses of economic adversity."3 As proof, he points out that the rates of violence were high during the Great Depression, when the nation suffered perhaps its severest poverty in history. He also compares the crime rates in poor areas with those in more affluent areas. Examining California, he writes, "Fresno, California's poorest major county, suffers violent crime rates double those of Ventura, one of the state's richest."4 The fact that poverty, not the single-parent family structure, is the true cause of teenage violence is borne out by sociological evidence. In a review of the sociological literature on the subject, Kevin N. Wright, a professor of criminal justice, and Karen E. Wright, who works for the Planned Parenthood Association, conclude that "economic conditions inherent to single-parent families may place children at greater risk"5 of delinquency. Findings such as this suggest that rather than lamenting the decline of two-parent families, society should focus on providing single-parent families with the economic resources they need to raise children successfully.
Along with poverty, the presence of violence in the home and community contributes to the problem of teen violence. According to Delbert S. Elliott, the director of the Center for the Study and Prevention of Violence at the University of Boulder, children exposed to violence and physical abuse in the home face a 40 percent increased risk of engaging in violence as teenagers. In addition to violence in the home, the quality of the neighborhood can also impact a teenager's involvement with violence. Young people who live in poor, violent neighborhoods with an abundance of drugs and gang activity are more likely to become involved in violent behavior—including gang violence.
The Availability of Guns
Guns are a major contributor to the problem of teen violence. There are 200 million guns circulating in American society-- 60 to 70 million of which are handguns. These guns often find their way into the hands of young people and are frequently used in violent crimes--including the murder of teenagers. According to a report published by the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP), the number of juveniles killed by firearms nearly tripled between 1984 and 1994. Gun-related murders are the leading cause of death for African American teenagers between the age of fifteen and nineteen. The Educational Fund to End Handgun Violence reports that guns are responsible for 60 percent of deaths among black males ages fifteen to nineteen and 23 percent of whites in the same age group. These statistics suggest that the large number of guns in the possession of the nation's young people should be a major cause of concern.
There are several reasons why guns are so dangerous in the hands of teenagers. First, teenagers are still too young to have complete control over their emotions and impulses. Second, they are less able to completely grasp the possible tragic results of pulling the trigger. James Alan Fox, the dean of the College of Criminal Justice at Northeastern University, explains why a teenager with a gun is such a threat: A 14-year-old armed with a gun is far more menacing than a 44-year-old with a gun. Although juveniles may be untrained in using firearms, they are more willing to pull the trigger over trivial matters--a leather jacket, a pair of sneakers, a challenging remark, or no reason at all—without fully considering the consequences.6
Gender and Racial Discrimination
Gender discrimination also contributes to the problem of teenage violence. As noted earlier, about 50 percent of female-headed single-parent families are poor. This poverty has its roots in women's inequality in American society. As of 1992, women who worked full-time earned approximately 70 percent of the wages earned by full-time male workers. In addition, women face significant barriers to advancement in the American labor market. According to Barbara E Reskin and Irene Padavic, "Women are concentrated at low levels in the organizations that employ them and in the lower ranks in their occupations and professions."7 Thus, due to gender discrimination inherent in the U.S. economic system, children of mother-headed families face a significant risk of poverty. The violence that results from this poverty should be blamed on the inequality that impedes women's economic progress, not on the single mother.
Racial discrimination also plays a role in teenage violence. The OJJDP has reported that minority juveniles are arrested at rates disproportionately higher than whites. This disparity exists not because minorities are inherently violent but because they are more likely to be poor. Minority single mothers suffer under the double burden of gender discrimination and racial discrimination. Their children, in turn, are impeded due to racial discrimination that limits their educational, job training and employment opportunities as they attempt to make the transition to adulthood. As Elliott states, in minority neighborhoods, "conventional opportunities are limited by racism, discrimination, social isolation from the labor market, and few resources."8 Faced with these circumstances, adolescents--especially adolescent males—often lash out violently in anger or frustration. They also become disillusioned in their search for legitimate employment and after-school activities and turn to crime and gang involvement.
Those who blame the breakdown of the family for teen violence gloss over the realities of poverty, guns, and discrimination that are the true roots of the problem. Rather than stigmatizing single mothers, society should mobilize its resources to ensure that the children of this country receive the support they need to mature into thoughtful, civilized, and compassionate adults.

Footnotes

1. Arlene Skolnick and Stacey Rosencranz, "The New Crusade for the Old Family," American Prospect, Summer 1994, p. 61.
2. Skolnick and Rosencranz, "The New Crusade for the Old Family," p.61.
3. Michael A. Males, "Executioner's Myth," Los Angeles Times, May 4, 1997, p. M1.
4. Males, "Executioner's Myth," p. M1.

5. Kevin N. Wright and Karen E. Wright, Family Life, Delinquency, and Crime: A Policymaker's Guide. Washington, DC: Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, May 1994.
6. James Alan Fox, "Should the Federal Government Have a Major Role in Reducing Juvenile Crime? Pro," Congressional Digest, August/September 1996, p. 208.
7. Barbara F. Reskin and Irene Padavic, Women and Men at Work. Thousand Oaks, CA: Pine Forge Press, 1994.

8. Delbert S. Elliott, "Youth Violence: An Overview," working paper, Center for the Study of Youth Policy, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, 1993.
Source Citation: "The Breakdown of the Family Is Not the Cause of Teen Violence." Teen Violence. Scott Barbour, Ed. Opposing Viewpoints Digests® Series. Greenhaven Press, 1999.

Opposing Viewpoints Resource Center. Thomson Gale. 11 January 2006 <http://galenet.galegroup.com/servlet/OVRC>