Saturday, November 15, 2003
Church and family can save kids
Scientific evidence has emerged like a slap in the face to say childhood suffering is caused by a lack of spiritual meaning, an absence of expectations and limits and a breakdown in authority structures.
This is the message from an extraordinary American study recently released by 33 psychiatrists, neurologists and social scientists, Hardwired To Connect: The New Scientific Case For Authoritative Communities. The Dartmouth Medical School study says the human brain is "biologically hardwired for enduring attachments to other people and for moral and spiritual meaning".
Animal research, for instance, shows that "high levels of maternal stimulation can change brain functioning and reduce genetic risks for anxiety, aggression, depression and substance abuse in infant animals".
When a binge-drinking monkey, who has a gene for aggression and poor impulse control, is raised in a supportive environment, "the harmfully aggressive behaviour disappears, as does the binge drinking". These monkeys flourish because their inherited vulnerability has been transformed "into a positive behavioural asset" by intensive nurturing.
The study says we needn't be a captive of our genes any more than we are a blank slate for social engineers to mould. Most unpalatable for moral relativists is the study's emphasis on religion and spirituality, finding that the human brain is physically designed, or hardwired, to seek answers to life's purpose and meaning. For adolescents, religion has a protective effect against depression and loneliness. "Personal devotion" or a "direct personal relationship with the Divine" is associated with reduced risk-taking and better mental health.
Finally, the report stresses the importance of "authoritative communities" that set moral frameworks for children, the most important being the family. The "decline in social connectedness", the loss of civic and community groups and falling church attendance is thought to contribute "significantly" to childhood problems.
If religion does protect adolescents, Australians are in trouble. In the 1911 census, only 3.3 per cent said they had no religion. In the 1966 census the percentage jumped sharply; by 2001, it had climbed to 27.1 per cent. Fewer than 10 per cent of Australians now attend church regularly.
As church-going slumped, so did children's emotional wellbeing. The Australian Research Alliance for Children and Youth estimates that a staggering 20 per cent of children have mental health problems and 15 per cent behavioural problems, a situation that has developed since World War II. Suicide by males aged 15 to 19 has quadrupled in the past 30 years. It is a problem we will have to confront, but not with the fantasy that Scandinavian-type big government schemes can substitute for morality and family.
Parents know how inherently conservative small children are, how they crave routine, discipline, defined limits and a distinction between good and evil. But if their parents and the society rearing them are locked in a perpetual state of adolescence, no wonder so many are anxious and vulnerable.
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