Causes for concern?

March 19th, 2007 Stewart Posted in drug abuse, millennials, statistics |

Study: Prescription drugs a problem on campus - CNN.com

Messrs. Howe & Strauss took quite a bit of umbrage with Twenge’s study on Millennials being narcissistic. One item in particular that they discuss is drug abuse rates:

Drug abuse too is a classic barometer of self-involved behavior. According to the highly regarded annual Monitoring the Future survey, cigarette and alcohol consumption in grades 8, 10 and 12 are now at their lowest levels since the survey began in 1975. The rate of illicit drug use is much lower for today’s kids than it was for their parents when they were in high school.

What they don’t mention is the sudden and dramatic increase in prescription drug abuse, not to mention the fact that one-half of all college age students routinely binge drink, this from the even-better-regarded National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse.

Other elements of Howe & Strauss’s argument seem a little off-track as well. For example, they cite lower violent crime numbers as a sign of Millennial altruism, but completely ignore illegal media downloading, an activity that is largely driven by youth culture and the need for immediate gratification.

Part of the problem is that all young people tend to be pretty narcissistic, regardless of generation, and Howe & Strauss would do well to remember that.