Individualization in Childhood and Adolescence 9783110811001, 9783110146813

Citation preview

Prevention and Intervention in Childhood and Adolescence 15

Special Research Unit 227 - Prevention and Intervention in Childhood and Adolescence An interdisciplinary project of the University of Bielefeld conducted by Prof. Dr. Günter Albrecht, Prof. Dr. Otto Backes, Prof. Dr. Michael Brambring, Prof. Dr. Detlev Frehsee, Prof. Dr. Wilhelm Heitmeyer, Prof. Dr. Klaus Hurrelmann (Coordinator), Prof. Dr. Franz-Xaver Kaufmann, Prof. Dr. Hans-Uwe Otto, Prof. Dr. Helmut Skowronek

Individualization in Childhood and Adolescence

Edited by Georg Neubauer and Klaus Hurrelmann

W DE G Walter de Gruyter · Berlin · New York 1995

Georg Neubauer Assistant Professor of Childhood and Adolescence, University of Bielefeld, Germany Klaus Hurrelmann Professor of Sociology and Public Health, University of Bielefeld, Germany

With 10 figures and 20 tables

© Printed on acid-free paper which falls within the guidelines of the ANSI to ensure permanence and durability.

Die Deutsche Bibliothek - Cataloging-in-Publication

Data

Individualization in childhood and adolescence / ed. by Georg Neubauer and Klaus Hurrelmann. - Berlin ; New York : de Gruyter, 1995 (Prevention and intervention in childhood and adolescence ; 15) ISBN 3-11-014681-9 NE: Neubauer, Georg [Hrsg.]; GT

© Copyright 1995 by Walter de Gruyter & Co., D-10785 Berlin All rights reserved, including those of translation into foreign languages. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher. Printing: WB-Druck, Rieden. - Binding: D. Mikolai, Berlin. - Cover Design: Hansbernd Lindemann, Berlin. - Photo: Ullstein-Bilderdienst, Berlin. Printed in Germany.

Contents Introduction: Comments on the Individualization Theorem Georg Neubauer and Klaus Hurrelmann

1

Part 1 Theoretical Backgrounds 1.

2.

3.

The Role of Individualization Theory in Adolescent Socialization Wilhelm Heitmeyer and Thomas Oik

15

Childhood Between Individualization and Institutionalization Heinz Siinker

37

Health Impairments in Adolescence: The Biopsychosocial "Costs" of Modern Life-Style Klaus Hurrelmann and Jennifer L. Maggs

53

Part 2 Individualization and Politics 4.

5.

6.

Youth and Politics: Destabilization of Political Orientations Wilhelm Heitmeyer, Kurt Möller, and Gertrud Siller

73

The Syndrome of Right-Wing Extremism Among School Children - An East-West Comparison Wolfgang Melzer

93

Are Girls Less Political Than Boys? Research Strategies and Concepts for Gender Studies on 9 to 12-Years-Olds Juliane Jacobi

117

Part 3 Individualization and Relationship 7.

8.

Individualized Life Plans and Concepts of Partnership During Adolescence Georg Neubauer

131

"Kids'-Stuff Boys" and "Stuck-Up Little Madams:" 13- to 16-Year-Olds in School and Peer Group Klaus-Jürgen Tillmann

141

VI

9.

Contents

Sexual Abuse in Childhood: Toward an Individual or Institutionalized Solution? Inge Emmerich and Georg Neubauer

159

Part 4 Individualization and Education 10.

11.

12.

Educational Perspectives and Psychosocial Problems of East German Adolescents Christian Palentien, Käte Pollmer, and Klaus Hurrelmann

181

Preschool Individualization: From an Authoritarian to a Consensus Mode of Motive Coordination Manfred Holodynski

199

Human Capital Theory and the Individualization Theorem Dieter Timmermann

223

Part 5 Individualization and Leisure 13. 14. 15.

Individualization and Youth Fashions Wilfried Ferchhoff

249

Adolescent Consumption: Demonstration or Compensation? Elmar Lange

259

Sport and Social Integration During Adolescence Klaus-Peter Brinkhoff

281

Part 6 Individualization and Mass Media 16. 17.

Individualization Processes in the Media Society Dieter Baacke, Uwe Sander, and Ralf Vollbrecht

305

The "Mediatization" of Childhood: Between Consumer Culture and Individuality Klaus Peter Treumann and Ingrid Volkmer

321

Introduction: Comments on the Theorem

Individualization

Georg Neubauer and Klaus Hurrelmann

1.

Preface

The present book arose within the context of discussions at the Center for Research on Childhood and Adolescence set up by researchers at the University of Bielefeld. The field of childhood was added to the work of the former Youth Research Center after it became clear that certain problems in adolescence are also spreading forward to younger adolescents and children, and that childhood is exposed to rapid social change just like adolescence and is turning into an autonomous life phase with numerous social and institutional demands. Changes in the biography have been the subject of intensive discussion in Europe for many years. Since the mid-1980s, this discussion has centered on the concept of "individualization." In Germany, this was triggered by the publications of the sociologist, Norbert Elias and, above all, by Ulrich Beck. Since his articles appeared in the journal Soziale Welt in 1983, and, at the latest, since the decisive success of his book Risikogesellschaft (1986, English: Risk Society, 1994), the phrase individualization has developed into a guideline for discussions in the field of interdisciplinary research on childhood and adolescense as well. Within the framework of these discussions, the Center published the book Individualisierung von Jugend edited by Wilhelm Heitmeyer and Thomas Oik (1990) as part of its series on Jugendforschung. This was followed by the book Wandlungen der Kindheit (Zentrum fur Kindheits- und Jugendforschung, 1993) in the series on Kindheitsforschung. With the common reference to the individualization thesis, it was intended to bring together the topics within the individualization of childhood and adolescence from each different scientific discipline with its specific terminologies, theoretical techniques, and forms of argumentation. In the present book, some of these contributions have been revised and supplemented by new articles in order to make them accessible to Englishspeaking scientists.Because the present book presents important theoretical foundations to the individualization thesis and, above all, scientific analyses in the field of childhood and adolescence, we, as editors, now wish to emphasize

2

G. Neubauer and Κ. Hurrelmann

several aspects that point beyond a pure scientific analysis and raise practical pedagogic or sociopolitical issues related to the individualization thesis.

2.

The Risks and Opportunities of Individualization and the Problems in Education

When we read reports describing the forms of life in previous epochs, it is always astonishing to see how strongly people's lives were determined by set roles and traditions, how, on many levels, their action scope was already determined by birth, and, in some ways, inherited. It was above all class and gender, but also religion and region, that regulated daily life. From other reports describing the transition to modern society, we also know how this old world gradually changed. The beginnings of industrialization, the growth of cities, increasing mobility—such and similar trends led to an emancipation from traditionally transmitted ties, belief systems, and social relationships. This simultaneously led to new types of biography, new ways of thinking and behaving, and new demands, expectations, and goals. It is precisely this epochal change that is being addressed when German-speaking analyses in the social sciences talk about Individualisierung. The concept is directed toward the breaking down of traditional forms of life and the accompanying emancipation from normative ties, social dependencies, and material constraints. Such changes initially permit an expansion of the scope of life, an increase in action scope, and a greater range of choice. In many ways, the biography becomes more open and personally controllable. However, those who do not manage to keep up with such demands, who do not know how to deal with them flexibly, have to face the consequences in their personal lives. They risk their jobs, their income, their social status, their families, and so forth. As Beck (1986) puts it, "In the individualized society, individuals . . . have to view themselves as the center of action, as the planning office for their own biographies, their abilities, orientations, partnerships, and so forth" (p. 217, translated). The creed of modern society is that life is what you make it. However, this does not mean that every dishwasher can become a millionaire if he or she works hard enough. Nowadays, it means far more that "life is no longer... a 'wonderful gift of God,' but an individual property that has to be defended continuously. What is more, it becomes a planning task, an individual project" (Kohli, 1986, p. 185, translated). Although society exerts an influence on how individuals shape their lives, life in our society has become more of a field of experimentation with no safe recourse

Introduction

3

to given models (Ferchhoff & Neubauer, 1989, 1995). As a result, biographies have become destructured and pluralized. However, the break from tradition is also accompanied by changes in knowledge that is now available pluralistically and taken up subjectively. A range of concepts, formulas, images, and perspectives is available for this. Although the range of thematic knowledge that is offered to the individual becomes broader, the speed of change is also accelerating. On the part of the individual, interpretations and images are pressing forward that fuse with the interpretations offered by the culture and generate subjectivizations of the culturally available knowledge. The question arises whether the increasing speed of change leads to an experience of powerlessness through one's own ineffectual arbitrariness, because the bastions of tradition and convention are continuously being devalued "experimentally" and reformulated in the light of new patterns of values. This raises the question whether keeping the personal biography open and experimenting with various life-styles actually represents an extension of the individual's action scope and permits more self-determination and creativity, or whether it also leads to heavy loads and stress that can no longer be coped with effectively. At the same time, it becomes questionable whether education has the potential to provide assistance in coping with the subjective risk states that arise. This risk-filled imposition on the individual, or, perhaps better, symbolic reproduction, this increasing assignment of life-style to personal decisions nonetheless requires support repeatedly and in different situations. To offer help, advice, and support, to additionally "stage-manage" subsidiary community and communication for this and to anticipate where these will be missed, and—in the extreme case—where both the ability to live and willingness to live are greatly threatened: This is the system of coordinates in which we can find the tasks that the social services and the public education system will probably have to deal with in an expanded form in the future.... And thus social work in the form of social service provisions and the public education system could become a beneficiary, in some ways, a gainer from the risks resulting from the unavoidable side effects arising on the path into this second phase of modernization. (Rauschenbach, 1992, p. 56, translated) In extreme cases, this has led, for example, to the social acceptability of the demand that one should go to a therapist if one is personally unable to come to terms with one's problems. For some time now, critics have been reminding us that the expansion of (social) educational institutions, their increases in staff, as

4

G. Neubauer and Κ. Hurrelmann

well as the processes of professionalization that arise do not just lead to instruction and emancipation, but, to a greater extent, also facilitate a "colonialization of the lifeworld" and tendencies toward a disfranchisement of clients. Such criticisms and self-doubts gnaw at the roots of modern science; they attack the core of the utopia of progress that has dominated up to now and the resulting logic of modernization in general with its institutional structures and forms of intervention. One result of these criticisms is the demand to take the autonomy of action of clients seriously or to exploit their constitutive role for processing problems. In addition, it is very clear that professionalized and bureacratized problem solutions are losing their legitimation and their acceptability. Both the increasing criticism of the unquestioned authority of professionals and the practical criticism of expertocratic problem solutions are indicators of this. The relationship to normality can become a problem for different reference systems. Even an education that restricts itself to control and regulation requires some understanding of normality. Namely, it has to know what it should control or in which directions it should regulate. Education particularly needs a concept of normality simply because it has to differentiate the rationality and the meaningfulness of educational efforts from irrationality and failure. In the modern world, with its emphasis on the person and the individual rights of the subject, education always has to seek a balance between individual rights (the individual should be able to develop his or her potential) and the demands of society (the individual should be able to come to terms with society). In the past, the measures of normality that were used to try to achieve this balance between the individual biography and social regulations resulted in a specific ordering of the biography and certain patterns of life-style. To some extent, the "standard biography" provided the pattern for those ideas of normality toward which education was directed. This standard biography included, for example, the classical divisions into the phases of childhood, adolescence, adulthood, retirement, and so forth; and, within each phase, different but predictable developmental tasks, duties, and rights toward which one could orient oneself, and which simultaneously provided the orientation framework for a successful education and socialization. Of course, there were important differentiations within this concept of the standard biography. Whereas the classical differentiation was class-specific, since the 1980s, attention has been focused on the gender-specific differentiation. The traditional difference is between the "male" biography, oriented toward work and career, and the "female" biography, oriented more toward motherhood and family life. These standards of normality for the individual biography in some ways provided a plan for the possible path into the future. For example, preparing oneself well and gaining qualifications during the adolescent phase also

Introduction

5

promised—specifically because this acknowledged the central task of this biographical phase—a secure future, that is, occupational and social opportunities in adult life; career was followed by rightfully earned retirement; and so forth. At present, this complex interplay between economic, sociocultural, and normative conditions as well as subjective patterns of life-style is disintegrating. We can talk about the "erosion of the standard biography." Erosion means that these ideas about the standard biography still exist, but they are showing cracks and crumbling away. Their foundations are being undermined and, to some extent, washed away; consensus is being lost, but the process of erosion has not advanced far enough for anything new to appear. This process is not without contradictions. Research on "working biographies," for example, shows that we certainly cannot talk about an erosion of regulations in the field of professional roles and working life. In contrast, what we are seeing is more of a "standardization" of life courses. Finally, with increasing employment of women, the female biography is also being subjected more strongly to the standardizations of the working biography. On the other hand, we can talk about an increasing "destandardization" on the level of subjective life-styles and life plans. The initial effect of the social change in the living conditions of children, adolescents, and families is that we can at least anticipate a broader range of options in life: a broader range of possibilities of finding a balance between social demands and subjective life-styles. To this extent, we can talk about "pluralization." For example, it is no longer absolutely necessary to place gainful employment or motherhood at the center of the biography. There are possible deviations that have become, at least in part, social normality. It is obvious that this has also led to ambiguities in the standards and orientations of education. Which idea of a successful biography should be referred to? Or should the question of a successful biography be dropped? For which biographical future should the young be prepared? Should people be left to decide for themselves which model of life they develop? Which life-style should be the target of educational measures in, for example, health education, drug education, or the prevention of violence? Can ideas on educational goals still be made binding for all target groups, or should completely different ideas be applied for completely different target groups? For example, can youth work continue to claim unproblematically that work and career take a central role in the male life-style; that in the adolescent phase, and thus in youth work, the preparation for working life should have central priority and all other life goals should be subordinate to this? This becomes problematic for two reasons: On the one hand, conditions on the labor market mean that it is no longer easy for everyone to comply with such a normal model; on the other hand, changing values mean that persons are no longer willing to subject themselves unquestioningly to this demand for a life-style centered on

6

G. Neubauer and Κ. Hurrelmann

employment. Another example is how the changes in the ideas and goals of girls and women question the normality of a female biography centered on motherhood. Is it now necessary to anticipate a variety of different orientations in female life-style? Should they all receive the same amount of support? What is considered to be normal and successful or deficient, deviant, and problematic when, for example, a girl drops her academic career and decides to be a housewife and mother? It is part of the problem field under discussion that these questions can no longer be decided with the simple logic of right/wrong, successful/unsuccessful, normal/abnormal, or socially acceptable/deviant. These old "measures" lose their orientational functions or even lead to misunderstandings and difficulties. Such misunderstandings and difficulties trigger potentials for regression that make it more difficult to cope with life and can be understood as problematic attempts to find an answer; as subjective processing difficulties in response to an irrational element in societal individualization processes. One thing is clear: The expansion of possibilities does not basically have to represent an overwhelming of the individual subject. In contrast, it cannot be ruled out that learning processes form that make it possible to implement these increased opportunities in an innovative and anxiety-free way, so that they contribute to forming a pluralist patchwork of coexisting life forms. This, certainly idealized, developmental trend would make it possible to conceive of individualization as a potential expansion of contingency scopes. In summary, it can be stated that the individualization thesis has revived the discussion on the tension between social, structural constraints and individual decision-making autonomy and thus raised a series of scientific questions for us to answer. Today, when education can no longer consist of planned developmental and social processes alone, it has to come to terms with the ambivalent way in which its subject unfolds in the historically unequal dichotomy of social integration (which expresses the interests of society) and the mastery of life (in which the needs and interests of its clients are conveyed).

3.

Fitting the Single Chapters Into the Current Discussion

In its most recent form, the individualization thesis is a German product. For example, Burkhart (1994) points out that in countries like the USA or Great Britain, insofar as they are aware of this discussion, one can sometimes ascertain a degree of astonishment at this new German theory. The British youth researchers are also somewhat at a loss when faced with this discussion (Jones & Wallace, 1990). In the cross-

Introduction

7

cultural comparison between Germany and Great Britain, the British continue to place much stronger emphasis on social differences and the continuing role of the social milieu. Gender differences are also emphasized more strongly by British researchers than is usually the case in current West German youth research (Büchner et al., 1990). Without doubt, this is partly a consequence of the difference in wealth between the two countries and particularly the differences in the design of the social welfare safety nets. However, we also cannot ignore the fact that some sectors of West German youth research have frequently overstretched the potential of individualization theory. (Burkhardt, 1994, p. 120, Comment 29, translated) Elsewhere, it is pointed out that there has been no comparable discussion in the USA in recent years to that over Individualisierung in Germany. In contrast, the term individualism seems to be much more attractive in the USA. For example, Brogan (1986) has noted that American society was created through the unremitting efforts of individuals to give the country form and structure. In contrast, traditionally developing (preindustrial, feudalistic) structures are ignored just as much as state efforts of control. The concept of individualism contains the idea that society or the state are there to help the individual to regulate his or her own affairs and "to pursue his own idea of the good life" (McClosky & Zaller, 1984, p. 113). In the dominant ideology in America, the individual should be protected from the arbitrariness of the state and government bureacracy. American society is so dominated by this idea that even the political system itself practices a "policy of privacy": The main purpose of the government seems to be to protect the private sphere of its individual citizens . . . . Whereas the concept tended to be related more closely with egotism and social irresponsibility in 18th century Europe, it lost these negative connotations when transferred to the USA. (Burkhart, 1994, p. 135, Comment 2, translated) Because of the difference in the meaning of individualization in Germany, we have started this book with a theoretical section that presents views on and approaches to the concept that have come about during discussions at our research center. Thus, Wilhelm Heitmeyer and Thomas Oik point out that what is fascinating about the concept of individualization is both its fuzziness and its wide range of applicability. The concept of "individualization" is attractive because it can be linked to so many different phenomena: It can be used to associate a number of

8

G. Neubauer and Κ. Hurrelmann

the currently observable social processes, irritating political trends, and contradictory states and reduce them to a common denominator. The authors relate their theoretical discussion to the role of individualization in the socialization of youth. This is followed by Heinz Siinker's discussion on the role of individualization in childhood. He works out the social configurations of the variables and factors that determine present-day childhood, and raises the issue of the potentials and limits of childhood subjectivity. Societal trends, which can be specially labeled with the categories "individualization" and "institutionalization," thus form a background for that which can be presented as a pluralization of childhood experience within the dimensions of a social, cultural, and material analysis. Klaus Hurrelmann and Jennifer L. Maggs address the costs of individualization in terms of the everyday health of children and adolescents. They present the health situation of children and adolescents against the background of social and ecological factors. Health is viewed as a subjective potential for coping with societal and social conditions. In this sense, disease is viewed as an expression of the problems of young persons who are unable to cope with the individual demands of their environment and who are lacking in social support. After the introductory theoretical chapters, the following sections of the book use five problem fields to address aspects of individualization. The first of these sections deals with its impact on the political orientations of the young. The guiding thesis in the chapter from Wilhelm Heitmeyer, Kurt Möller, and Gertrud Siller is that the trends toward individualization lead to uncertainties that can engender problems of social integration or disintegration. The ambivalence of the framing conditions of socialization for today's youth results from the parallel growth of individual freedoms of action and choice through the decline in social controls on the one side and the threats and risks arising from the need to cope with increasingly more complex life tasks without the support of stable forms of socialization on the other. Within this problem context, they ascertain a destabilization of political certainties among the young that can trigger socially and politically violent orientations and actions. Wolfgang Mezler particularly addresses these deviant forms of behavior in adolescence. He asks whether extreme right-wing political orientations and hostility toward foreigners among the young actually can be traced back to individualization processes. He presents an empirical study that compares the political attitudes of east and west German youths. Because of their different experiences of society, this comparison is particularly informative about individualization processes and political orientations.

Introduction

9

Juliane Jacobi tackles the gender-specific aspect of political socialization. One of the main reasons for the new discussion on individualization has been inroads into the female biography made by the individualization process: Women are rejecting their traditional role as dependant marriage partners, are earning their own keep, and attaining self-realization in their careers. However, what is the impact in the previously male-dominated realm of "politics"? The author is pursuing this issue in a study of 9- to 12-year-old students. The following section deals with the issue of gender relationships. Although Beck views modern life in industrial society as modernization for only one half, the old legitimation of male dominance in the family is being lost. It is being "brought to consciousness and transformed into injustice." The struggle between the genders is becoming the location of social conflicts, and "the conflict between the genders is determining the coming years" (Beck, 1986, pp. 130, 162, translated). Georg Neubauer investigates this issue with studies of college students that he has carried out in recent years. Particularly female college students, who are those who have gained from detraditionalization, are confronted with the question whether they wish to realize their biographical plans regarding career and family life with or without male partners and children. Klaus-Jürgen Tillmann studies whether changes in gender relationships can already be found in boys and girls in early adolescence. Such considerations play an important role in today's society when decisions have to be made on whether boys and girls should be educated together or separately. The final chapter in this section from Inge Emmerich and Georg Neubauer on the sexual abuse of children focuses on gender relationships between adults and children. The previously raised issue of "individualization" and "institutionalization" is taken up, and it is asked which rights children have in the field of tension between social and individual interests. In this way, this chapter belongs to the discussion on "individualization" and "children's rights." The next section of the book deals with the problems that arise in children and adolescents when, on the one hand, academic and vocational education become an increasingly important category and precondition for an individualized life, whereas, on the other hand, the perspectives for the future break away from normality. In German society, it is particularly east German youth from the former German Democratic Republic who are confronted with this problem. Christian Pallentien, Käte Pollmer, and Klaus Hurrelmann investigate the psychosocial problems and academic perspectives of east German youth. Their findings are based on two

10

G. Neubauer and Κ. Hurrelmann

empirical studies carried out in 1990 in the year of official unification and 2 years later. Manfred Holodynski points out that the discussion on the individualization thesis has failed to produce an explicit theory of the subject that provides categories with which one could assess sociohistorical change and derive empirically testable hypotheses. He considers that action theory provides a possible framework for testing whether the social upheavals that confront the child as changes in objects, means, and action scopes provide evidence for the postulate of individualization. He illustrates this with his study of learning conditions in preschool. Dieter Timmermann also takes a critical approach to the individualization thesis from the perspective of educational economics. He investigates whether the individualization thesis can be used in the controversy about human capital theory. He comes to the conclusion that the subject-related model of rational educational decisions underlying human capital theory can be rediscovered in the individualization thesis. Although there seems to be controversy on how far social aspects constrain and influence the individual decision-making scope of children and adolescents in the field of education and career decisions, as far as leisure time is concerned, it seems as though children and adolescents have never possessed as much freedom as today. The next section analyzes this thesis in the field of leisure. In his chapter on individualization and fashion, Wilfried Ferchhoff presents the hypothesis that there have never been so many individual possibilities of choosing one's own fashions, and that this enables children and adolescents to attain self-realization in this area. Fashion particularly offers the possibility of processing one's own dissatisfaction and disappointments and finding one's place in society. Elmar Lange takes up these lines of argument in his chapter and asks whether youth consumption serves individual display or whether it is not more the case that it fulfils a compensatory function for the frustrations experienced at school and work. He investigates this problem in an empirical youth study. Klaus-Peter Brinkhoff asks how far sports continue to be an important leisuretime activity for young persons in today's society. He comes to the conclusion that, whereas the traditional pursuit of sports in associations is losing its attractiveness, youth increasingly use sports as a means of individual self-display. In addition, young persons view sports as an important means of maintaining their health that make them feel good and provide relaxation.

Introduction

11

The final section presents scientific analyses of the role of the mass media in coping with the new social demands placed on the individual. Dieter Baacke, Uwe Sander, and Ralf Vollbrecht review the debates on the new communication networks and link these to the discussions on the individualization thesis. They present the hypothesis that the mass media's penetration into the daily life of youth makes it hard for them to escape from the fascination of immediateness, to distance themselves from this pseudo-intimacy, and to abandon identification with the media contents in favor of their own identity formation. This hypthesis is dealt with in more detail in the chapter from Klaus Treumann and Ingrid Volkmer, who study the cultural and individual meaning of audiocassettes and vidéocassettes in 10- to 13-year-olds. In a detailed report on the findings of their questionnaire study, they show, for example, that depending on the phase of childhood, audiocassettes are used for a symbolic reconstruction of childhood life spaces. Note Translated from German into English by Jonathan Harrow at Bielefeld University.

References Beck, U. (1983). Jenseits von Stand und Klasse. In R. Kreckel (Ed.), Soziale Ungleichheiten (pp. 35-74). Göttingen: Schwartz (Soziale Welt, Sonderband 2). Beck, U. (1986). Risikogesellschaft. Auf dem Weg in eine andere Moderne. Frankfiirt: Suhrkamp. (Engl. Edition: Risk Society. London: Sage, 1994.) Brogan, H. (1986). The Pelican history of the United States of America. New York/London: Pelican/Penguin. Büchner, P., Krüger, H.-H., & Chisholm, L. (Eds.).(1990). Kindheit und Jugend im interkulturellen Vergleich. Opladen: Leske + Budrich. Burkhart, G. (1994). Die Entscheidung zur Elternschaft. Eine empirische Kritik von Individualisierungs- und Rational-Choice-Theorien. Stuttgart: Enke. Elias, N. (1987). Gesellschaft der Individuen. Frankfiirt: Suhrkamp. Ferchhoff, W. & Neubauer, G. (1989). Jugend und Postmoderne. Analysen und Reflexionen über die Suche nach neuen Lebensorientierungen. Weinheim: Juventa. Ferchhoff, W. & Neubauer, G.(1995).Patchwork-Jugend. Eine Einführung in postmoderne Sichtweisen. Opladen: Leske + Budrich. Heitmeyer, W. & Olk, Th. (Eds.).(1990). Individualisierung von Jugend. Gesellschaftliche Prozesse, subjektive Verarbeitungsformen, jugendpolitische Konsequenzen. Weinheim: Juventa. Jones, G., & Wallace, C. (1990). Jenseits von Individualisierungstendenzen-Zum aktuellen Wandel der Lebenslaufmuster von Jugendlichen in Großbritannien. In P. Büchner, H.H. Krüger, & L. Chisholm (Eds.), Kindheit und Jugend im interkulturellen Vergleich (pp. 125-145). Opladen: Leske + Budrich.

12

G. Neubauer and Κ. Hurrelmann

Kohli, M. (1986). Gesellschaftszeit und Lebenszeit. Der Lebenslauf im Strukturwandel der Moderne. In J. Berger (Ed.), Die Moderne - Kontinuitäten und Zäsuren (pp. 183-208). Göttingen: Schwartz (Soziale Welt, Sonderband 4). McClosky, H., & Zaller, J. (1984). The American ethos. Public attitudes toward capitalism and democracy. Cambridge, MA: Havard University Press. Rauschenbach, Th. (1992). Soziale Arbeit und soziales Risiko. In Th. Rauschenbach & H. Gängler (Eds.), Soziale Arbeit und Erziehung in der Risikogesellschaft (pp. 25-60). Neuwied: Luchterhand. Zentrum für Kindheits- und Jugendforschung (Ed.).(1993). Wandlungen der Kindheit. Theoretische Überlegungen zum Strukturwandel der Kindheit heute. Opladen: Leske + Budrich.

Parti Theoretical Backgrounds

The Role of Individualization Theory in Adolescent Socialization1 Wilhelm Heitmeyer and Thomas Oik

1. Individualization as a Problem of Modern Life Rarely has a general thesis in the social sciences had such a far-reaching impact on youth research as "individualization theory." A glance at the research activities, controversies, and debates in youth research in recent years shows that the topic of individualization appears more or less directly in nearly all publications. The current individualization debate, triggered initially by the work of Ulrich Beck (see, in particular, 1983, 1986), has now evolved into a multitude of contributions to the discussion, more far-reaching ideas, and criticisms (see, e.g., Esser, 1987; Hoffmann-Novotny, 1988; Honneth, 1988; Joas, 1988; Zapf, 1987) and has extended to many special fields of social research (e.g., life-course research: Kohli, 1985; industrial sociology, value and attitude research). This enormous application potential of individualization theory in both the general sociological debate as well as research on a range of individual areas of life and experience reveals two aspects: (a) The concept of individualization addresses a central element of modern life. It describes a social fact, which is effective not only at the present time but also since the origins of modern society. It assesses central features of social structure and the normative demands placed on the individual, (b) Individualization is not a new development but a basic fact and problem of modern life. Insofar, individualization theory ties up with a classical sociological topic. Emile Durkheim (see 1893/1977) was the first to investigate the relationships between different forms of the "division of social work" or, as we would say today, the social differentiation and progressive individualization of humanity. But also Marx's analysis of the release of the wage-dependent worker from handed-down, traditional life contexts by capital as well as Tönnies' and Simmel's analyses of the relationship between the increasing complexity of society and the emancipation of the individual unmistakably reveal that, with the transition from traditional to modern society, individuality develops into an unavoidable social demand on each single member of society.

16

W. Heitmeyer and Th. Oik

2. The Theory What is fascinating about the concept of individualization is its simultaneous fuzziness and its many-sided applicability. Individualization can refer to specific sociostructural trends that, to some extent, produce "external" behavioral demands and normative expectations on the individual; however, it can also be directed toward the "subjective" side of the social modernization process. Then, attention focuses on subjective strategies for coping with social demands as well as biographical processes of identity formation. This is the subject of discussions on "externally guided persons" (Riesman), on the "end of the individual," on narcissistic forms of self-reflection (Lasch), but also on the process of autonomy and emancipation. The power and applicability of individualization theory seems to be particularly due to the fact that, in some ways, it is located at the intersection between a variety of levels of analysis and theoretical traditions. The theory of individualization is used to interpret the relationship between the individual and society in the social sciences; it can be used to guide discourses in social theory and to work on issues in socialization and identity theory. And it is precisely this localization at the intersection between the individual's life plans, perspectives, and competencies and the socially conceived opportunity structures that also make it so relevant for youth research. It is above all the phase of adolescence that is characterized by, on the one hand, the fact that the social placement process of each succeeding generation into the system of social inequality enters its decisive phase, while, on the other hand, life plans, moral development, value commitments, and subjective competencies have to be worked out, consolidated, and subjected to their first test. However, it is precisely here that there is a certain danger. Often, insufficient care is taken to ensure that the numerous variations of meaning and levels of understanding in the individualization concept are separated and that their interrelationships are subjected to analytical control. Precipitate simplifications and exaggerations of the individualization concept generally lead to one-sided evaluations of the consequences of social trends toward individualization for both the overlying social structure as well as for the individual. Euphoric appraisals of the individualized society based exclusively on the perspective of increased freedom and wider options as well as pessimistic complaints about the cultural consequences of a forced stereotyping and atomization of individuals are out of place here. Instead, it is necessary to focus attention on the reciprocal effects, the ambivalence, of social individualization trends, that is, to work out both the "bright" and the "dark" sides when reconstructing individualization processes in various fields of life.

Individualization Theory in Adolescent

Socialization

17

This raises the issue of what individualization means in the single case and which social trends should be made responsible for it. It has been mentioned that individualization already arises with the transition into modern times. The basic thesis of classical sociology states that society has become increasingly complex during the course of its historical development and that this is expressed through increasing differentiation. During the transition from the late middle ages to modern times, economic production gradually disassociated itself from family life, political control and the formation of capital became separated, and the education system freed itself from religious legitimation contexts. This segmentation of subsystems has been accompanied by an increase in role differentiation that confronts the individual with new demands: Identity is no longer assigned by birth status but is acquired and further developed autonomously through the horizontal and biographical adoption of roles. "The transformation of the social differentiation of systems into a material and, in each temporal case, unique management of roles—this is the mechanism that sociological ideas consider to enforce the individualization of persons" (Luhmann, 1987, p. 126, translated). In contrast to the broad historical time perspective covered by this "first" trend toward individualization, Ulrich Beck's publications refer to a much shorter period: They deal with "secondary" trends in individualization since the 1950s, above all—but not only—in the Federal Republic of Germany. Thus, his concept of individualization to a certain extent presupposes the "first" individualization, that is, the princaple release of society's members from the commitments and constraints of premodern society. However, it extends and modifies this development in some major points. For Beck, the following three sociostructural trends are the motors of "secondary" individualization: First (see Beck, 1986, pp. 122-125), he points to the enormous increase in the material standard of living that accompanied the postwar boom in the Federal Republic of Germany. The vast increases in average real wages for industrial workers have enabled the working class to cast off the yoke of their "proletarian constraints" and achieve new scopes and opportunities for individualizing their consumer styles and life-styles through access to mass consumption. This "pluralization" of life-styles (see Olk & Otto, 1981; Zapf, 1987) is reinforced by the increase in leisure time as a result of longer life expectancy and shorter working hours. The more material and temporal scope available for individuals to express their individual preferences and needs in the fields of leisure time, consumption, personal life-style, and accommodation arrangements, the more strongly they are not only freed but also loosened from the cultural milieus of their class. In second place, Beck (see 1986, pp. 125-127) mentions increased social and geographical mobility. Economic modernization and the expansion of the welfare

18

W. Heitmeyer and Th. Oik

state have led to far-reaching changes in job structures, to an expansion of the service sector, and to a restructuring of spatial life contexts in society (from urbanization to the emptying of rural areas) as well as, finally, to an increase in female participation in the labor market. The accompanying mobility of the population also separates individuals from their traditional life-worlds and life contexts, mixes up the previously separated class- and status-specific social circles, and shakes up prior biographies and life plans. In this context, increasing female employment is particularly responsible for the social trends toward individualization also being imported into the family: Both the control of the family's geographical mobility through the man's career and hierarchical forms of gender-specific division of labor give way to new opportunities for patterns of equality in relationships in which the necessary solutions have to be renegotiated without recourse to traditional models. Finally, Beck (see 1986, pp. 127-130) points to the individualizing impact of the expansion in education. The "mass consumption" of higher education and the longer periods of time spent in the educational system encourage processes of self-discovery and self-reflection that easily lead to a questioning of traditional orientations and life-styles. Individual achievement motivation and upward social mobility, which are encouraged by the education system, also provide an appropriate background for interpreting one's own path through life as the outcome of one's own achievement rather than as an expression of one's classand milieu-specific memberships. According to Beck, the cumulative outcome of these three developmental trends is in no way the dissolution of social inequality or the abolition of the modern—postindustrial—version of capitalism. The point of his argument is far more that the developmental processes eclipse the class-specific forms of social inequality and their link to social and moral milieus through trends toward an "individualization of social inequality" and a "reduction of the traditional strength of social and moral milieus." Thus, the process of the diversification of life situations and the pluralization of life-styles circumvents the hierarchical model of social class, and results in individuals themselves—for the sake of their own survival—having to become the focus of their own life plans and life-styles. For Beck, individualization should not be equated with a revaluation of the subject or improved potentials for individual emancipation. Instead, he points to the inherent contradictions of the individualization process that contribute to making it particularly more difficult for the individual to achieve autonomy: Although individuals are freed from traditional commitments and cares, they find themselves confronted with the constraints of social institutions on which they can exert hardly any influence. These are, above all, the labor market but also the education system, sociopolitical welfare systems, and so forth that institutionally channel each individual life-course. Events such as enrollment into or departure

Individualization Theory in Adolescent

Socialization

19

from the education system, the beginning or the end of the phase of active employment, and entry into retirement now reveal themselves to be institutionally controlled status passages that prescribe not only the sequence of life phases (childhood, adolescence, adulthood, and retirement age) but also the temporal and material problems and behavioral demands that have to be dealt with in everyday life. The contradictions in the process of individualization thus result from the simultaneous presence of individualization and institutionalization or standardization; the social and moral milieu and traditional life-styles in which persons have been immersed are replaced by formally organized institutions and social subsystems that control the "new immediacy between the individual and society" (Beck, 1986, p. 158, translated). As this brief summary of Beck's argument shows, he depicts an extremely multilayered and complex picture of the individualized nature of modern societies. The strength of his argument is certainly that he comprehensively and appropriately plots the sociostructural side of individualization, that is, the individualization of social inequality and the diversification of life situations and life-courses. However, the weakness of his argument is the systematic exclusion of the subjective side of the individualization process, or that—because these aspects of individualization are not taken into account sufficiently—the various levels of meaning of the individualization concept are not always treated in a clearly separated way (for similar criticisms, see Habermas, 1988; Honneth, 1988; Joas, 1988). Beck himself admits that he does not consider the aspect of subjective awareness, identity formation, and individual emancipation, but uses the individualization category as a sociological or sociohistorical category in the tradition of life situations and life-courses (see Beck, 1986, pp. 206-207). Insofar, he remains closely in line with the traditional perspective of classical sociology (like Durkheim, Simmel, etc.) that has also—as mentioned above—reconstructed individuality or individualization as a demand imposed on members of society by the increasing complexity of social structures. However, even with his three central dimensions of individualization (1986, p. 206), Beck only sketches how individuals deal with their removal from historically prescribed social forms and social commitments (his emancipation dimension); the loss of traditional certainties regarding knowledge on how to act, beliefs, and guiding norms (his démystification dimension); and, finally, new forms of social inclusion and control (his reintegration dimension). Therefore, it is an open question under which conditions individuals manage to form a consistent identity or deal with social constraints and demands in a reflected and self-aware way as autonomous individuals; or under which conditions they drift into isolation and separation and "select" the defensive form of withdrawal into private life. In this respect, greater conceptual distinctions as well as detailed empirical information are needed to provide a precise assessment and confirmation of the advantages and disadvantages of individualization.

20

W. Heitmeyer and Th. Oik

3. Sociological Approaches Is the social process of the erosion of traditional social milieus, the release of individuals from quasi-natural constraints, predominantly a "gain" in the sense of more freedom and opportunities for emancipation, or are the "costs" for the individuals, who have to pay for this new situation with isolation, atomization, and alienation, predominant? As far as the current state of development in the social sciences is concerned, philosophical and sociological discourses provide at best only provisional answers. This already applies to Norbert Elias' analysis of the consequences of the civilization process for the individual: He considers that the progression of the social civilization process can be equated with the lengthening of action chains and the accompanying expansion of reciprocal dependencies that are driven forward through the inclusion of increasingly more sets of persons, spatial units, and social communication networks within the comprehensive system of functional specialization and division of labor. Individuals, who now see themselves as placed within extended chains of action, are forced to regulate their behavior more precisely, to avoid strong fluctuations of emotional discharge, and to consider the future consequences of their current activity: The behavior of increasingly more persons has to be coordinated so that the individual activity fulfills its social function. The individual is forced to regulate his or her behavior in an increasingly more differentiated, increasingly more regular, and more stable way. (Elias, 1977, pp. 316317, translated) The direct acting out of situational instinctive impulses gives way to autonomous self-control; the exclusive orientation toward the "here and now" gives way to an orientation toward the future impact of one's own behavior. As a result, "longterm perspective" and "self-constraint" are the two central characteristics that Elias assigns to civilized persons. Thus, as a result of social differentiation, the demands on the individual in no way decrease, but increase: The control of behavior, which was previously exercised primarily by external social powers and institutions, is now shifted into the individual realm. Self-constraint is added to constraint; self-control to control by others. Niklas Luhmann also works out the consequences of individualization for the individual in his systems theory reconstruction of the relationship between modern society and the individual. He considers that imperatives such as selfdetermination, autonomy, and self-realization, which are linked to individuality, are not primarily properties fought for by social movements but are demands imposed on the members of society as a result of social differentiation. Each individual is assigned the task of presenting him or herself as a distinctive, individuated person, without there being any guarantees that this task is in any

Individualization Theory in Adolescent

Socialization

21

way solvable. However, what does the display of distinctiveness mean under these conditions? Under the conditions of social differentiation and the pluralization of roles, it means that individuals themselves have to monitor the increase in their individuality: Each self-attribution of identity can be criticized only in the light of alternative possibilities of identity construction that promise more self-realization or more autonomy. Each actually "selected" identity construction thus proves to be contingent and provisional. Against the background of the fact that other possibilities are also always available, each establishment of one's own "true" self can have no substance; the only option that remains available to the individual is to "copy" others. Thus, the irony of the obligation to individualization required by society is that it leads to a mass construction and copying of "standard identities," of identity templates. Identity concepts thus first become a topic of novels, and later degenerate into off-the-peg goods of the leisure-time and consumer industry. As the development of "unique" identities also represents a finally unsolvable social demand, systems theory is interested in the "alternative strategies that "personal systems" have to master in order to overcome this problem (for a detailed account, see Luhmann, 1987, 1989). Habermas has criticized this negative balance of the systems theory reconstruction of individualization processes. He accuses both Luhmann and Beck, whom he also views as a systems theorist, of restricting the final consequence of individualization to the aspect of extending the scope of options for rational decisions. From the perspective of systems theory, modernization particularly means the segmentation of functional systems that confine socialized individuals to their environments and only enlist their achievements in a function-specific way. Individualization then has exactly the same meaning as the inclusion of excluded personal systems into subsystems that are limited by specific functions. From the perspective of individuals, this means that traditional constraints and behavioral guidelines are exchanged for institution-related dependencies. In this way, progressive inclusion in more and more functional systems can in no way be accompanied by an increase in autonomy, but, at most, equated with a change in the modes of social control. The "new immediacy" of society and individual is mediated by generalized media of guidance and control such as money and law that tend to have more standardizing and canalizing consequences. Habermas concludes that the inventory of concepts in systems theory is inappropriate for an analysis of the contrary effects of the social individualization process; from the perspective of systems theory, individualization means at best singularization and substitutability. Although an ego authority in which all normative dimensions are cut down to cognitive adaptation performance alone forms a functional addition to the media-guided subsystems, it cannot replace the personal achievements of social integration that a rationalized life world requires

22

W. Heitmeyer and Th. Oik

of the individual. These demands can be met only by a postconventional ego identity. And this can form only during the course of progressive individuation. (Habermas, 1988, pp. 238-239, translated) And further: The decision-making structure required by the media-guided subsystem goes wrong when it encroaches into key private and public spheres of the life world. The personal performances imposed upon the subjects here consist of something other than those in the rational choice guided by their own preferences; what they have to achieve is that kind of moral and existential self-reflection that is not possible without one adopting the perspective of the other. This is the only way in which a new kind of social inclusion of the individualized individual can be constructed. The participants must generate their socially integrated life forms themselves by recognizing each other as autonomous subjects who are capable of acting, and, beyond this, as subjects who vouch for the continuity of their responsibly adopted biographies. (1988, p. 240, translated) Thus, an appropriate assessment of the pluralization of roles and social individualization set in motion by the increasing complexity of society in all its ambivalence and multitude of meanings is possible only when both the process of the differentiation of society and the process of the rationalization of the life world are drawn into the analysis. For it is particularly the process of the rationalization of the life world, that is, the removal of individuals from quasinatural life forms and conventional moral ideas, that increases the chances that individuals will be able to present themselves as self-consistent and simultaneously unique, not only in various areas of life but also across their biographies. Habermas can be summarized as saying that whether or not sociostructural trends toward individualization lead to alienation, interchangeability, and stereotyping or to the formation of uniqueness depends decisively on whether the extended sociostructural opportunity for individualization is also actually exploited or is capable of being exploited in each concrete situational life condition.

4. The Internal Perspective of the Individual This argument can be deepened and further developed by turning to the conceptual specification of the term individuality (and identity; although both aspects tend to combine from the internal perspective of the individual). In her attempt to reconstruct the concept of individuality, Gertrud Nunner-Winkler (see 1985) uses the contrast between external and internal perspective and discrimi-

Individualization Theory in Adolescent Socialization

23

nates three levels of concept definition. For the ideas presented here, the internal perspective suffices. From this perspective, individuality means the natural experience of the self as a separate and specific center of the processing of the stream of consciousness on the physical, spatiotemporal level. On the sociostructural level, it means the location of the self within a comprehensible network of social relationships; and, on the universal/individual level, it means the determination of one's self as unmistakable, noninterchangeable, irreplaceable, or unique, whereby these aspects of meaning are in no way completely equivalent. If we now look at the sociostructural trends that Ulrich Beck has described and summarized under the heading of individualization, a paradox can be confirmed for the individual's chances of individualization: While the sociostructural differentiation and the accompanying breakdown in traditional life forms mentioned above have led to an enormous expansion of individualization potential, the experiences of spatial and social mobility, the confrontation with the consequences of increasing division of labor (e.g., in the industrial sector), the fragmentation of social activities, and the marketing of society (mass production and consumption) increase experiences of being replaceable and exchangeable. Thus, the increase in individualization potential is accompanied and counteracted by processes of "deindividualization" through the spread of subjective perceptions of being individually replaceable and exchangeable. The indecisiveness and inconsistency of philosophical and sociological responses to the consequences of social processes of individualization for each individual's individualization potential are far more an expression of the actual paradox of the situation in present-day individualized societies than an expression of the different theoretical positions or subjective preferences of their authors. This is because everything depends on how individuals perceive their own uniqueness and nonexchangeability under these conditions and assert themselves against adverse external conditions. On the level of a reconstruction and description of both the social structure and the cultural structure of individualized societies alone, it is not possible to decide whether these opportunities for individualization are exploited or not. This leads to an additional need for a theory on the origins of the (young) subject, that is, a theory that specifies and analyzes the individual strategies for constructing and protecting perceptions of uniqueness and nonexchangeability (for initial approaches in this direction, see NunnerWinkler, 1985). In this respect, it seems that subjective certainty about one's own nonexchangeability and irreplaceability cannot be guaranteed from outside but has to be grounded in the experience of one's own subjectiveness. Only if subjects perceive themselves through their own intentions, goals, and plans, which are not enforced on them from outside, but that they have developed themselves according to their own ideas and measures, and consider that they are able to impose them against adverse external conditions will they perceive themselves as

24

W. Heitmeyer and Th. Oik

nonexchangeable and irreplaceable. Thus, whether individuals perceive themselves as exchangeable or unique depends on whether they view themselves as being personally responsible for leading their own lives, that is, perceive themselves as the source of their own actions and judgments, or whether they perceive even their biographical plans as primarily controlled by outside powers and external demands. Thereby, self-awareness of one's own nonex-changeability, irreplaceability, and uniqueness develops as an unintended side effect of biographical activities, during which individuals commit themselves to or adopt responsibility for something specific. However, the attempt to present oneself directly and intentionally as irreplaceable and unique, be it through a specific "outfit" or through certain subcultural self-stylizations, is regularly at risk, particularly in the fulfillment of a "standard existence" or a "standard identity" (e.g., a skinhead, a rocker, etc.). A prominent example of this is the routinization and standardization of "identity attributions" through mass-produced consumer articles that are intended to serve as a discrimination from others and the demonstration of a particular life-style.

5. Structural Changes in the Phase of Adolescence Up to now, youth research in the social sciences has had difficulties in precisely assessing the consequences of social individualization processes for adolescents. Their findings also tend to be enigmatic and controversial. This is less true for the external courses and features of the "structural changes in the phase of adolescence" (see Baacke, 1987; Bertram, 1987; Ferchhoff, 1985; Fuchs, 1983; Hornstein, 1985; Hurrelmann et al., 1985; Olk, 1985, 1986). Almost all authors unanimously agree that the processes of the diversification of life situations and the pluralization of life-styles also brings about consequences for the phase of adolescence. Not only the social function and sociostructural expression but also the biographical significance of adolescence has undergone fundamental changes. While the traditional concept of adolescence in the social sciences could be represented as a standard sequence—though differentiated according to gender, class, and regional membership—of transition events (such as passing through and graduating from school, entering vocational training and employment, leaving the parental home and marriage); and, on the social-psychological level, as a confrontation with certain developmental tasks (such as loosening ties to parents in favor of the construction of new ties to a heterosexual partner, the development of a gender role, the development of competencies for later employment, as well as the development of a personal value and norm system), nowadays, it is necessary to take account of the increasingly individual courses of transition processes as well as the changed sequence in mastering developmental tasks. This "destandardization" of adolescence is—completely in the sense of Ulrich Beck's analysis—brought about by the dynamics of the social individualization process and the breakdown of traditional life forms. Zinnecker

Individualization Theory in Adolescent

Socialization

25

(1987) describes this process as a change in the forms of social control over adolescence. While the significance of religious and community ties (for urban regions, see Sander, 1987) and industrial work organizations as handed-down agencies of social control over adolescence has declined, the relevance of "new" agents of social control, namely the educational and vocational training institutions, pedagogic experts, and media and leisure-time industries, has increased.

6. Individualization: "Bright" and/or "Dark" Sides? Hence, there is widespread agreement regarding the appraisal and closer description of the consequences of social individualization processes for the external form of adolescence. However, this no longer applies for the appraisal of the resulting consequences for identity formation during adolescence. The lack of clarity and the analytical problems here will be worked out with reference to two lines of argument that come to diametrically opposite conclusions. The one pole of this debate is represented by the thesis of a "biographization of adolescence" as proposed by Werner Fuchs (1983). He decisively and unequivocally reconstructs the above-mentioned long-term secular process of change in modes of social control as a process of liberation, emancipation, and individualization of adolescents. From the perspective of individual adolescents, he views adolescence as a life phase that is characterized by an extended scope for biographically significant decisions as well as for present-day-related trialand-error learning. From the decision over different academic careers, across the assignment to peer groups or to a youth culture group style, up to the use of the breadth of available media and consumer goods, there opens up a multitude of choice alternatives and decision-making scopes. This sociostructurally induced multiplication of options and action potentials is now unreservedly equated with the realization of an individualized, self-responsible life-style: Adolescents deal with themselves in a simultaneously more sensitive and more demanding way. They work out their ideas on identity and their life plans more carefully and with more discrimination. In negotiations about ideas on values, life-styles, and expectations regarding work, income, or living standards, they want their elders to accept them as equal partners who are capable of making their own contribution to decisions. (Fuchs, 1983, p. 341, translated) Because the "biographization of adolescence" in the sense of an increasing formation of one's own life as a self-responsible life-style is derived directly from social processes of differentiation and pluralization and the attendant expansions of the scope of options, Fuchs arrives at an unequivocally positive conclusion in

26

W. Heitmeyer and Th. Oik

which the "bright side" of individualization is dominant. However, as the above descriptions of the paradox effects of social individualization should have made clear, both individualizing and deindividualizing effects can already be determined on the sociostructural level. Ambivalent effects of social trends toward individualization also have to be anticipated, because the structures of social inequality in no way disappear; only their reproduction mechanisms and forms of expression change. In particular, the traditional class concepts seem to be increasingly unable to appropriately assess the shifts in the mechanisms of the reproduction of social inequalities and represent them in theoretical models (see Berger, 1987). The mechanisms and structures of secondary social redistribution through national and political agents and sociocultural forms of the reproduction of social inequality (e.g., through prejudices, stigmatization, marginal group definitions) overlay and qualify status assignment processes regarding one's position in the employment system or in the field of economic production that traditional class concepts view as the primary dimension to determine social inequality structures. In all, recent research on social inequality (see Berger, 1987; Hradil, 1987; Zapf et al., 1987) maintains that, alongside the "old" dimensions of social inequality such as money, power, employment status, professional prestige, and academic status (which has been becoming increasingly more important since the 1960s), "new" dimensions of social inequality require more attention, because, increasingly, they preform socio-structural opportunity structures and risks and are also increasingly reflected in the consciousness of the individual. These particularly include the system of social welfare, working conditions, leisure-time conditions, and accommodation conditions, opportunities for participation, inclusion or exclusion from social support networks, as well as processes of discrimination and marginalization that occur in everyday interactions. The multiplication of the causes, paths of access to, appearances, connections, and perceptions of social inequality in no way leads to a levelling out of traditional relationships of inequality but to a differentiation of mechanisms of privilege and disadvantage. As a result, even with reference to individual persons, a multitude of juxtapositions of preference and disadvantage become possible, precisely because of the above-mentioned differentiation of characteristics of social categorization. Thus, if one wants to draw the most realistic picture of the situation of members of today's adolescent generation, one has to reconstruct this mixture of expanded action chances and rights as well as old and new action restrictions and disadvantages that link up to adolescence, and one has to focus on their interdependence with traditional class-specifically assigned life opportunities. Thus, for example, it would not be com-pletely implausible to hypothesize that improvements in life opportunities and extensions of option scopes, as they are linked to the social trends toward individualization, are not equal for all members of a certain young generation but are effective in differing intensity depending on class, region, and gender membership.

Individualization Theory in Adolescent

Socialization

27

These references to the outcomes of recent research on inequality should in no way be used to totally and sweepingly reject the central thesis of Werner Fuchs. The only concern is to underline the fact that, already on a sociostructural level, the effects of individualization are in no way purely positive or negative for adolescents, but partially contradictory. Thus a "biographization of adolescence" is, already on this level, at best only realizable as a trend, and cannot be achieved by all adolescents in the same way. In addition, even in those cases in which an expansion of action opportunities and thus also an improvement of situations is present, it remains questionable whether this possibility of a "life based on one's own responsibility and one's own rights" (Fuchs, 1983, p. 341, translated) can really be transformed into reality by each concrete adolescent. Personality characteristics such as subjective competencies, but also crises as well as situational life constellations (such as the quality of family relationships, peer relationships, the blocking or opening up of certain life plans through economic and demographic trends) must play an important role. The other pole, that is, the position that, in contrast to Werner Fuchs' argument in favor of the "bright" side, overemphasizes the "dark" side of individualization, is represented by the arguments of Martin Baethge (see 1986). Baethge's central thesis is that the structure of socialization in adolescence is characterized by a trend toward a "twofold individualization." Sociostructural individualization, that is, the diversification of life states and the pluralization of life-styles, is joined by the change in the structure of identity formation processes that increasingly emphasizes individualistic instead of collective forms of identity formation. He considers that the disintegration of collective (class-specific) situations and interests and the attendant loss of experiences of collective socialization and community do not lead to a "free, self-confident, and educated bourgeois individual" but tend toward the "destruction of individuality" (1986, p. 103, translated). He considers that this is due to the "restructuring of the field of adolescent experience from a particularly immediate work-integrated or at least work-related form of life to a particularly school-determined form of life" ( 1986, p. 108, translated). The increasing delay in the integration of adolescents into the labor market and the increasing length of time spent in the education system or in training contexts organized in a school-like manner weakens the socializing role of industrially organized working relationships with their norms of economic rationality and social mastery, but also with their social character of seriousness and utility, and strengthens the socializing relevance of academic learning processes as a type of activity that is more receptive and divorced from practical life, that is directed toward dealing with symbols, and, in whose context, individualistic and competitively oriented norms and orientations are rewarded. Although Baethge refrains from evaluating the transition from a "productionist" to a "consumer" socialization as a one-sided loss, his arguments are finally dominated by the confirmed negative consequences of this change. He fears,

28

W. Heitmeyer and Th. Oik

namely, that despite the expansion of individual opportunities to spend time and engage in communication outside of employment, the loss of a social environment that transmits the working world and the life world is greater. He fears that the powers of social integration that have functioned up to the present will break down, and that the alienation and loneliness of the individual will grow. Although Baethge—just like Fuchs—recognizes the possibility that individualization processes can have ambivalent effects, he decides for a "main effect" of these trends that is contrary to the arguments of Fuchs: Baethge considers that the erosion of class states and class fates is finally a weakening of the subject. Although members of the following generations of adolescents to some extent develop highly individualized ego identities that are sensitized toward the consideration of social negotiations and reflection on social patterns of relationships, he sees the danger that this form of highly individualized identity possesses insufficient coping competences to fight experiences of collective disadvantage and sociostructural restriction of action opportunities in a selfconfident and solidary manner. He sees a situation arising in which, although adolescents develop high demands regarding their lives or regarding the contents of an employment world that satisfies them, they are increasingly unable to exploit solidarity to assert these claims together with others through collective organizational activity directed against real existing inequalities in the distribution of such desired life opportunities or jobs. The problem with this argument is that certain forms of (compulsory) socialization and community formation, which have developed and generalized during an early phase in the growth of capitalist societies, are raised to a necessary prerequisite of "successful" processes of identity formation. Although it is admitted that the early experience of industrial hierarchical relationships submerges certain possibilities of socialization, this experience is nonetheless considered as positive for the formation of an ego identity; and although collective-solidary strategies of political action and the implementation of economic and social interests can be understood as a temporally bound outcome of the experience of class membership and class-specific disadvantage, they are hypostatized into transmission bands of socialization and identity formation that are valid across all times. We are not criticizing the problematic consequences of a loss of the collective ability to organize (see Heitmeyer, 1989). We just want to warn against understanding solidarity and community as an established outcome of the experience of collective strategies for protection against external threats as the only way in which self-aware ego identities can develop. Whether the process of "twofold individualization" leads to a strengthening or a weakening of individuation processes in adolescents is an empirical question that should not be categorically decided in advance by referring to a prior historical form of identity formation. Far more, it should be assumed that the sociostructural individuali-

Individualization Theory in Adolescent Socialization

29

zation of situations and biographies can also favor and encourage changed forms of individuated identity formation. For a successful self-assertion under the changed sociostructural life conditions also includes dealing with status inconsistency, changing (sub)cultural ties, and complex biographically significant decision-making situations. The difficulties and susceptibilities are shown in the fact that adolescents are not only able to make more decisions compared to other adolescent generations (i.e., they have a greater range of options) but they also have to decide (i.e., are compelled to reach decisions), although they mostly do not know what they should decide about (because the criteria of the decisions themselves are unclear and the calculation of the consequences of their decisions has become nontransparent). A self-confident and, despite changing loyalties, consistent approach to one's own biography that will permit the emergence of a self-responsible, di-stinctive biography is increasingly hard to attain through simple recourse to practices of collective action and collectively experienced milieu-specific orientation patterns (see Heitmeyer & Möller, 1988).

7. The Ambivalent Character of the Individualization Process: The Example of the Family The contradictory appraisals of the consequences of social individualization processes for the identity formation of adolescents have been traced here in order to emphasize the ambivalent character of social individualization: Only when possibly contradictory effects of social individualization processes are included in the analysis on a sociostructural, cultural, and individual level can the actual breadth of individual biographical forms of processing social individualization in adolescence be assessed and explained within each of their conditional relationships. Any presumptuous concentration on "central" causal relationships or "main effects" must, in contrast, lead to one-sided conclusions. Recognizing the ambivalence of social individualization processes means that their effects have to be considered in terms of both one as well as the other. Even on the sociostructural level of analysis, as shown above, it can be seen that the extension of options and action scopes is accompanied by the blocking of life plans and the unfolding of old and new forms of inequality. A good example of this is the situation of girls and young women (Herlyn & Vogel, 1989): Although social modernization and individualization processes have resulted in their being able to participate equally at general schools, they have still had no success in transforming their educational qualifications into corresponding opportunities in the job market. Older employees are in a similar situation. Old gender- and agespecific discriminations are not simply continued, but, in part, even adjusted to the new conditions through changed industrial strategies in the exploitation of labor. Apart from this, it has become evident that the extension of options is also accompanied by new forms of the perception of individual replaceability and

30

W. Heitmeyer and Th. Oik

exchangeability. When "all persons" can principally do "all things," then it becomes increasingly unimportant which actual person really does this or that. The same applies, on the one side, for the subjective construction of biographies, that an expanded spectrum of planning and design possibilities exists under the conditions of social individualization, but, on the other side, from a social perspective, it nonetheless holds that the majority of these biographical decisions and plans flow into the one broad mainstream of institutionally controlled normal biographies. The cultural code flanking and driving on the processes of social individualization is the imperative of "self-realization." Biographical planning and subjective designs should no longer be developed with reference to duties toward superior ideas and collectives, for example, in the sense of sacrificing oneself for one's own extended family, class, nation, or humanity, but according to the measure of increasing the relationship of the individual to his or her self. Particularly for adolescents, this results in the difficulty of having to develop their biographical projects and plans without reference to external norms, groups, and personal ties, in certain ways, to develop them out of themselves, out of their relationship to their own person, psyche, and body. However, whether this new state of demands leads directly into isolation, alienation, and loneliness or whether the growing members of the individualized society manage to develop new "communities of choice," that is, new forms of community and solidarity to replace the handed down, organic, and traditional "compulsory communities," or under what conditions they achieve this, is not an issue that can be categorically decided in advance, but an open empirical question that youth research must try to explain in the future. A suitable case for applying the analysis of the ambivalences of social individualization for childhood and adolescence would be the changed socialization conditions in families (see Bertram & Borrmann-Müller, 1988; Nave-Herz, 1988; Rerrich, 1988). With its structural features and effects on socialization, the family to some extent provides the "input conditions" in the transition from childhood to adolescence. And particularly in this respect, it is interesting to note that the external form and the internal pattern of relationships in family forms of life have changed greatly as a result of social individualization. As far as the external form is concerned, we can talk about a "pluralization" of forms of family life. Developments such as the delay and the quantitative decline in marriages, increasing divorce rates, the increase in the number of so-called "nonmarried living arrangements," and the increase in singleparent families are frequently mentioned examples of this trend. Alongside this external form, the internal socialization effect of families has changed: This is particularly related to the fact that the external pluralization of the forms of the family has been accompanied by the implementation of an internal pluralization and individualization of family relationships. Women's new claims for equality and emancipation have shaken traditional gender hierarchies and have resulted in concrete relationships between marriage partners representing a precarious,

Individualization Theory in Adolescent

Socialization

31

continuously provisional balance of negotiation processes. The demands involved in successfully living together with a partner have in no way declined, they have increased; experiences of disappointment and conflicts are preprogrammed. High divorce rates are a clear indication of this. This individualization and increased intimacy of partner relationships also represents an increased intimacy of the relationships between parents and their children. To the extent that the economic importance of children has decreased for the family, their psychosocial or emotional value has increased. This trend is reinforced further through the reduction in the size of household and family units (the trend toward one- and two-child families). With regard to the individualization opportunities of children and adolescents, this trend can be evaluated as completely ambiguous. First of all, it is certainly true that today's children and adolescents are recognized by their parents as independent persons with autonomous needs and interests at a very early age. This leads to far-reaching changes in parent-child relationships: As the available studies on the change in parental childrearing expectations and childrearing styles since the 1950s show, parents decreasingly face their children as figures of authority but increasingly as partners toward whom children and adolescents can raise objections and express their own ideas. Hence, the chances for the individualization of personality have improved. The development of one's own will, the overcoming of the structural discrepancy in power between the generations is more possible for children and adolescents under these conditions than it was for earlier generations of children and adolescents. Alongside these "bright" sides, there are also "dark" sides: One consequence of the increased intimacy of parent-child relationships is that the process of separation between the two sides has become more risky and more difficult to balance. In particular, the current development of increasingly earlier opportunities for autonomy on the one had and the lengthened economic and psychosocial dependence on parents on the other hand involves new experiences of stress and conflict. Precisely because, within the child-centered family, the meaning of life for parents consists in the maintenance of a strong emotional tie to the child, it becomes difficult for parents to loosen the ties to their children, to find the "correct" rhythm for increasing autonomy. In this context, the decline in the size of family households and the accompanying fact that today's children have fewer or sometimes no siblings and also fewer horizontal relatives (uncles and aunts) tends to be an additional burden. This is because the entire attention and energy of the parents concentrates on at most two of their own children or adolescents, who, in turn, have less opportunity to develop a counterbalance through sibling relationships. Nonetheless, under the conditions of singularized growing up, the preconditions are better for experiencing social learning and solidarity and transforming these into corresponding social competencies. However, when it becomes more difficult to learn solidarity, the consequences for

32

W. Heitmeyer and Th. Oik

political socialization are obvious. In addition, the external pluralization of familial forms of living together does not just involve individual preferences of the members of these forms of community but also processes of marginalization and exclusion. In particular, the accumulation of personal crises and economic deprivation can lead to certain variants such as single-parent families (single mothers) being more the expression of an economically imposed constraint rather than the outcome of a new selfunderstanding. For the children and adolescents, these life forms are linked to both threats of isolation and the atrophy of developmental potentials as well as increased demands on their competence to cope with everyday problems. Although such children and adolescents possess more individual decision-making scope because of the mostly job-related absence of the single childrearing parent, they also bear more responsibility for the consequences of their decisions in everyday life, because the family network of support, which can be particularly helpful when crises arise, is either weakened or no longer available. The new decision-making freedom thus bears the price of the loss of the carefreeness of a child's daily life. It is also apparent that the conflicts and frictions resulting from this development increase at the intersection between the "internal family world" and the "external social world." This is because the "scope" of highly individuated family relationships corresponds to the external dominance of "institution-dependent individual states" (Beck, 1986, p. 210, translated). The demands of social institutions of socialization with regard to patterns of temporal commitment, social role demands, and material work tasks standardize the everyday life of children and adolescents and make increasing claims on the coping competences of both children and parents. Even beyond kindergarten and school, social institutions (architectural design of the living environment, traffic, etc.) structure the action scope of children and adolescents and contribute to a standardization of their entire spectrum of activities. In all, it holds that external pluralizations and internal individualizations lead to increased demands on the daily coping behavior of adults, adolescents, and children (see Engel & Hurrelmann, 1989). In the course of this trend, behavioral models have lost their normative strength, and the traditional structure of power and mastery can no longer be enforced unquestionably. As a result, relationships have to be "negotiated" situationally and interactively, without the life fates and life-courses of individuals being transformed completely into autonomy. During this trend, the potential for conflicts increases, and, thereby, also the need for time to approach these conflicts, to withstand them, and to process them. The conflicts triggered may be beyond the competence of the individuals to cope with them, resulting in withdrawal, repression, and avoidance of arguments and conflicts. The increasing number of divorces represents the ambivalence contained here:

Individualization

Theory in Adolescent

Socialization

33

While, in many cases, a breaking up of family ties represents the best solution for all those involved and permits new productive forms of everyday life, in other cases, the risks and negative effects predominate. In this context, it is mostly the children and adolescents—particularly also in the long-term—who belong to the "losers" in such patterns of family togetherness or separation (see Wallerstein & Blakeslee, 1989). The opening up of "choice alternatives" for the parents (living together or not) in many cases proves to be a blocking of future life chances and life perspectives for the children and adolescents involved; they are exposed to mental impairments and disorders that lastingly mark the future course of their lives. This brief sketch of the consequences of an external pluralization and internal individualization of family forms of living together indicates the way in which the ambivalent consequences of social individualization can be studied. A careful reconstruction of the effects of general social trends within and between the individual life and action domains of children and adolescents must be combined with an analysis of individual and group-specific forms of processing these "pregiven" demand states, in order to map case-specific outcomes of the courses of processing social individualization and, possibly, categorize them according to social groups. Single components and elements of such an analysis are already available in the publications of current youth research, and can be applied to more far-reaching research plans. The purpose of this volume will have been achieved if the papers it contains on the fields of socialization and action in schools, culture, the media, sport, sexuality, work, and politics could serve as further building blocks in the completion of this endeavor.

Note 1. Translated from German into English by Jonathan Harrow, University of Bielefeld.

References Baacke, D. (1987). Jugend und Jugendkulturen. Weinheim: Juventa. Baethge, M. (1986). Individualisierung als Hoffnung und als Verhängnis. In R. Lindner & H.-H. Wiehe (Eds.), Verborgen im Licht. Neues zur Jugendfrage (pp. 8-123). Frankfurt: Syndikat. Beck, U. (1983). Jenseits von Stand und Klasse? Soziale Ungleichheiten, gesellschaftliche Individualisierungsprozesse und die Entstehung neuer Formationen und Identitäten. In R. Kreckel (Ed.), Soziale Ungleichheiten, Sonderband 2 (pp. 35-74). Göttingen: Schwartz. Beck, U. (1986). Risikogesellschaft. Auf dem Weg in eine andere Moderne. Frankfurt: Suhrkamp. Berger, P. Α. (1987). Klassen und Klassifikationen. Zur "neuen Unübersichtlichkeit" in der soziologischen Ungleichheitsdiskussion. Kölner Zeitschrift für Soziologie und Sozialpsychologie, 39,40-58.

34

W. Heitmeyer and Th. Oik

Bertram, H. (1987). Jugend heute. Die Einstellungen der Jugend zu Familie, Beruf und Gesellschaft. München: Beck. Bertram, H. & Borrmann-Müller R. (1988). Individualisierung und Pluralisierung familialer Lebensformen. Politik und Zeitgeschichte, 13, 14-23. Durkheim, E. (1977). Über die Teilung der sozialen Arbeit. Frankfurt: Suhrkamp. (Original work published 1893) Elias, Ν. (1977). Über den Prozeß der Zivilisation (2 Vols.). Frankfurt: Suhrkamp. Engel, U. & Hurrelmann, K. (1989). Psychosoziale Belastung im Jugendalter. Berlin: de Gruyter. Esser, H. (1987). Bespr. Risikogesellschaft. Kölner Zeitschrift für Soziologie und Sozialpsychologie, 39, 806-811. Ferchhoff, W. (1985). Zur Pluralisierung und Differenzierung von Lebenszusammenhängen bei Jugendlichen. In D. Baacke & W. Heitmeyer (Eds.), Neue Widersprüche. Jugendliche in den achtziger Jahren (pp. 46-85). Weinheim: Juventa. Fuchs, W. (1983). Jugendliche Statuspassage oder individualisierte Jugendbiographie. Soziale Welt, 34 (2), 341-371. Habermas, J. (1988). Individualisierung durch Vergesellschaftung. In J. Habermas (Ed.), Nachmetaphysisches Denken. Philosophische Aufsätze (pp. 187-241). Frankfurt: Suhrkamp. Heitmeyer, W. (1989). Rechtsextremistische Orientierungen bei Jugendlichen. Empirische Ergebnisse und Erklärungsmuster einer Untersuchung zur politische Sozialisation. Weinheim: Juventa. Heitmeyer, W. & Möller, K. (1988). Milieu - Einbindung und Milieu - Erosion als individuelle Sozialisationsprobleme. Zeitschrift für erziehungswissenschaftliche Forschung, 22 (3/4), 115-144. Herlyn, I., & Vogel, U. (1989). Individualisierung: Eine neue Perspektive auf die Lebenssituation von Frauen. Zeitschrift für Sozialisationsforschung und Erziehungssoziologie, 3, 162- 178. Hoffmann-Nowotny, H.-J. (1988). Gesamtgesellschaftliche Determinanten des Individualisierungsprozesses. Zeitschrift fur Sozialreform, 11/12, 659-670. Honneth, A. (1988). Soziologie. Eine Kolumne. Merkur, 42, Nr. 470, 315-319. Hornstein, W. (1985). Jugend. Strukturwandel im gesellschaftlichen Wandlungsprozeß. In S. Hradil (Ed.), Sozialstruktur im Umbruch (pp. 323-342). Opladen: Leske + Budrich. Hradil, S. (1987). Sozialstrukturanalyse in einer fortgeschrittenen Gesellschaft. Von Klassen und Schichten zu Lagen und Milieus. Opladen: Leske + Budrich. Hurrelmann, K., Rosewitz, B., & Wolf, H. (1985). Lebensphase Jugend. Eine Einführung in die sozialwissenschaftliche Jugendforschung. Weinheim: Juventa. Joas, H. (1988). Das Risiko der Gegenwartsdiagnose. Soziologische Revue, 11, 1-6. Kohli, M. (1985). Die Institutionalisierung des Lebenslaufs. Kölner Zeitschrift fur Soziologie und Sozialpsychologie, 37(1), 1-29. Luhmann, N. (1987). Die gesellschaftliche Differenzierung und das Individuum. In Th. Olk & H.-U. Otto (Eds.), Soziale Dienste im Wandel. 1. Helfen im Sozialstaat (pp. 121-137). Neuwied/Darmstadt: Leuchterhand. Luhmann, N. (1989). Individuum, Individualität, Individualismus. In N. Luhmann (Ed.), Gesellschaftsstruktur und Semantik. Studien zur Wissenssoziologie der modernen Gesellschaft (Vol. 3, pp. 149-258). Frankfurt: Suhrkamp. Nave-Herz, R. (Ed.).(1988). Wandel und Kontinuität der Familie in der Bundesrepublik Deutschland. Stuttgart: Enke. Nunner-Winkler, G. (1985). Identität und Individualität. Soziale Welt, 36(5), 466-482. Olk, Th. (1985). Jugend und gesellschaftliche Differenzierung - Zur Entstrukturierung der Jugendphase. In H. Heid & W. Klafki (Eds.), Arbeit - Bildung - Arbeitsplatz. (19. Beiheft der Zeitschrift für Pädagogik, pp. 290-301). Weinheim: Beltz.

Individualization Theory in Adolescent Socialization

35

Olk, Th. (1986). Jugend und Gesellschaft. Entwurf für einen Perspektivenwechsel in der sozialwissenschaftlichen Jugendforschung. In W. Heitmeyer (Ed.), Interdisziplinäre Jugendforschung (φρ. 41-62). Weinheim: Juventa. Olk, Th., & Otto, H.-U. (1981). Wertewandel und Sozialarbeit. Neue Praxis, 11(2), 99-122. Rerrich, M. S. (1988). Balanceakt Familie. Zwischen alten Leitbildern und neuen Lebensformen. Freiburg: Lambertus. Sander, U. (1987). Jugend und agrarständische Gemeinschaften. Wie entläßt die "stille Revolution" ihre Kinder auf dem Lande? Zeitschrift fur internationale erziehungs- und sozialwissenschaftliche Forschung, 4(1), 103-142. Wallerstein, J. S. & Blakeslee, S. (1989). Gewinner und Verlierer: Frauen, Männer, Kinder nach der Scheidung; eine Langzeitstudie. München: Droemer Knauer. Zapf, W., Breuer, S., Hampel, J., Krause, P., Mohr, H.-M., & Wiegand, E. (1987). Individualisierung und Sicherheit. Untersuchungen zur Lebensqualität in der Bundesrepublik Deutschland. München: Beck. Zinnecker, J. (1987). Jugendkultur 1940-1985. Opladen: Leske + Budrich.

Childhood Between Individualization and Institutionalization1 Heinz Siinker

1. Introduction The state of the art on childhood theory is precarious and underdeveloped (see Berg, 1991; Chisholm, 1992; Leonard, 1990; Qvortrup, 1990). Not only current overviews on the state of research on childhood in industrialized capitalist societies but also empirical analyses of the lifeworlds and life-styles of children reveal basic problems that are blamed on the constitutional conditions of their object and on societal interests. Problems are also attributed to the approaches used in the history of science. The most varied articles focus on the issue of how far changes in social relationships induce a change in the estate of "childhood" or how far observable processes of change in children's life-styles are due to social processes of change. The question this contains on the constitutional conditions of childhood is complemented furthermore by the issue of whether research on childhood is keeping up with the times (see, e.g., Alanen, 1988; Büchner, 1990, p. 79; Elder et al., 1993a).2 Further difficulties regarding whether it is possible to adjust research approaches to the development of childhood lifeworlds and lifestyles result when the fact that children are embedded in family life leads to the hypothesis of "family childhood" in theory and policy, which generates the task of discussing the impact on children's lives of both individually and socially determined developments in family life. On the one hand, this consolidates into the discussion of intrinsic rights or the intrinsic value of childhood life, while, on the other hand, in Germany, for example, we hear about a refamilization in the context of policy toward children (see Karsten, 1989). Analytically, it can be determined that the current focus within the discussion on childhood that considers the intrinsic rights or values of children's lives corresponds to a discussion within social theory and social policy in which a central focus is "individualization" or the "new phase of individualization" (Beck, 1986). One advantage of this approach is that, with regard to new developments in society and new modes of societalization, dealing with the topic of childhood is liberated from former familial or naturalistic constraints. At the same time, it has to be stressed that, first, W. Hornstein's statement on the situation in youth research applies even more strongly to research on childhood: It is apparent that theoretical concepts of society or modernization play a more important role in the field than the available empirical resources (Hornstein, 1988, p. 70). Second,

38

H. Sünker

discussing individualization is not a liberation from the appraisals of social theory and social policy: These should be discussed far more, on the one hand (once more), with reference to discussions in youth research as "hope and undoing" (Baethge, 1986), and, on the other hand, should relate to discussions contributing to the issue of sociocognitive development. An example of this can be found in Damon's hypothesis that the social thinking of a child develops predictably and as a function of age during the span between infancy and adolescence (Damon, 1990, p. 285). In all, we are concerned with the task of combining ideas in social theory and social policy with the results of research on childhood and analyses of elements of contemporary childhood life, particularly in the light of the ultimate lack of clarity in processes of social development and their impact. The categorical approach given by determining the relationship between individualization and institutionalization contains a reference to the—few—empirically obtained findings. Therefore, not only can research goals be formulated but also it can be seen that the presently available information on the reality of contemporary children's lives is contradictory, questionable, and of little use because of (or in spite of) its degree of generality (Dolíase, 1986, p. 135). In the current context, it is interesting that even Ph. Ariès in his "History of Childhood"—whose original French title emphasizes its historiographie limitation and its intention of criticizing modern times through its reference to the "Ancien régime"—provided a possible framework for discussing our topic by vehemently condemning sociohistorical interpretations of the history of the family and childhood that have attempted to present developments in recent decades as a "triumph of individualism over social constraints." For Ariès, the development of the meaning of the family has had much more to do with "striving for uniformity" (Ariès, 1978, pp. 557, 564).

2. The Process of Individualization, Institutionalization, and Standardization In his analysis and presentation of the individualization process, U. Beck has pointed out that, from sociohistorical perspectives, "individualization" is nothing new, and this is why he talks about a new phase of individualization, "a new mode of societalization" (Beck, 1986, p. 205). In fact, Hegel's analysis of bourgeois society had already worked out that "the individual has become the son of the bourgeois society," because it is precisely bourgeois society that is tearing the individual from the family groups, is alienating its members, and recognizing them as autonomous individuals (Hegel, 1955, §238). The decisive problem here is that now—and this projects as far as themost modern interpretations of

Childhood Between Individualization and Institutionalization

39

individualization—the resulting isolation of the individual, which finds its expression in "self-addicted purpose," goes hand in hand with the establishment of a system of "dependence on all sides" (Hegel, 1955, §183; see Adorno, 1966, p. 257). This leads to the growth of the basic dilemma in the capitalistic form of society: to approach the relationship between individual and society as a control problem within the framework of the integration issue. The autonomy of the individual, which is categorically involved in the reference to the idea of freedom and the conception of free will (Hegel, 1955, §§22-24), is not just sacrificed to an abstract generality in Hegel but is also essential to "surface appearances" in the process of imposing and establishing the bourgeois-capitalistic formation of society. The reference to both Beck's and Lefebvre's hypotheses may make it clear that the substance of the current discussion on pluralization, destructuralization, and destandardization is mounted on the surface appearances of bourgeois-capitalistic society. In fact, this concerns—in the words of Lefebvre—colonization of the everyday of members of bourgeois society (see Stinker, 1989a, pp. 111-132, 1992a). This leads to a uniformity within which "the complexity of a homogeneity is hidden... the variety veils a gleichschaltung," so that "attitudes" have taken the place of "autonomous activities" (Lefebvre, 1975, pp. 242-243, translated, cf. pp. 120-121). These surface appearances, which represent a characteristic of current society that Lefebvre has labeled the "bureaucratic society of controlled consumption" (Lefebvre, 1972), gain an important reinforcement through a tripartite social movement: societalization as "totalization of society," an "extreme individuation," as well as a "particularization" (Lefebvre, 1978, p. 340). In summary, this results in an intertwined trend of fragmentation and integration: "The trend toward totalization and 'integration' (the social ensemble, i.e., the state) conceals this separation. The fragmentation of the everyday, even more comprehensive than that of work, veils the unification from above and the repression of essential differences" (Lefebvre, 1978, p. 146, translated). On the level of individual existence, these processes of unification and repression correspond to an increase in alienation that even extends to the danger of second-degree alienation (Lefebvre, 1978, p. 347) and the disappearance of the awareness of alienation (Lefebvre, 1972, pp. 83,134). This is accompanied by the rise of an individualism that should not be mistaken for the self-realization of the individual (Lefebvre, 1972, p. 60) but far more ends in the privatism and egoism of bourgeois society (Lefebvre, 1987, pp. 153-154; see Adorno, 1966, pp. 304-305). Beck (1986) also considers it to be decisive that, in the growth of the modern world, individualization is taking place within the framework of a process of societalization that specifically makes it increasingly impossible to achieve individual self-realization: Although the individual is released from traditional restrictions and

40

H. Sünker

cares, he or she exchanges these for the constraints of the labor market and existence as a consumer with its inherent standardizations and controls. The position of traditional restrictions and social forms (social class and nuclear family) is replaced by secondary authorities and institutions that shape the life-course of the individual and, instead of attaining individual control, which imposes itself as a form of awareness, the individual becomes the plaything of fashions, relationships, economic features, and markets, (p. 211, translated) It is not surprising that Beck's statements and Lefebvre's ideas complement each other when we consider that Beck also talks about a "tripartite individualization." The process of disengagement from historically given social forms and social commitments that accompanies the loss of traditional certainties worked out by Beck finds its "third partition" in a new type of social commitment (Beck, 1986, p. 206). From a perspective that could almost be called functional, he views individualization as the basis for new possibilities of control over individuals who believe themselves to be free. As a consequence, Beck insists on the "simultaneity of individualization, institutionalization, and standardization" (Beck, 1986, p. 210, translated) that leads to a new mingling of private and institutional estates. Beck's negativistic view of the processes of social development also corresponds to his claim that currently "a system of institutions of care, administration, and policy" is developing that has a "pedagogic, disciplinary" impact on any life that deviates from "the official standard of normality" (Beck, 1986, p. 215, translated; but see already, Ariès, 1978, pp. 556, 558; Sünker, 1992). Hence, the individual is even inflicted with the responsibility "to design the personal life-course and also, and specifically, in areas in which he or she is only the product of relationships" (Beck, 1986, p. 216, translated). This should simultaneously be supplemented with the insight that, under present conditions, the system reproduces social inequality only on an extended level—hence, while retaining relationships of social inequality (Beck, 1986, p. 208). If Beck sees only a complementarity of institutional dependence and increasing susceptibility to crisis in the individual estates that arise (Beck, 1986, p. 214),3 and only contrasts this without analytical support to his demand for an "active model of behavior in everyday life" with a subject as center who assigns and initiates potential activities (Beck, 1986, p. 217), Lefebvre analyzes this program—in a way that can be sketched only briefly here—and applies it in his theory and criticism of the everyday. His starting point is determined by the task of "assisting the birth of everyday life's potential plenitude" (Lefebvre, 1972, p. 31, translated; see, also, Sünker, 1989a). His insight into the polarity of everyday life, which he categorizes as "ambiguity," permits him not only to raise the issue of the processes of colonialization but also to discuss the possibilities of "becoming a subject" as the outcome of individual and social praxis of the one and the many. The main idea is "that there is no system of the everyday, despite the attempts to construct and complete it" (Lefebvre, 1972, p. 123). A societal and pedagogically reformulated position within the old European

Childhood Between Individualization and Institutionalization

41

tradition of the "actualization of the person" (see Adorno, 1966, p. 387; Stinker, 1989a, pp. 133-159) is thus—despite all parallels on the level of the presentation of the threats to awareness—to be contrasted with a position in which the processes of individualization from a perspective—derived from control theory—revolve around institutionalization and standardization.

3. The Social Construct of Childhood The state of research and appraisals of the tasks that could lead to a theoretical consolidation of the topics of "childhood" and "childhood life" should be viewed against this background. As a consequence of talking about the social configuration of "childhood," the discussion on the autonomous rights of childhood life-styles has had to draw on empirical support of limited value for the hypothesis of a social change in the life situation of "childhood" (see, e.g., Geulen, 1989a; Honig, 1990). This does not just concern the inadequate empirical basis for far-reaching appraisals that is also involved here—as repeatedly confirmed in childhood reports from various countries—but also the problem, which is found particularly clearly in the case of the topic of children, of mediating between objective issues and the analytical procedures underlying them. In all, this indicates the difficulty in generalizing results and knowledge. The social location of childhood, the recognition of childhood as a social construct, and the separation of the real-life relationships and conditions that frame the life of children in present-day society and split into social, material, and cultural dimensions—which then also still have to be related to individual situations—clarify these difficulties once more. Correspondingly, it is first necessary to sketch under which preconditions and with which consequences "childhood" or the "childhood life" becomes a topic within the context of various approaches. 1. 2.

For political and societal interests, children are viewed as an element of population policy, family policy, and social policy, that is, in their function of continuing society. It is the "future" of a society that is at stake. Within the framework of pedagogics or educational science, it can be seen that the reference to children as objects or also subjects of the pedagogic and Bildung relationship results in an approach that tries to justify its own professional efforts. This becomes particularly clear in classical early bourgeois approaches to the conceptualization of educational science or pedagogic practice. For example, Schleiermacher (1826/1983) considered education to be based in the intergenerational relationship and concluded that, "the younger generation should be delivered to the great communities of life in which it has to act autonomously." Schleiermacher particularly used the tense relationship that could be observed between community life and free self-

42

3.

H. Sünker

activity to derive his perspective for applying the tasks of "protecting" and "changing" to deal with the following generation (Schleiermacher, 1826/ 1983, p. 94). For Kant, education hid the "great secret of the perfection of human nature" (Kant, 1964, p. 700); for "it is precisely good upbringing from whence all the goodness in the world arises. The seeds that lie in persons must only be developed increasingly. For the causes of evil are not to be found in the natural estate of humanity" (Kant, 1964, pp. 704-705, translated). If, as Kant maintains, education is the greatest and most difficult problem given to humanity, it nonetheless holds that, "Children should not be reared to the present but to the possibly better states of the human condition in the future; that is, to the idea of humanity and appropriate to its complete determination" (Kant, 1964, p. 704, translated). A further motive is linked to the two previous sets of problems: It points to the scientific embedment of our topic. The publications from Ariès and de Mause have led to a controversial new approach to the history of childhood within which the processes of excluding and integrating children in social contexts have been discussed in terms of the consequences for the specific childhood life. The heart of the theoretical controversy is that Ariès' (1978) argument, which is based on a theory of control in which the education of everyday life and the disciplining of children are interwoven, is confronted with de Mause's ideas on an optimistic approach based on evolution theory that assumes that the situation of children will improve as social contexts develop further toward civilization (de Mause, 1984). The proceeds of this discussion have been that the historicalsocietal formation of the life of children as well as ideas about childhood have been worked out clearly. Thereby, insights into the relationship between theories of childhood, images of childhood, and the life of children can be contrasted empirically with ideas in which the child is reduced to the state and estate of a natural being alone.

In addition, further studies that have argued on the basis of ethnography or civilization theory, examples of which are The Evolution of the Status of the Child in Western Europe: From the Collective Body to the Private Body from Gelis (1986); Das fremde Kind. Zur Entstehung der Kindheitsbilder des bürgerlichen Zeitalters from Richter (1987); Die Vernunft der Väter. Zur Psychographie von Bürgerlichkeit und Aufklärung in Deutschland from Wild (1987); and Liebe als Dressur. Kindererziehung in der Aufklärung from Glantschnig (1987), clarify how studying the history of childhood can provide systematic insights into societal mediation that address the relationship between the individual and society.

Childhood Between Individualization and Institutionalization

43

4. Arguments to Appraise the Current Situation To avoid abstract arguments that try to appraise the current situation by contrasting the hypothesis that children have never had it so good with the statement that children have never had it so bad, it is necessary to analyze social as well as cultural, and thus both structural and interactive variables of childhood life and experience in the present-day. Correspondingly, the issue is to look for indications of changes in the social life conditions and life opportunities, in the forms of acquiring social reality, and thereby children's spaces of experience and their subjectivity potentials during the last 20 to 25 years in the Federal Republic of Germany as well as comparable societies (see Büchner, 1989, 1990; Chisholm, 1992; Dencik, 1989; Engelbert, 1986; Geulen, 1989a, 1989b; Honig, 1989, 1990; Lang, 1985; Nave-Herz, 1992). 1. 2. 3. 4.

5. 6.

7.

8.

9.

Although the (bourgeois) nuclear family is expanding continuously, there is also an increase in the number of one-parent families and unmarried parents. With the decline in the number of children per family, siblings are becoming less common, leading to changes in family experience. Behaviors that were previously typical for adolescents have shifted into the childhood phase, so that the problems of dependence and autonomy increase. Cultural standards of normalcy and deviant behavior have changed: Much that would have been defined as abnormal or deviant 25 years ago is now considered to be normal or even desirable. The development of a childhood culture and of children as consumers frequently goes hand in hand. At the same time, a decline in traditional childhood culture can be seen, as the locations of earlier childhood experience and the spaces of experience have frequently become children's ghettos. Increasingly more children attend public childrearing and Bildung institutions at an increasingly early age. This is accompanied by knowledge about the importance of peer relationships even in infancy (see Corsaro, 1985; Projektgruppe Reggio/Hamburg, 1990). Parent-child relationships have changed decisively: Childhood subjectivity, personality, and autonomy are frequently not only acknowledged but also desired (see below). This trend is accompanied by new positions on the issue of children's rights (see Dietze, 1989), above all, with reference to the new UN children's convention (see Eichholz, 1991) as far as, for example, the proposed establishment of a children's delegate to the state government of North Rhine-Westphalia.

44

H. Sünker

5. Today's Parent-Child Relationships If we ask what in what way influences the social experiences and perception of children in a general manner, what the child has to process or acquire, then it is also necessary to start to analyze the form and content of parent-child relationships under today's conditions—and their consequences for both sides. U. Beck (1986) relates the intrafamilial individualization process to the development of the social relationships and the quality of the relationship to the child: On the one hand, the child hinders the process of individualization. It costs work and money, is unpredictable, binds, and disrupts carefully formed daily routines and life plans. When it is born, the child develops and perfects its "dictatorship of need" and forces its creature life rhythm on the parents with the naked violence of its vocal cords and the lighting up of its smile. On the other hand, it is precisely this that also makes the child irreplaceable. The child becomes the last remaining permanent and inexchangeable primary relation. Partners come and go; the child remains . . . . As relations break up between the sexes, the child gains a monopoly character for a viable togetherness, for the experience of emotions in the to and fro of creatures, which otherwise is becoming increasingly rare and dubious. In the child, an anachronistic social experience is cultivated and celebrated that is exactly improbable and longed for in the process of individualization. The pampering of the children, the "production of childhood" that children—these poor, overloved creatures—are provided with, and the ugly fighting over the children during and after divorce are some of the signs of this. (p. 193, translated; see, also, Nave-Herz, 1992) Beck's view of the intrafamilial milieu should be related to H. Popitz's (1987) ideas on the consequences of changes in social subjectivity for the "needs of authority." He has also related his appraisal of the appearance of a new element in the behavioral repertoire—which he has labeled a "reciprocal desire to understand and be understood"—to parent-child relationships. He assumes that a one-sided binding to authority continues to develop in early childhood, but that it does not remain: Yet, one of the most important changes in parent-child relationships during recent decades has been the increasingly intense attempt of many parents to take the individuality of their children seriously without any "age-related" cutoffs; not as something that is only developing but as individuality here and now, as present individuality. This encloses the heart of a new equality of the child—the "emancipation of the child." The child who is acknowledged to have individuality, who is assigned individuality, turns from an object to a potential subject of individuality

Childhood Between Individualization and

Institutionalization

45

acknowledgement. Parents perceive the respect of their children—not the general thankfulness but their personal respect — as a criterion of their individual worth. If the child withdraws its recognition, this threatens the parents' self-esteem. The child is transformed into an authority. Hence, reciprocal relationships of authority can arise here as well. (pp. 645-646, translated; see, also, Nunner-Winkler, 1992, pp. 268-269; Schülein, 1987) The development of parent-child relationships5 links together issues that go beyond the legal nature of this relationship (see Reinicke, 1989), because they focus on the subject potentials of children and their competencies and additionally consider the effects of social trends on changed family situations as well as the impact on children of new forms and contents of public education institutions. The results of a study on the conditions under which today's children grow up in Scandinavia should be viewed as an extension of the discussion on sociocognitive development (Edelstein & Habermas, 1984; Edelstein & Keller, 1982; Geulen, 1982) and as a specification of the discussion on "individualization and institutionalization." It cites the far-reaching consequences of family and institutional variables for the activities, abilities, and psychological development of children and clearly shows the changes in comparison to earlier dimensions of childhood life (Dencik, 1989, pp. 176-177). Some of these consequences are: 1. 2.

Because of the different social locations of life, social flexibility is required. Because of the great number of newly structured relationships to others, it is necessary for children to develop the ability to reflect on themselves and their world at the earliest possible stage. 3. Because of the different fields of experience, there is a need to develop the ability to integrate. 4. The group situation leads to the need to develop communication skills and to link these to the ability to effectively represent and express one's own wants and opinions. 5. There is a particular need to develop the ability to exercise self-control, emotional control, and to regulate impulsive behavior in public infant care situations. 6. The development of self-confidence is possibly much more strongly linked than before to the ability to take the initiative and to "represent" oneself. Dencik's interpretation, inspired by civilization theory, discusses the impact of the expansion of day care centers on developmental processes in early childhood. It complements L. Krappmann and H. Oswald's findings on the decisive importance of peer relationships during intermediate childhood (10- to 12-year-olds) for the development of a social environment for children that extends beyond the family world (see Baacke, 1992, pp. 267-288; Krappmann, 1993; Krappmann & Oswald, 1990).

46

H. Stoker

These contributions from childhood theory that attempt to view the life conditions of children between the societalization processes of institutionalization and individualization can also be used to fill in a scenario developed by Habermas in his theory of communicative action. This scenario displays the effects of the dichotomy of system and lifeworld on the function of the family and the social integration of youth who have developed identity formation problems and loss of orientation as well as gains in orientation through the increasing requirements for autonomy. Habermas was guided by an idea that can be compared with Dencik's presentations of childhood structuring performance and Popitz's ideas on the development of a new quality of relationships between parents and children. This idea is that the willful rationalization of the lifeworld, that is, a growth of potential for understanding, is also to be recognized in structural changes in the bourgeois nuclear family. This context concerns the justification for the possibility "that some of the potential for rationality contained in communicative activity may also be released in the leveled patterns of relationships, in the individualized forms of interaction, and liberalized childrearing practices" (Habermas, 1981, p. 568, translated; see Nunner-Winkler, 1992, pp. 269-270).6 To protect against one-dimensional interpretations, he emphasizes—like Lefebvre before him—the ambiguity of the processes of social development that he is analyzing. One of the main justifications for this is that the family lifeworlds are confronted externally by the imperatives of the economic and administrative system "instead of being mediated by them behind their backs. In families and their environments, we can observe a polarization between communicatively structured and formally organized fields of action that establishes the socialization process under different conditions—and exposes it to another type of risk" (Habermas, 1981, pp. 568-569, translated). It is precisely the potential increase in communicative rationality, that is, the increase in egalitarian relations in the family's lifeworld that leads to demanding as well as susceptible socialization conditions that peak in the currently visible change in the form of the so-called adolescent problem. These conditions—to extend the argument of Habermas—also have to be investigated with regard to the consequences for the social configuration of childhood and dimensions of childhood life. Habermas concludes—analogue to the descriptions of the individualization process in Beck—that, as a result of the disappearance of traditional societalization patterns, hence, also of meaning and life orientations, each "achievement" that has been lost has to be achieved autonomously by the present young generation—children and adolescents—and they have to achieve this despite or in opposition to the access mechanisms of abstract systems. This means that that which was achieved earlier, apparently at a natural pace of development, and was viewed as "normal," although it was really performed within the framework of social reproduction processes and societalization patterns, now requires support from, perhaps even a restructuring by, the young members of bourgeois society

Childhood Between Individualization and Institutionalization

47

who are simultaneously the "actors" and the "acted upon" (see Heller, 1984, p. 5). This raises the question regarding which political and pedagogic measures are needed in order to support emancipatory orientation gains, that is, subjectivity and selfdetermination. Existing political and institutional frameworks need to be criticized, because they do not even manage to compensate social disadvantage (see Engelbert, 1986; Sünker 1989a, 1991). Therefore, it is necessary to call for a child resource policy that will "focus on the functional requirements of a healthy, curious, productive, and motivated child. This change in perspective draws attention to the child as an actor in a larger social system and to the institutional networks and resources present in a larger environment" (Heath & McLaughin, 1983, p. 337; see, also, Karsten & Sünker, 1990; van Krieken, 1991).7 However, even this proposal requires an "interface" that cannot be obtained with the help of sociological arguments; it has to be conceptualized with the theory of Bildung. For "as an individual, a person is only potentially a subject; he or she only becomes one as a result of Bildung" (Konefïke, 1986, p. 72).8 Even advanced sociological positions that, for example, represent the relationship between the generations as a social relationship of power and authority (Hood-Williams & Fitz, 1983, p. 104) or base their analyses on "the dilemma in childhood theory between the dependence of children on adults, the autonomy of children, and their rights as subjects" (Honig, 1990, p. 36, translated) become bogged down in problems because their definitions finally remain exterior to their "object." Without relinquishing the level of reflection in the social sciences, it is necessary to take into account the developmental dependence of childhood life and experience that cannot be completely grasped sociologically. This concerns the need for Bildung and the potential for Bildung of all children as children. Hegel's lecture on the right of children to have an education (Hegel, 1955, §174) or Mollenhauer's comment that the process of educating a child should not be conceived according to the model of working or changing a material but only as encouraging a force that develops by itself, hence, as a relationship of dialogue (Mollenhauer, 1990, 90), are both formulated in the conviction of the rational ability and educability of all. If this means, on the one hand, in a concrete way, "to honor the integrity of the child by expecting him or her to tackle tasks" (Mollenhauer, 1983, p. 103, translated), it holds that adults, on the other hand, should expect children to show an ability to resist: Both are needed to bring about a democratic society that is characterized by the chance of human development, freedom, and social justice.

48

H. Sünker

Notes 1. 2.

3.

4. 5.

6.

7.

Translated from German into English by Jonathan Harrow, University of Bielefeld. Elder et al. (1993b) depict the following tasks of analysis: Three central themes or implicit models have emerged in this volume demonstrating how history and developmental psychology connect. The first theme, an institutional model, specifies some form of social change and its links to children's lives, behaviors, and belief systems. A second theme takes the form of a cultural model that traces cultural changes and continuity to children's lives and behavior. In our third guiding theme, a historical time model is used in research comparing processes at different points in historical time. Does the process generalize beyond a specific time and place? If so, what are the boundaries? With respect to the tradition of critical social theory, it should be remembered that Horkheimer—in his sociophilosophical and sociopolitical study Eclipse of Reason—sees the individual existence in the bourgeois-capitalistic society as being characterized by the fact that there are no safety zones on society's thoroughfares (Horkheimer, 1974, p. 158). Especially with respect to the process of the institutionalization of Bildung, the question of the contradictory potentials of this process remains (see, e.g., Heydom, 1979). Gelis ( 1986) has made some interesting remarks with respect to this problem: The new relations that started to form between parents and children at the end of the 15th century testify to a breaking up of ancient solidarities: The interest of the couple was diverging from that of lineage, and the interest of the individual from that of the group. Such a complex evolution took more than a generation or even a century to come about, and many factors intervened to step up or slow down its pace. Today, at a time when Western societies face challenges whose import we are just beginning to gauge—an aging population, fertilization in vitro, surrogate mothers—we have a strong sense of having reached a turning point in our development. And we may rightly wonder whether our current debates did not already exist in the bud with the first signs of a new view of the child, (p. 690) Regarding time diagnosis, Kilian (1971) has provided some interesting considerations: The social techniques and the forms of human socialization that determine the appearance of the ruling culture have largely forfeited their function as order factors in the current phase of historical development. The process of organizing the social techniques of the ruling structure is beginning to invert into a disorganizing process in which it is precisely the factors that previously served to maintain order that become factors of disorder and destruction. Vice versa, it becomes clear that the unfolding of the free ability to communicate in the broadest sense of the word, which was previously "underdeveloped" through habitual unconscious repression, has become the hardly recognized cultural goal of the present generation, and it is possible that the chance for humanity to survive in the near future depends on its widescale realization, (pp. 273-274, translated) Regarding the question of institutions, it is fruitful to refer to a consideration of Bowles and Gintis (1987): Because the growth and effectiveness of democratic institutions depend on the strength of democratic capacities, a commitment to democracy entails the advocacy of institutions that promote rather than impede the development of a democratic culture. Further, because learning, or more broadly, human development, is a central and lifelong social activity of people, there is no coherent reason for exempting the structures that regulate learning—whether they be schools, families, neighborhoods, or workplaces—from the criteria of democratic accountability and liberty, (p. 204)

Childhood Between Individualization and Institutionalization

8.

49

It is very interesting in our context that Bowles and Gintis (1987) maintain in their approach the necessity of a philosophy of education to analyze the conditions of human development and learning (see, e.g., pp. 178,208). With respect to the whole context of education and society, see the analysis of Wexler (1990).

References Adorno, Th. W. (1966). Negative Dialektik. Frankfurt: Suhrkamp. Alanen, L. (1988). Rethinking childhood. Acta Sociologica, 31,53-67. Ariès, Ph. (1978). Geschichte der Kindheit. München: Deutscher Taschenbuch Verlag. Baacke, D. (1992). Die 6- bis 12-jährigen. Einführung in Probleme des Kindesalters. (4th ed.). Weinheim: Beltz. Baethge, M. (1986). Individualisierung als Hoflhung und als Verhängnis. In R. Lindner & H. H. Wiehe (Eds.), Verborgen im Licht. Neues zur Jugendfrage (pp. 98-123). Frankfurt: Syndikat. Beck, U. (1986). Risikogesellschaft. Auf dem Weg in eine andere Moderne. Frankfurt: Suhrkamp. Berg, C. (1991). Kinderleben in der Industriekultur. In C. Berg (Ed.), Kinderwelten (pp. 15- 40). Frankfurt: Suhrkamp. Bowles, S., & Gintis, H. (1987). Democracy and capitalism. Property, community, and the contradictions of modern social thought. New York: Basic Books. Büchner, P. (1989). Individualisierte Kindheit "Jenseits von Klasse und Schicht"? In D. Geulen (Ed.), Kindheit. Neue Realitäten und Aspekte (pp. 146-161). Weinheim: Beltz. Büchner, P. (1990). Aufwachsen in den 80er Jahren: Zum Wandel kindlicher Normalbiographien in der Bundesrepublik Deutschland. In P. Büchner, H. H. Krüger & L. Chisholm (Eds.), Kindheit und Jugend im interkulturellen Vergleich (pp. 79-93). Opladen: Leske + Büdlich. Chisholm, L. (1992). Paradise Lost - Lost Paradise. Ist die deutsche Kindheitsforschung zur Entromantisierung fähig? Sozialwissenschaftliche Literatur Rundschau, 15, 98-111. Corsaro, W. A. (1985). Friendship and peer culture in the early years. Norwood: Ablex. Damon, W. (1990). Die soziale Welt des Kindes. Frankfurt: Suhrkamp. Dencik, L. (1989). Growing up in the post-modern age: On the child's situation in the modem family, and on the position of the family in the modem welfare state. Acta Sociologica, 32, 155-180. Dietze, L. (1989). Elternrecht - Kindesrecht. In W. Melzer & H. Siinker (Eds.), Wohl und Wehe der Kinder. Pädagogische Vermittlungen von Kindheitstheorie, Kinderleben und gesellschaftlichen Kindheitsbildem (pp. 102-120). Weinheim: Juventa. Dolíase, R. (1986). Sind Kinder heute anders als früher? Probleme und Ergebnisse von Zeitwandelstudien. Bildung und Erziehung, 39, 133-147 Edelstein, W. & Keller, M. (Eds.).(1982). Perspektivität und Interpretation. Beiträge zur Entwicklung des sozialen Verstehens. Frankfurt: Suhrkamp. Edelstein, W. & Habermas, J. (Eds.).(1984). Soziale Interaktion und soziales Verstehen. Beiträge zur Entwicklung der Interaktionskompetenz. Frankfurt: Suhrkamp. Eichholz, R. (Ed.).(1991). Die Rechte des Kindes. Recklinghausen: Bitter. Elder, G., Modell, J., & Parke, R. (1993a). Studying children in a changing world. In G. Elder, J. Modell, & R. Parke (Eds.), Children in time and place (pp. 3-21). Cambridge:Cambridge University Press. Elder, G., Modell, J., & Parke, R. (1993b). Epilogue: An emerging framework for dialogue between history and developmental psychology. In G. Elder, J. Modell & R. Parke (Eds.), Children in time and place (pp. 241-249). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Engelbert, A. (1986). Kinderalltag und Familienumwelt. Frankfurt: Campus.

50

H. Sünker

Gelis, J. (1986). The evolution of the status of the child in Western Europe: From the collective body to the private body. Social Research, 53,689-704. Geulen, D. (Ed.). (1982). Perspektivenübernahme und soziales Handeln. Texte zur sozialkognitiven Entwicklung. Frankfurt: Suhrkamp. Geulen, D. (1989a). Einfuhrung. In D. Geulen (Ed.), Kindheit. Neue Realitäten und Aspekte (pp. 7-20). Weinheim: Deutscher Studien-Verlag. Geulen, D. (1989b). Einige theoretische und forschungsstrategische Probleme bei der Erforschung des Wandels der Sozialisationsbedingungen. In D. Geulen (Ed.), Kindheit. Neue Realitäten und Aspekte (pp. 162-172). Weinheim: Deutscher Studien-Verlag. Glantschnig, H. (1987). Liebe als Dressur. Kindererziehung in der Aufklärung. Frankfurt: Campus. Habermas, J. (1981). Theorie des kommunikativen Handelns. (Vol. 2). Frankfurt: Suhrkamp. Heath, S. Β. & McLaughlin, M. W. (1988). A child resource policy: Moving beyond dependence on school and family. In M. Woodhead & A. McGrath (Eds.), Family, school and society (pp. 332-339). London: Hodder & Stoughton. Hegel, G. W. F. (1955). Grundlinien der Philosophie des Rechts. Hamburg: Meiner. Heller, A. (1984). Everyday life. London: Routledge & Kegan Paul. Heydorn, H. J. (1979). Über den Widerspruch von Bildung und Herrschaft. Frankfurt: Syndikat. Honig, M.-S. (1989). Individualisierung und Kindeswohl: Ist "Gewalt" ein Schlüsselbegriffzum Verständnis der sozialen Lage von Kindern in der Bundesrepublik? In W. Melzer & H. Sünker (Eds.), Wohl und Wehe der Kinder. Pädagogische Vermittlungen von Kindheitstheorie, Kinderleben und gesellschaftlichen Kindheitsbildern (pp. 121-143). Weinheim: Juventa. Honig, M.-S. (1990). Individualisierung und Kindeswohl. Theoretische Voraussetzungen einer sozialpädagogisch orientierten Kindheitsforschung. Unpublished manuscript, Munich. Hood-Williams, J., & Fitz, J. (1983). Sociology of childhood. British Journal of Sociology of Education, 4, 99-104. Horkheimer, M. (1974). Eclipse of reason. New York. Hornstein, W. (1988). Strukturwandel der Jugendphase in der Bundesrepublik Deutschland, In W. Ferchhoff & Th. Olk (Eds.), Jugend im internationalen Vergleich (pp. 70-92). Weinheim: Juventa. Kant, I. (1968). Über Pädagogik. In I. Kant (Ed.), Schriften zur Anthropologie, Geschichtsphilosophie, Politik und Pädagogik, 2. Teil (pp. 1-7). Frankfurt: Suhrkamp. Karsten, M.-E. (1989). Normale Kindheiten: Über Kindheitsvorstellungen in der bundesrepublikanischen Sozialpolitik. In W. Melzer & H. Sünker (Eds.), Wohl und Wehe der Kinder. Pädagogische Vermittlungen von Kindheitstheorie, Kinderleben und gesellschaftlichen Kindheitsbildern (pp. 53-61). Weinheim: Juventa. Karsten, M.-E., & Sünker, H. (1990). Kommunale Sozialpolitik: Herausforderungen durch Kinder. In H. U. Otto & M.-E. Karsten (Eds.), Sozialberichterstattung (pp. 103-121). Weinheim: Juventa. Kilian, H. (1971). Das enteignete Bewußtsein. Zur dialektischen Sozialpsychologie. Neuwied: Luchterhand. Koneflke, G. (1986). Revidierte Allgemeinbildung. Anmerkungen zu einer Diskussion des BildungsbegrifFs. Widersprüche, 6, 67-75. Krappmann, L. (1993). Kinderkultur als institutionalisierte Entwicklungsaufgabe. In M. Markefka & B. Nauck (Eds.), Handbuch der Kindheitsforschung (pp. 365-376). Neuwied: Luchterhand. Krappmann, L. & Oswald, H. (1990). Sozialisation in Familie und Gleichaltrigenwelt. Zeitschrift für Sozialisationsforschung und Erziehungssoziologie, 10, 147-162. Krieken, R. van (1991). Children and the state. Social control and the formation of Australian child welfare. Sydney. Lang, S. (1985). Lebensbedingungen und Lebensqualität von Kindern. Frankfurt: Campus.

Childhood Between Individualization and Institutionalization

51

Lefebvre, H. (1972). Das Alltagsleben in der modernen Welt. Frankfurt: Suhrkamp. Lefebvre, H. (1975). Metaphilosophie. Frankfurt: Suhrkamp. Lefebvre, H. (1978). Einßhrung in die Modernität. Frankfurt: Suhrkamp. Lefebvre, H. (1987). Kritik des Alltagslebens. Frankfurt: Fischer. Leonard, D. (1990). Entwicklungstendenzen der Soziologie der Kindheit in Großbritannien. In P. Büchner, H. H. Krüger, & L. Chisholm (Eds ), Kindheit und Jugend im interkulturellen Vergleich (pp. 37-52). Opladen: Leske + Büdlich. Martin, J. & Nitschke, A. (1986). Einleitung. In J. Martin & A. Nitschke (Eds ), Zur Sozialgeschichte der Kindheit (pp. 11-32). Freiburg/München: Alber. Mäuse, L. de (1984). The evolution of childhood. In L. de Mäuse (Ed.), The history of childhood (pp. 1-73). New York: The Psychohistory Press. Melzer W., & Sünker, H. (Eds.).(1989). Wohl und Wehe der Kinder. Pädagogische Vermittlungen von Kindheitstheorie, Kinderleben und gesellschaftlichen Kindheitsbildern. Weinheim: Juventa. Mollenhauer, K. (1983). Vergessene Zusammenhänge. Weinheim: Juventa. Nave-Herz, R. (1992). Kind, Jugend und Gesellschaft - Über die Schwierigkeiten, erwachsen zu werden. Kind Jugend Gesellschaft, 37,23-28. Nunner-Winkler, G. (1992). Zur Moralischen Sozialisation. Kölner Zeitschrift fur Soziologie und Sozialpsychologie, 44,252-272. Popitz, H. (1987). Autoritätsbedürfiiisse. Der Wandel der sozialen Subjektivität. Kölner Zeitschrift ßr Soziologie und Sozialpsychologie, 39,633-647. Projektgruppe Reggio/Hamburg ( 1990). Wenn das Auge über die Mauer springt. Hamburg. Qvortrup, J. (1990). Childhood as a social phenomenon - An introduction to a series of national reports. Eurosocial Report, 36. Reinicke, M. (1989). Der Zugang des Minderjährigen zum Zivilprozeß. Ein Problem der "Grundrechtsmündigkeit". Berlin: Dunker & Humblot. Richter, D. (1987). Das fremde Kind. Zur Entstehung der Kindheitsbilder des bürgerlichen Zeitalters. Frankfurt: Fischer. Schleiermacher, F. (1983). Pädagogische Schriften I. Die Vorlesungen aus dem Jahre 1826. Frankfurt: Klett-Cotta. (Original work published 1826) Schülein, J. A. (1987). "... Vater (oder Mutter) sein dagegen sehr". Über strukturelle Veränderungen von Primärkontakten am Beispiel der frühen Eltem-Kindbeziehungen. Soziale Welt, 58,411-436. Sünker, H. (1989a). Pädagogik und Politik für Kinder: Gesellschaftliche Entwicklungen und Herausforderungen. In W. Melzer & H. Sünker (Eds.), Wohl und Wehe der Kinder. Pädagogische Vermittlungen von Kindheitstheorie, Kinderleben und gesellschaftlichen Kindheitsbildern (pp. 10-29). Weinheim: Juventa. Sünker, H. (1989b). Bildung, Alltag und Subjektivität. Weinheim: Deutscher Studien Verlag. Sünker, H. (1991). Childhood, subjectivity and prevention. In G. Albrecht & H. U. Otto, (Eds.), Social prevention and the social sciences (pp. 143-156). Berlin: de Gruyter. Sünker, H. (1992a): The discourse of social work: Normalization versus the autonomy of life praxis. In H. U. Otto & G. Flößer (Eds.), How to organize prevention. Political, organizational, and professional challenges to social services (pp. 201-217). Berlin: de Gruyter. Sünker, H. (1992b). Everyday life. In G. Széll (Ed.), Concise encyclopedia of participation and co-management (pp. 326-334). Berlin: Dunker & Humblot. Wexler, Ph. (1990). Social analysis of education. After the new sociology. New York: Routledge. Wild, R (1987). Die Vernunft der Väter. Zur Psychographie von Bürgerlichkeit und Aufklärung in Deutschland am Beispiel ihrer Literatur für Kinder. Stuttgart: Metzler.

Health Impairments in Adolescence: The Biopsychosocial "Costs" of the Modern Life-Style Klaus Hurrelmann and Jennifer L. Maggs

The medical health system in Western industrialized nations is highly developed technologically, and the system of counseling for children, adolescents, and adults functions reasonably well. When compared with third-world countries, we enjoy, on average, very favorable material living conditions. Our welfare system prevents extreme social injustice and ensures a minimum of equality in terms of access to material resources. Furthermore, in economic terms, the majority of the population, including the majority of children, live under more favorable conditions than at any previous time in history. Despite these successes in providing the general population with material goods and essential services, the social, mental, and physical well-being of large numbers of young citizens is in no way adequately provided for. Children and adolescents pay a high price for advanced industrialization and urbanization, a price that is exacted in physical, mental, and social stress. The majority of social, psychological, and physiological symptoms that deviate from the desired norms may be regarded as indicators of stress, as a bio-psycho-social state of tension resulting from the variety of stressors that confront young people in modern-day industrial societies. Behavior disorders and health impairments of various kinds are expressions of the problems that confront young people in their attempts to come to terms with their bodies and the social and natural environment. These symptoms may be a sign of unsuccessful attempts to cope with demands and challenges. Today, the life situation of children and adolescents in the social world is comparable to that of adults in that it is characterized by a considerable degree of tension: On the one hand, children and adolescents have a great degree of freedom to organize their own individual life-styles. On the other hand, one price to be paid for these greater opportunities for individuality is a corresponding loosening of social and cultural ties. That is, in social and cultural terms, the road to modern society leads to increasing insecurity, to contradictory moral and ethical values, and to an uncertain future. For this reason, present-day living conditions tend to be accompanied by new forms of stress, with the risk of uneasiness, lack of well-being, and instability, all of which can overtax the coping

54

Κ. Hurrelmann and J. L. Maggs

capacity of children and adolescents. Today's children and adolescents are able to enjoy the benefits of an affluent welfare society to almost the same degree as adults. However, it is very apparent that they are also increasingly feeling the "costs" of the modern way of life. Just like adults, youth must pay a price for the increasing industrialization, urbanization, commercialization, and individualization of everyday life. Moreover, this price must be paid during a period of the life course that is characterized by rapid physical growth and personality development. Children and adolescents profit from the possibilities and opportunities of material affluence and personal choice, while simultaneously suffering from the accompanying social uncertainties and mental irritations. This situation places children and adolescents, as well as adults, in a state of biopsycho-social tension that can be labeled as "stress." Stress is healthy and essential to life as long as a person can cope with it; it is unhealthy and impairs development if the individual's coping capacities are overwhelmed.

1. Social and Ecological Background Factors What are the primary social and educational background factors leading to the emergence of health impairments in children and adolescents? Rapid social and structural change has affected social and physical environments in ways that have the potential to place strains on children and adolescents. Characteristics of the family, educational system, the physical environment, and modern life-styles can be identified as sources of stress that may compromise healthy development. First, dramatic changes in family constellations and patterns have occurred, often without concomitant shifts in supportive social institutions. There is a risk that these changes occur at the expense of the social, psychological, and physical needs of children and adolescents. For example, a large proportion of children in industrialized countries live in single-parent families or in families in which both parents are employed, and up to one half of all children will experience their parents' separation, divorce, and/or re-marriage (Hetherington, 1989). Singleparent families are much more likely to be poor, and children living in poverty are at greater risk of receiving less supervision, having poorer or no child care, living in unsafe neighborhoods, and receiving inadequate health care (Perry et al., 1993). Families headed by two employed parents are less likely to be poor, but nonetheless often have great difficulty securing affordable and high quality child care (Scarr, 1991). Contrary to popular belief, maternal employment has not been shown to have consistent negative effects on child development (Hoffman, 1989). However, long work hours, inflexible schedules, and work stress experienced by both parents can strain family relationships. Finally, parental marital transitions

Health Impairments in Adolescence

55

(e.g., divorce) are initially experienced as stressful by children, but longer-term consequences are diverse, ranging from marked developmental delayed effects only emerging later, to enhanced coping and resilience (Barber & Eccles, 1992; Hetherington, 1989). In summary, stressors experienced by families can place strains on child and adolescent health. Second, characteristics of schools and the academic experience pose some risks for children and adolescents. The educational system is the primary formal community institution involved in the socialization of children and adolescents. However, the success of schools in promoting healthy development may be hampered by a lack of parental involvement, low expectations of teachers, parents, and students, and grading systems that emphasize failure rather than mastery (Perry et al., 1993). Pressure to succeed academically has been identified as an important source of stress for children and adolescents (Hurrelmann, 1990). Although young people on average have more favorable educational opportunities than ever before, it is also the case that they have never had to cope with such high expectations and demands. They are confronted with a tremendously demanding labor market that requires ever-increasing levels of qualifications while simultaneously providing no guarantee that subjectively higher efforts will lead to a job commensurate with one's attainments (Hurrelmann, 1987). This situation often prompts parents and teachers to apply subtle and more overt pressure on children to succeed academically, in order that they may obtain a favorable starting position from which to begin their career. This overemphasis on academic achievement to the exclusion of other aspects of life may place threateningly one-sided demands on young people. Third, the physical environment contains several sources of stress. It has become increasingly clear that the severe pollution of the air, water, ground, and foodstuffs causes children and adolescents many more health problems than had been assumed in the past. Environmental pollution places considerable demands on physiological functioning and normal physical development during the growing years, resulting also in impairments in children's and adolescents' psychological and social processing abilities. Poor housing, inadequate places to play, and unsafe neighborhoods are also central characteristics of the physical environment that can contribute to stress reactions in young people. Finally, some aspects of the modern consumer-oriented life-style threaten health. Children and adolescents typically have an overabundance of consumer articles and toys, but they may lack physical contacts with a positive emotional quality, as well as an unimpeded expression of their natural needs for exercise and exploration. Through television, videos, music, and computers, they may experience an overstimulation of sensory information; in contrast, they may experience inadequate motor and emotional experiences.

56

Κ. Hurrelmann and J. L. Maggs

Children and adolescents suffer, as do adults, from the negative effects of the modern way of life. Many of today's widespread diseases are clear signals of the disturbed relation of eveji young people to their environment. In the skin, respiratory system, digestive tract, and so on, we can see an increasing intolerance for environmental stressors in the form of allergies, benign and malignant growths, irritations, and infections. Psychological and physiological regulatory disorders suggest an increasing inability to appropriately process the conflicting demands of the environment. Fortunately, the experience of stress does not lead automatically to an impairment of health. Favorable personal characteristics (e.g., high activity level, positive social behavior, successful coping strategies, selfcontrol) and favorable social conditions (a supportive social network, assistance and advice when required) have a potential protective function (Lazarus, 1990; Werner & Smith, 1992). In rare cases, unfavorable starting conditions may even permanently strengthen the resilience of a child or adolescent.

2. Health Situation of Children and Adolescents The 20th century has witnessed remarkable changes in the spectrum of diseases and ailments for all age groups (McLeroy & Crump, 1994). Health and illness in the 19th century was dominated by acute, life-threatening, and infectious diseases. Around 1900, the main causes of death could be attributed to influenza; pneumonia, and various nutritional deficiencies, whereas today, heart disease, cancer, other chronic diseases, and accidents account for the majority of fatalities. This epidemiological shift from infectious to chronic disease as the leading cause of mortality and morbidity has been accompanied by a greatly increased life expectancy, declining birth rates, an aging population, and vastly changed lifestyles (Antonovsky, 1979; McLeroy & Crump, 1994). Many diseases that were lethal conditions in the past have become typically chronic disorders (Perrin, 1992). Moreover, there is increasing support for and emphasis on the relationships between behavioral risk factors and chronic diseases (Lalonde, 1974). Today, ill-health is more likely to be the result of persistent disorders that affect people's health on a long-term basis, meaning that over an extended period of their life span, patients who suffer from chronic symptoms may be prevented from developing and enjoying their full physical and social potential. Chronic Diseases Epidemiological surveys show that up to 20% of children and adolescents suffer from some chronic disorder or condition (Gortmaker, 1985). Some of the most frequent chronic disorders encountered in children and adolescents are: bronchial asthma, endogenous exzema, and other allergic disorders; epilepsy; cardiac conditions; cerebral palsy; orthopedic illness; and diabetes (Thompson, 1985). Neurological conditions and developmental disabilities also affect significant

Health Impairments in Adolescence

57

proportions of young people. Depending on the severity of the symptoms, any of these conditions can gravely affect the physical and emotional life and development of the developing individual. One to two percent of children are estimated to suffer from severe physiological illnesses that significantly affect their daily lives (Perrin, 1992). Psychosomatic Illnesses In addition to the mostly physiologically based chronic diseases, there has in recent years been an increasing interest in psychosomatic disorders. The distinctions between strictly physiological illnesses and those deemed psychosomatic are frequently unclear and the subject of much debate. Relevant textbooks describe psychosomatic illness as a group of disorders that combine a complex of concrete bodily symptoms, but whose causes, contributory factors, or other influences perpetuating the illness have been identified as psychological. Often, pathological changes occur in the autonomic nervous system and focus on one organic system in particular. The causal contribution of emotional factors may vary in significance in different cases and is often difficult to determine. For this reason, there are many varying typologies for psychosomatic illnesses. Whereas the so-called acute diseases are typically characterized by a sequence of cause-outbreak-crisis-disappearance of symptoms and can often be attributed to specific causes (e.g., infections, accidents, poisonings), chronic physiological and psychological disorders present a different clinical picture. They often proceed in an insidious, persistent way, with phases of inprovement alternating with phases of deterioration. Even during periods of remission, there is always the anticipation and fear of another attack and the accompanying symptoms. The following section discusses allergic disorders as an example of common chronic disorders that combine physiological and psychological elements. Allergic Disorders Allergic disorders are a group of widespread chronic conditions (Falliers, 1992). The most frequent allergic disorders are hay fever, forms of rhinitus, bronchial asthma, and atopic eczema. Food allergies, certain forms of skin rashes, and allergies to other substances are less frequent, but they too may cause violent and life-threatening symptoms. It is estimated that 20% to 25% of all children and adolescents are in some way affected by allergies or allergic symptoms. The severity of allergic symptoms and disorders varies widely. The term allergy denotes a reproducible adverse reaction to an extrinsic substance mediated by an immunological response. Allergies involve a tendency of the organism, which may be inherited, to respond to certain external substances with hypersensitivity. The substances that cause allergic reactions, known as allergens,

58

Κ. Hurrelmann and J. L. Maggs

are present both in the home and in natural environments. Common allergens include pollen, moulds, house dust, house pets, insects, plants, foods, and various chemicals (e.g., in cosmetics). In an organism with a predisposition to allergic reactions, the allergen tends to produce specific antibodies (immunoglobulins); mediator substances are produced that subse-quently lead to the manifestation of physical symptoms (e.g., itchy eyes, skin rashes). It is difficult to identify the source of many allergic symptoms. Often, one must rely on hypotheses about potential allergens that may be identified only after years of observation. There is growing agreement that one such cause may be air, water, and soil pollution. Although it is widely recognized that psychological factors influence the body's immune system, opinions differ as to the role they may play in allergic symptomatology (Falliers, 1992; Perrin, 1992). Endogenous eczema (also known as atopic dermatitus) is a genetically determined skin disorder that manifests itself very early in life, usually in the first 6 months, and subsequently becomes chronic. It is characterized by changes in the skin, including rashes and itching in characteristic places. It is difficult to estimate the prevalence of this affliction, but most studies arrive at a figure of 7% for children under 4 years of age and 4% for those over 4 (Kolip et al., 1995). Some forms of atopic eczema are believed to have allergic features. Negative factors affecting the relationship of the child with the primary caregiver may be a predisposing factor, perhaps being related to a lack of skin contact and emotional care. At any rate, the eruption and recurrence of physical symptoms tend to coincide with psychological and social stressors (Falliers, 1992). Bronchial asthma denotes difficulty in breathing during an attack, when exhalation is impeded by a narrowing of the upper respiratory organs. Attacks are caused by swelling of the mucous membranes and profuse secretion and spasms of the bronchial muscles. An accumulation of serious attacks of bronchial asthma can be life-threatening. However, between attacks, patients may suffer no symptoms. The disease tends to first appear during the first decade of life; over three-quarters of individuals with severe chronic asthma experienced onset before the age of 3 (Falliers, 1992). It is estimated that about 4% of infants suffer from bronchial asthma. Research on the causes of asthma has shown that allergic reactions play a key role, and these may be reinforced or exacerbated by psychological factors. A high degree of anxiety on the part of the child, conflictual family relations, and frequent emotional strains tend to be associated with the outbreak and recurrence of the disorder. Most researchers today relay on multifactorial theories of explanation: A genetic predisposition in terms of particularly sensitive respiratory organs is assumed, which may interact with various other factors, such as infections, emotional stress, and immunological reactions to produce the first symptoms. In summary, allergic disorders are a good example of a chronic, primarily

Health Impairments in Adolescence

59

physiological disorder that may have significant effects on childrens' and adolescents' subjective well-being and psychological health. Chronic allergy sufferers must endure repeated occurrences of annoying and sometimes painful physical symptoms. It is often difficult to identify allergens, and, once known, to avoid contact with them. Chronic symptoms (e.g., rhinitus, itching) in themselves represent sources of stress, and available medications may lead to undesirable side effects (e.g., drowsiness). In addition, allergic disorders (particularly bronchial asthma) tend to cause many school absences and to require ongoing medical care, thus potentially interfering with children's academic and social development (Falliers, 1992). Psychological and Psychosocial Disorders Representative studies estimate that approximately 10% to 20% of children and adolescents show some form of psychological disorder (Anderson et al., 1987; Brandenburg et al., 1990; Gould et al., 1980), with rates being higher during puberty and adolescence than during childhood. These figures include a smaller percentage of individuals who have very severe problems that clearly require outside assistance. As in the case of organic disease, during childhood, the prevalence of psychological disorders is higher among boys; but during adolescence, levels tend to become more equal, meaning that girls exhibit more symptoms than previously. In addition to age and gender, prevalence rates are also influenced by the type of disorder, ethnic background, and geographic region (Kazdin, 1989). Although there are many debates concerning the classification of psychological disorders and symptoms of children and adolescents, there is relative consensus regarding the distinction between internalizing and externalizing symptoms. Internalizing symptoms are evidenced by depression, anxiety, and withdrawal; externalizing symptoms are evidenced by such behaviors as aggression and delinquency. Following is a brief discussion of several types of psychological disorder and problem: anxiety disorders, affective disorders, suicidal behavior, eating disorders, aggression and conduct disorders, and substance use/abuse. Anxiety Disorders States of anxiety are considered pathological when their intensity is high and when normal daily activities are affected. Normal and abnormal fear and anxiety manifest themselves in different ways with increasing age, corresponding to the child's developmental level. Separation anxiety disorder sufferers have an intense fear of being separated from their families (APA, 1987). Children with this problem become panicked when they must be apart from loved ones, and may constantly experience physical symptoms of anxiety, such as headaches and stomach aches. Separation anxiety

60

Κ. Hurrelmann and J. L. Maggs

is a particularly common childhood emotional disorder, with an estimated prevalence of 3.5% to 5.4 % among preadolescents (Anderson et al., 1987; Costello, 1989). Phobias are persistent fears that are strongly out of proportion to the reality of the danger (APA, 1987). They typically involve a combination of physical and mental symptoms of anxiety that cannot be linked to any concrete danger; the sources of fear and anxiety are imagined rather than real. Costello (1989) estimated the prevalence of phobias in children and adolescents at 2.3% to 9.2%. School phobias are manifested by a persistent refusal to go to school, depressive states, and physical symptoms such as headaches, stomach pains, and nausea. The underlying cause may often be separation anxiety disorder (APA, 1987). School refusal in the narrow sense, that is, the refusal to attend classes, may not be indicative of separation anxiety. Particularly during adolescence, school refusal may be caused by repeated failure in school and an unsupportive school environment. Students who experience repeated lack of school success want to avoid school for fear of having their self-esteem humiliated. Learning disorders, as well as physical or other impairments, may also be contributing factors. Social phobias involve persistent fear of social situations that the person worries may lead to humiliation or embarrassment (APA, 1987). Children and adolescents with this condition avoid such situations or endure them with intense anxiety. As a result of this withdrawal from the social environment, the development of normal social skills, interpersonal relationships, and academic performance may be impaired. Affective Disorders Depressive syndromes occur at all ages and developmental stages, though they may exhibit somewhat different symptomatologies. The primary feature of depression is depressed mood or the loss of interest and pleasure in (almost) all activities (APA, 1987). Associated symptoms are sleep and appetite disturbances, decreased energy, despondency, tearfulness, feelings of inadequacy, and hopelessness. Often children complain of pains and discomfort in various organs, experience psychomotor agitation, and tend to worry about their bodily wellbeing (hypochondria). Since young children who are depressed cannot put their feelings into words, they often also develop symptoms such as withdrawal, lack of interest in playing, and lack of motivation. The prevalence of major depressive disorders is less than 3% for children and less than 7% for adolescents (Fleming & Offord, 1990). Epidemiological studies suggest that the prevalence of major affective disorders is higher during and after adolescence, although it is not known whether this is the result of genetic vulnerability, hormonal changes, increased life stressors, or some other cause (Rutter, 1989). Children and adolescents themselves report experiencing more depressive symptoms than their

Health Impairments in Adolescence

61

parents or teachers are aware of, suggesting that adults working with young people may find it difficult to realize when they are depressed. Suicide and Suicidal Behavior In most western societies, suicide committed by children aged 5 to 15 years ranks fifth among causes of death; by youth aged 15 to 24, suicide is the second leading cause of death (after accidents) (Osgood & Mcintosh, 1986). The number of attempted suicides is considerably higher and estimated to be about 8 to 20 times that of fatal suicides (Cole, 1991). Although females are more likely to attempt suicide, males are more likely to succeed. This difference is attributable to the fact that males and females tend to chose different methods (e.g., firearms vs. overdoses of pills). Depression and depressive symptomatology are important risks factors for suicidal behavior (Carlson & Cantrell, 1980). In addition, mental health professionals working with children and adolescents emphasize that familial conflicts, problems at school, and emotionally stressful relationships figure prominently among the causes that lead young people to attempt to harm themselves. In recent years, the number of younger children has increased. Hospital records indicate that a growing number of 12-13-year-olds have received treatment after attempted suicide. These despairing youngsters seem to be driven by a sense of meaninglessness of their existence, of not having been given a chance, of not being needed. Eating Disorders Anorexia nervosa and bulima are psychological disorders characterized by disturbances in eating behavior. Although obesity is not a psychological disorder per se, it is also discussed in this section due to its dependence on habitual eating behaviors and its important consequences for physical and psychological wellbeing. Anorexia nervosa occurs most often in girls (95% of cases) before or during puberty, and is highly contingent on psychological factors. Anorexia nervosa can be characterized as a rapid and extreme loss of weight through rejection of food or refusal to eat. As many as 1 in 100 females between the ages of 12 and 18 suffer from this disorder. The diagnostic criteria include physical and psychological symptoms: weight loss to 15% below normal weight; amenorrhea (in females); exaggerated fear of weight gain; feeling overweight despite weight loss; refusal to keep a standard weight; and the absence of a physical condition that would explain the weight loss (APA, 1987). Related abnormal eating patterns (e.g., excessive dieting, use of diet pills or laxatives) have a much higher prevalence, occurring in some 1 in 5 adolescent females (Rutter, 1989). It is assumed that these behaviors or symptoms reflect the importance attached to

62

Κ. Hurrelmann and J. L. Maggs

the female body by western culture. In our culture, women's social status and attractiveness is greatly determined by their physical appearance, with thinness being seen as the ideal. Girls and young women who strive to conform to this ideal are susceptible to excessive and unhealthy dieting efforts, and to becoming anorexic. Family factors are believed to play an important role in the genesis of eating disorders. Parental overinvolvement, family enmeshment, and strong pressure to avoid conflict and maintain family harmony at all costs have been proposed as important predisposing factors (Fisher & Brone, 1991). Moreover, anorexic adolescents tend to be ambitious, hard-working, helpful, and adjusted to a point of self-denial and self-sacrifice. Attempts to control one's own body weight may be indicative of a desire to feel competent and in control, in the absence of more adaptive and healthy social competence. Bulima, in contrast to anorexia, is an eating disorder marked by phases of craving for food, binge eating, self-induced vomiting or laxative use, extreme fluctuations in body weight, and spells of compulsive and depressive behavior (APA, 1987). The main diagnostic criteria are: recurring phases of craving for food accompanied by a rapid intake of large quantities of food (especially high calorie or junk food); repeated attempts to lose weight by strict dieting or by taking laxatives; and bouts of depression. Usually no known physical cause can be identified. The assumptions about the origin of bulima are similar to those about anorexia; however, family dynamics seem to be of lesser importance. Obesity describes the condition of being significantly overweight, with the accumulation of an abnormally large amount of fatty tissue. A common definition of obesity for children and adolescents is having a weight that is 20% greater than the median for individuals of the same height and age. The prevalence of obesity in western industrial countries has been estimated at 15% to 25% for children and adolescents (Epstein & Wing, 1987). Where one or both parents are also obese, the rate may be as high as 40%. The disorder is often caused by a persistent habit of overeating, but genetic and constitutional factors also seem to be important. Studies have shown that obese children and adolescents tend to be very dependent on relations with important reference individuals (e.g., parents); a factor that interferes with their maturation. Moreover, research into the causes and development of this condition suggests that obese individuals exhibit a faulty eating pattern acquired early in life, consisting of a defective perception of hunger and satisfaction. In the long-term, obese children are likely to become obese adults, with increased risk for cardiovascular disease and other health problems. In the short-term, overweight children often suffer from teasing and rejection by their peers and may avoid physical exercise. Aggressive Behavior and Conduct Disorders Children and adolescents are victims of violent acts, but they also commit them.

Health Impairments in Adolescence

63

Parents tend to first notice aggressive acts by their children when they begin to establish relationships with peers, for example, with siblings, at preschool, in the neighborhood, or at school. Parents are sometimes unsure as to how they should view aggressiveness in their offspring. On the one hand, they cannot help being pleased that their children are acquiring an ability to express and pursue their own interests and needs, tolerating a certain amount of aggression when this happens. They also know that in many spheres of everyday life, a certain aggressive potential is tacitly encouraged, and the term "aggressive" is increasingly equated with "assertive," for example in sports and organized games, in business and law. On the other hand, parents naturally worry about the question of how and under what circumstances aggressive behavior of their children will fit in with prevailing moral standards. Religious parents and those with high moral standards, in particular, are taken aback when they notice violent aspects in the behavior of their children. If they do not put a stop to it, are they tolerating the beginnings of antisocial behaviors that violate principles of solidarity and mutual cooperation? Should it not be their duty to intervene at the first sign of such behavior in their children and prevent it? Most children and adolescents break rules for behavior at one time or another, for example, by lying, stealing, or hitting another child. However, a small percentage persistently violate basic norms for interpersonal behavior, habitually lying, cheating, being truant, and engaging in violent acts. When such disruptive and antisocial behaviors are chronic, a child may be diagnosed as having a conduct disorder. Prevalence estimates for conduct disorder are approximately 9% for boys and 2% for girls (APA, 1987). When these individuals are older, they may also engage in serious criminal activities, such as assault, theft, rape, and even homicide. Aggressive or antisocial behavior originates in familial and extrafamilial settings. Patterson's (1986) model of antisocial behavior proposes that ineffective parenting, often exacerbated by family stressors and difficulties, leads to the emergence of antisocial and coercive behavior in the child. This, in turn, leads to failure at school and rejection by prosocial peers, and ultimately to membership in a deviant peer group. Below average academic achievement, repeating one or more grades in school, being transferred to a lower-prestige school, feelings of alienation, and a lack of attachment to prosocial norms are all consistent correlates of aggression and violent behavior. Failure at school often causes opposition to and alienation from the school culture and values. Failure to meet the standards of attainment set by the school is clearly perceived as a blow to students' selfesteem and to their future educational and occupational opportunities (Hurrelmann & Engel, 1992). Adolescents' relationships with their parents also appear to be important: School failure is often linked to conflicts at home, indicating that adolescents fall short of what their parents expect of them in terms of careers (Engel & Hurrelmann, 1989). Aggressive, even delinquent, rule-breaking beha-

64

Κ. Hurrelmann and J. L. Maggs

vior often occurs at the end of a long series of problems resulting from inadequate socialization at home, lack of academic success, leaving school without a certificate, insufficient or nonexistent vocational training, and unemployment (Patterson, 1986). In other words, adolescents become aggressive and violent because, in their personality development, they confront a social environment with unfavorable starting conditions. A public culture that is oriented toward achievement, success, and prestige makes those who do not possess these desired and necessary characteristics suffer. Substance Use and Abuse Psychoactive substances comprise potent substances produced from a plant or on a chemico-synthetic basis that, via the central nervous system, can cause altered mental states. So-called legal, or socially approved, substances are alcohol, tobacco, caffeine, and medications; illegal substances include cannabis (marijuana, hashish), hallucinogens, and other narcotics such as heroin and cocaine. In our culture, alcohol, tobacco, and caffeine are considered luxuries or stimulants for adults; the terms "drug abuse" and "drug addiction" are usully associated only with illegal substances. Among children and younger adolescents, however, the use of any psychoactive substance may be defined as abuse. Clearly, cultural values influence the interpretation of whether and how serious a problem a particular person's substance use may be. It is important to distinguish between substance use and abuse. However, this is a very difficult task, particularly in the case of adolescents. Newcomb and Bentler (1989) argue that abuse is typically characterized by negative conse-quences to the individual user, to others, or to property. Thus, even low levels of substance use can be defined as abuse, depending on the developmental level of the user and the particular substance. For example in the case of alcohol, when an individual is too young, he or she may be too immature to make wise decisions about drinking, alcohol may interfere with normal physical development, or drinking as a coping strategy may impede the acquisition of more socially competent and effective coping skills. Psychoactive substance use is clearly unhealthy when a person is dependent on the drug in order to keep bodily functions at near-normal levels. Symptoms of psychoactive substance dependence include frequent intoxication or withdrawal symptoms, being unable to reduce or stop use, giving up other activities in order to obtain or use the substance, persistent use despite adverse consequences, and marked tolerance (APA, 1987). Dependence on alcohol and illegal substances is typically not observed until late adolescence or later. When psychoactive substance dependence occurs in younger individuals, it is often associated with conduct disorder and failure to complete school.

Health Impairments in Adolescence

65

Initial reasons for drug consumption vary for different drugs, levels of use, and individuals. Models and theories of substance use typically include a large number of environmental, behavioral, psychological, and social characteristics as predictors or risk factors (e.g., Chassin et al., 1989; Jessor, 1981; Newcomb & Bentler, 1989). Consistent social-environmental predictors of substance use include parental and peer modeling of use, low parental and peer support, and low family, school, and community involvement. Personality variables predicting substance use include greater tolerance of deviance, adventure-seeking, creativity, and openness to experience. The use or abuse of heavier illicit drugs (e.g., cocaine, heroin) tends to be associated with more pathological antecedents and consequences (Newcomb & Bentler, 1989). Regular consumption of more potent psychoactive drugs can have the effect of supporting an immature, unstable personality, and serving as an unhealthy coping strategy in an attempt to create a balance between the individual's own needs and the demands of the environment. The choice of particular substance(s) by the user may be influenced by specific styles of coping developed by a child or adolescent. For example, an eventual heroin addict may be attracted by a substance that permits withdrawal and repression, blunting sensitivity to outside stimuli and reducing perceptiveness. In contrast, an amphetamine user may wish to increase awareness, suppress fatigue, and reduce feelings of passiveness. Many researchers associate the abuse of drugs with various conflict-laden stages of biographic development in which troubled relationships with parents play a significant role. Drug abusers appear to have difficulty with individuation: They look for a shortcut, a pseudointegration or pseudomaturity (Newcomb & Bentler, 1989). Ultimately this strategy is doomed to failure, because drug addiction seriously damages the addict's health, personal relationships, and social activities. Much more common among adolescents than dependence is experimental or occasional substance use, particularly of legal substances. For example, by the end of secondary school, most adolescents have tried cigarettes and alcohol (Johnston et al., 1993). Even relatively low levels or infrequent substance use is of concern to health professionals, parents, and other concerned adults. In the case of tobacco use, a high degree of stability is typical, meaning that individuals who smoke regularly for a period of time are at increased risk for developing a dependence on nicotine, with the resulting negative effects on physical health. In the case of alcohol, there is increasing public concern over the acute dangers of driving after drinking. Paradoxically, some health-compromising behaviors such as substance use can fulfill important positive functions for adolescents (Hurrelmann, 1990). Substance use is a highly valued social behavior among adolescents as well as adults. Thus, health promotion efforts aiming to reduce risk behaviors such as substance use face considerable challenges.

66

Κ. Hurrelmann and J. L. Maggs

3. Theoretical Approaches to the Explanation of Health Impairments Modern theoretical approaches to human development are based on the assumption that social (environmental), psychological (personal), and biological (somatic) factors jointly affect human development (Hurrelmann, 1988). Interactions between the developing person and the social environment are conceived of as reciprocal interrelations. Theories advocating a purely social determination of personality development are regarded as being just as obsolete as those that propose an organic and psychological maturation determined solely by natural laws. Rather, in current formulations of life-span development, children, adolescents, and adults are regarded as productively processing and managing external and internal reality and actively shaping relations with the organism on the one hand and the societal and material environment on the other (Lerner & Busch-Rossnagel, 1981). The concept of development is relevant to the entire life span and represents the lifelong process of individuals' interactions with their living conditions. During the entire course of life, each individual faces sequential long-term changes in essential elements of the personality structure, which is viewed as a particular person's organized structure of motives, attributes, traits, attitudes, and action competencies. Successful coping with the demands of the social environments is considered to be a prerequisite of health. Socialization, in this context, is understood as the process of the emergence, formation and development of the human personality in dependence on and in interaction with the human organism on the one hand and the social and material environment on the other. This concept asserts that the human individual permanently co-develops with social and societal factors and builds his or her personality in a process of social interaction. According to this idea, a healthy personality does not form independently of society in any of its functions or dimensions, but is continuously shaped in a concrete, historically conveyed lifeworld throughout the entire length of the life span. In contrast to earlier medical definitions of health as the absence of disease or infirmity, current interdisciplinary definitions emphasize a more positive and allencompassing "state of complete physical, mental, or social well-being" (WHO, 1946). We define the term "health" as a state of objective and subjective wellbeing experienced when people are in harmony with their own physical, psychological, and social possibilities and goals, as well as with their external living conditions. Health may be impaired when a person is confronted with demands in one or more of these areas which cannot be coped with in their respective life phase or social situation. These impairments to health can be manifest as symptoms of social, psychological, or physiological disorders.

Health Impairments

in

Adolescence

67

A high level of stress in social and ecological living conditions clearly places a strain on the immunological system of children and adolescents and impairs its efficiency. There can be no doubt that specific genetic and physical-dispositional factors play an important role here. However, the traditional claim of classical medicine that these factors alone are responsible for the occurrence of the various symptoms of excessive psychological and physiological demands is no longer adequate. We have to consider much broader explanatory approaches in the health sciences if we wish to fully understand these phenomena. According to the concepts of modern medical, psychological, sociological, and educational research, health impairments and behavior disorders are seen as expressions of the problems that young persons have in coming to terms with their own body and the social and material world. These symptoms and disorders are signals that the sufferer is not succeeding in coping with the demands and requirements with which they are faced. They also may indicate that children and adolescents are not receiving the amount of attention, respect, and support that they require for healthy development (Hurrelmann, 1989). The extent to which a young person is subject to particular health impairments is influenced by the relationship between: (a) risk factors and protection factors, and (b) the individual and social resources that a person has access to and on which the coping process relies. A central point is that if the stress factors from the social and ecological environments overtax the coping capacities of children and adolescents, the result will be an inability to adapt not only in social and psychological terms but also with respect to physiological processes. Health is not a state that is experienced passively; instead, it is an immediate result of the respective active development and maintenance of the social, psychological, and physical ability exercised by a person over the entire life course. Social, economic, ecological, and cultural living conditions form the framework for each individual's possibilities of development. In this sense, health is reflected in the subjective ability to cope with societal and social conditions. Health is present when a person is able to develop constructive social relationships, is socially integrated, is able to adapt the individual life-style to the changing demands of immediate living conditions, acts autonomously, and accepts his or her biogenetic, physiological, and physical capacities (Hurrelmann, 1989). Many of the modern concepts of health in medical, psychological, and sociological approaches are using the "stress" metaphor. They are focusing on objective social conditions as the origin of exposure to stressful experiences. Psychological disorders and physical illnesses are seen as symptoms and manifestations of stressful social roles, conflict-laden social relations, and tensions resulting from individualization processes in society. Whereas the study

68

Κ. Hurrelmann and J. L. Maggs

of stress in traditional medical research was strongly oriented toward the human body's biochemical reactions to environmental risks and situations of threat, the expansion of the stress concept to include social-psychological elements has resulted in an increasing focus on cognitive and emotional appraisals of environmental stimuli (e.g., Lazarus, 1990). The sociological models (Aneshensel & Pearlin, 1987; Pearlin et al. 1981) have also been instrumental in that stress researchers have begun to include social roles and conditions as external and objective sources of psychological and physiological outcomes. Stress is no longer understood in its original physiological sense as a "reactional" concept in which the individual is seen to be the object of environmental hazards that cannot be influenced. Rather, a concept of stress has emerged that views human beings as subjects who actively deal with environmental demands (Antonovsky, 1979; Lazarus & Folkman, 1984; Werner & Smith, 1992).

References American Psychiatric Association (1987). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders. Washington, DC: APA. Anderson, J. C., Williams, S., McGee, R., & Silva, P. A. (1987). DSM-III: Disorders in preadolescent children. Archives of General Psychiatry, 44, 69-76. Aneshensel, C. S, & Pearlin, L. I. (1987). Structural contexts of sex differences in stress. In R. C. Barnett, L. Biener, & G. K. Baruch (Eds.), Gender and stress (pp. 75-95). New York: Free Press. Antonovsky, A. (1979). Health, stress, and coping. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. Barber, B. L., & Eccles, J. S. (1992). Long-term influence of divorce and single parenting on adolescent family- and work-related values, behaviors, and aspirations. Psychological Bulletin, 111, 108-126. Brandenburg, Ν. Α., Friedman, R. M., & Silvers, S. E. (1990). The epidemiology of childhood psychiatric disorders: Prevalence findings from recent studies. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 29, 76-83. Carlson, G. A, & Cantrell, D. P. (1980). A survey of depressive symptoms, syndromes, and disorders in a child psychiatric population. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 21, 19-25. Chassin, L., Presson, C. C., & Sherman, S. J. (1989). "Constructive" vs. "destructive" deviance in adolescent health-related behaviors. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 18, 245-262. Cole, D. A. (1991). Adolescent suicide. In R. M. Lerner, A. C. Petersen, & J. Brooks-Grunn (Eds.), Encyclopedia of adolescence (pp. 1113-1116). New York: Garland. Costello, E. J. (1989). Developments in child psychiatric epidemiology. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 28, 836-841. Engel, U. & Hurrelmann, Κ., (1989). Psychosoziale Belastungen im Jugendalter. Berlin: De Gruyter. Epstein, L. H., & Wing, R. R. (1987). Behavioral treatment of childhood obesity. Psychological Bulletin, 101, 337-442. Falliers, C. J. (1992). Asthma, eczema, and related allergies. In M. D. Levine, W. B. Carey, & A. C. Crocker (Eds.), Developmental-behavioral pediatrics (pp. 317-321). London: W.B. Saunders.

Health Impairments in Adolescence

69

Fisher, C. B., & Brone, R. J. (1991). Eating disorders in adolescence. In R. M. Lerner, A. C. Petersen, & J. Brooks-Gunn (Eds.), Encyclopedia of adolescence (pp. 272-277). New York: Garland. Fleming, J. E. & Offord, D. R. (1990). Epidemiology of childhood depressive disorders: A critical review. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 29, 571-580 Gortmaker, S. L. (1985). Demography of chronic childhood diseases. In N. Hobbs & J. M. Perrin (Eds.), Issues in the care of children with chronic illness: A sourcebook on problems, services, and policies. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. Gould, M. S., Wunsch-Hitzig, R., & Dohrenwend, B. P. (1980). Formulation of hypotheses about the prevalence, treatment, and prognostic significance of psychiatric disorders in children in the United States. In B. P. Dohrenwend, B. S. Dohrenwend, M. S. Gould, B. Link, R. Neubauer, & R. Wunsch-Hitzig (Eds.), Mental illness in the United States: Epidemiological estimates (pp. 9-44). New York: Praeger. Hetherington, E. M. (1989). Coping with family transitions: Winners, losers, and survivors. Child Development, 60, 1-14. Hoffman, L. W. (1989). Effects of maternal employment in the two-parent family. American Psychologist, 44, 283-292. Hurrelmann, Κ. (1987). The importance of school in the life course: Results from the Bielefeld study on school-related problems in adolescence. Journal ofAdolescent Research, 2, 111125. Hurrelmann, Κ. (1988). Social structure and personality development. New York: Cambridge University Press. Hurrelmann, Κ. (1989). Human development and health. New York: Cambridge University Press. Hurrelmann, Κ. (1990). Health promotion for adolescents: Preventive and corrective strategies against problem behavior. Journal of Adolescence, 13, 231-250. Hurrelmann, Κ. & Engel, U. (1992). Delinquency as a symptom of adolescents' orientation toward status and success. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 21, 119-138 Jessor, R. (1981). Problem-behavior theory, psychological development, and adolescent problem drinking. British Journal ofAddiction, 82. Johnston, L. D., O'Malley, P. M., Bachman, J. G. (1993). National survey results on drug use from Monitoring the Future Study, 1975-1992. Rockville, MD: National Institute on Drug Abuse. Kolip, P., Schnabel, P., & Hurrelmann, K. (1995).(Eds.). Jugend und Gesundheit. Weinheim: Juventa. Kazdin, A.E. (1989). Developmental psychopathology: Current research, issues, and directions. American Psychologist, 44, 180-187. Lalonde, M. (1974). A new perspective on the health of Canadians. Ottawa, Canada: Government of Canada. Lazarus, R. S. (1990). Theory-based stress measurement. Psychological Inquiry, 1, 3-13. Lazarus, R. S. & Folkman, S. (1984). Stress, appraisal, and coping. New York: Springer. Lerner, R. M., & Busch-Rossnagel, N. A. (Eds.).(1981). Individuals as producers of their own development. New York: Academic Press. McLeroy, K. R. & Crump, C. E. (1994). Health promotion and disease prevention: A historical perspective. Generations, 18, 9-17. Newcomb, M. D. & Bentler, P. M. (1989). Substance use and abuse among children and teenagers. American Psychologist, 44, 242-248. Osgood, N. J. & Mcintosh, J. L. (1986). Suicide and the elderly: An annotated bibliography. New York: Greenwood Press. Patterson, G. (1986). Performance models for antisocial boys. American Psychologist, 41, 432444.

70

Κ. Hurrelmann and J. L. Maggs

Pearlin, L. I., Menaghan, E. G., Lieberman, Μ. Α., & Mullan, J. T. (1981). The stress process. Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 22, 337-356. Perrin, J. M. (1992). Chronic illness. In M. D. Levine, W. B. Carey, & A. C. Crocker (Eds.), Developmental-behavioral pediatrics (pp. 304-308). London: W.B. Saunders. Perry, C. L., Kelder, S. H., & Komro, K. A. (1993). The social world of adolescents: Family, peers, schools, and the community. In S. G. Millstein, A. C. Petersen, & E. O. Nightingale (Eds.), Promoting the health of adolescents: New directions for the twenty-first century (pp. 73-96). New York: Oxford University. Rutter, M. (1989). Isle of Wight revisited: Twenty-five years of child's psychiatric epidemiology. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 28, 633653. Scarr, S. (1991). Balancing work and family life: Why should it be so hard? In J. V. Lerner & N. L. Galambos (Eds.), Employed mothers and their children (pp. IX-XIV). New York: Garland. Thompson, R. J. (1985). Coping with the stress of chronic childhood illness. In A. N. O'Quinn (Ed.), Management of chronic disorders in childhood. Boston, MA: G.K. Hall Medical Publishers. Werner, E. E. & Smith, R. S. (1992). Overcoming the odds: High risk children from birth to adulthood. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University. World Health Organization (1946). Constitution. Official record of the WHO, 2, 100.

Part 2 Individualization and Politics

Youth and Politics: Destabilization of Political Orientations Wilhelm Heitmeyer, Kurt Möller, and Gertrud Siller

1. Introduction The political socialization of the young generation is particularly controversial, because the crux of the problem is the handing down of the basic values, procedures, and lines of development of the present political system to the next generation, that is, the problem of political continuity or discontinuity and, thus, also the safeguarding of socioeconomic control or of the balance of interests. In this field, system acceptance and loyally to the state repeatedly prove to be crucial issues (see Sinus, 1983, p. 52) in political socialization research. However, one of the aspects that this functionalistic, predominantly institution-oriented perspective with its symptomatic labeling of demands for increased participation as "political protest" has neglected almost completely is the equally crucial and unresolved problem of society's ability to maintain any orientation opportunities for the young at all, that is, the provision of offers, opportunity structures, and resources that will permit the construction of a stable orientation. However, particularly for political life or even survival in the "risk society" (Beck, 1966), in which the attainment of certainty (see, also, Zapf et al., 1987) and the avoidance of uncertainty, anomie, and fear become major guiding motives (see, also, Sinus, 1983), it is necessary to consider the conditions for the construction of orientation certainty that permit the societal development of adolescents into social and thus also politically capable subjects. Within this framework, the guiding thesis of this chapter is that a destabilization of political orientation certainties can be confirmed among the young, and that this is closely related to a destabilization of sociostructural life relationships. To demonstrate this relationship, we shall first collate the central phenomena currently shaping the political orientation behavior of the young generation. A second step will be to confirm that these phenomena are the outlet for subjective ways of processing everyday economic and social experiences and perceived political problem states. In turn—and this is shown in the subsequent analysis—these conceal decisive functional mechanisms of society. These mechanisms produce both opportunities for and risks to the development of an autonomous life-style and responsible political judgment and activity in the individual. The considerations on youth policy at the end of the chapter must

74

W. Heitmeyer, Κ. Möller, and G. Siller

therefore emphasize the need to decisively strengthen the opportunity side of these social ambivalences by influencing the functional mechanisms of society that shape political socialization in a way that leads to more problem-adequate subjective processing among the young and increases their opportunities for political orientation and participation.

2. The Destabilization of Certainties of Political Orientation Among the Young Despite the fact that all the details are hard to pin down in the relevant research and that there is a lack of detailed studies of causal relationships, current trends in dynamic relationship between adolescents and politics are revealed clearly by findings from social scientific research on youth and research into their voting behavior. Since the end of the 1970s at the latest, and with particular ferocity in the Federal Republic of Germany, a permanent crisis of trust is spreading among young persons. This crisis of trust involves constitutional organizations, political representatives, and, in part, also the procedures of established politics. Various symptoms predominate: First, there is growing skepticism about voting as the most important element of conventional representational and democratic participation. Apart from a slight rise in the 1983 election, participation in national elections has been dropping continuously since Willy Brandt's election in 1972, simultaneously weakening his campaign motto "risk more democracy." The 84.3% participation rate in 1987 was the lowest since the first elections in 1949. Similar declines can be seen in state and local elections. These reveal that the participation of 18- to 25-year-olds, who in any case traditionally have a below-average participation, has dropped overproportionately—particularly among young women. The latest state elections in Bavaria, Baden-Württemberg, Bremen, and Berlin revealed that almost every third young voter under the age of 25 did not exercise his or her right to vote. Second, a process of decentralization of votes has commenced. While, during the 1970s, more than 90% of votes were awarded to the two main national parties, they gained only 81.3% in the national election of 1987. Here as well, similar trends can be seen in state and local elections. Not only do the small parties profit from a low election turnout (see Schultze, 1987), but they particularly show above-average gains in the service sector centers in which the process of modernization is expanding most rapidly (see Feist & Krieger, 1987, p. 35).

Destabilized Certainties of Political Orientation

75

Third, there is a current trend—surprising to many—for extreme right-wing parties to make enormous gains in elections. This is particularly evident in the latest state election at Bremen, where 4.7% of young men voted for the Deutsche Volks Union (DVU); in Baden-Württemberg, where almost 10% of young men voted for the most extreme right-wing parties; and in Berlin, where the success of the Republikaner, who entered the state senate with 7.5% of the votes, was partially due to overproportional gains among young men (18.8%) and women (9.1%) between the ages of 18 and 25. As these voters are not the backwardlooking incorrigible group of over-60-year-olds, particular emphasis should be placed on the voting researchers' findings that "long-term changes in the structure of voting behavior are revealing themselves ... in state elections" (Schulze, 1987, p. 17, translated). The latest European Community election has additionally revealed that the increasing reservoir of nonvoters is quite capable of becoming the decisive voter potential that will ensure the success of right-wing parties. Fourth, since the beginning of the 1980s at the latest, there seems to have been a decline in traditional commitments to political parties. It is not only the proportion of nonvoters but also that of voters who switch parties that is growing. While there were only 4 floating voters for every 10 committed voters in 1980, this proportion doubled to 8 out of 10 in the 1987 election (see Glukowski, 1987, p. 18). The proportion of those who do not identify with a political party grew rapidly from 13.3% in 1980 to 25.2% in 1987. The remaining commitments have also become weaker: While, in 1980, approximately twothirds of the supporters of the two major political parties showed very strong or strong commitment, less than onehalf continued to do so in 1987, and among supporters of the Social Democratic Party (SPD), the figure was even lower than 40% (see Schultze, 1987, pp. 12-13). A corresponding levelling out of the traditional party strongholds can be observed. Voters' decisions are becoming more flexible, more short-term, more tactical, more mobile, and result increasingly more strongly from the effects of constellations of political situations. The latter increases the chances of "one-issue parties" and voting communities like those of the original ecological party (Die Grünen) and the Republikaner, who focused on the issue of asylum seekers, foreigners, and immigrants in the Berlin state elections. Young voters reveal an overproportional involvement in this movement within the spectrum of political parties (Hofmann-Göttig, 1984). Fifth, these election analyses do not reveal the whole story: There is also a high level of frustration with political parties. When 16- to 24-year-olds are asked about party preferences, almost onethird report that they favor none of them. Thus, distancing from political parties is as widespread among adolescents in the mid-1980s as it was among the "skeptical" postwar young of the mid-1950s. What this means becomes apparent when one considers that the proportion of adults with no political preference has dropped from 41% to 16% during the same period (see Jugendwerk, 1985, Vol. 1, p. 126; Vol. 3, p. 398), and that the same

76

W. Heitmeyer, Κ. Möller, and G. Siller

number of politically interested persons can be found in the group without a party preference as among supporters of the conservative coalition of the CDU and CSU parties. Almost twothirds of 15- to 30-year-olds favor organizations such as Amnesty International, self-help groups, environmental protection groups, and citizens' initiatives, while only about one in five link their sympathies to the youth organizations of established political parties (see Sinus, 1983, p. 57). Sixth, frustration with established politics is not just linked to party organizations and party representatives: A growing distance toward all social institutions can be detected. In comparisons with adults, social scientists diagnose a disproportionately "low willingness among adolescents to place their trust in institutions" (Günther, 1982, p. 118, translated; see Veen, 1986). Particularly in the new residential suburbs of large cities, adolescents feel that the institutions have failed to help them solve their problems in daily life (see Müller, 1983). The welfare state optimism of the 1970s, the social-democratic consensus across parties (Dahrendorf, 1980), has become fragile and particularly for adolescents on the fringe of society, it has often proved to be the mere illusion of a welfare state. Relationships to trade unions have also not remained untouched by such reservations toward institutions. Although the trade union youth movements still enjoyed clear sympathies among a good onethird of 15- to 30-year-olds at the beginning of the 1980s, and thus had much higher popularity ratings than the youth organizations of the political parties, they were clearly less popular than noninstitutionalized commitment (see Sinus, 1983). At the same time, even increases in membership since the second half of the 1980s cannot cover up the deficits in the mobilization of the young. The quality of commitment to trade unions has changed: The growing institutionalization of the former workers' movement with the resultant trends toward bureaucratization, the formalization of participation and decision-making procedures, the increasingly legalized form of its commitment, and so forth have encouraged the attitude among young persons who are close to trade unions to use them as a service industry. Münch-meier (1986) correctly identified the same orientation toward the established youth organizations during the 1980s. Services can be asked for individually. Demanding and receiving them no longer requires the solidarity of the collective. In other words, there is a trend from traditional working-class consciousness to individual action consciousness (Brock, 1988), from involvement in youth organizations linked to traditional activities to individual use of the consumable services of the organizational structure. Broadly speaking, this subjects the orientation toward a specific organization to the competition of availability and demand; the orientation becomes generally more relaxed, more changeable. Seventh, a great number of adolescents complain about the petrification, "coldness," and even "pack ice" of social welfare organizations, their lack of transparency, and even the injustice of their procedures and decisions. Such perceptions are only the tip of the iceberg: There is an underlying general crisis

Destabilized Certainties of Political

Orientation

77

of state legitimation as well as widespread complaints about the anonymity of placement processes and their inherent principles of social protection of interests. A commission on youth protest in democratic societies reported: "For many young persons, the state is . . . a power that opposes every change in society, and the representative of a prestructured world to which one has to adjust and which leaves no scope for self-determined activities" (Wissmann & Hauck, 1983, p. 46, translated). Although we can ascertain the size of the potential of adolescent dissatisfaction from the generally accepted finding that 15% of 14- to 19-yearolds reject the power of the state and have a negative attitude toward the constitution (see Günther, 1982, p. 117), more far-reaching analyses reveal the quality of this criticism: Although 16- to 35-year-olds consider that the state generally encourages rather than handicaps personal values, it is notable that 54% of them report that feeling themselves to be free and independent is an important value, and 23% rate the state as more of a handicap to this; 38% consider that having a critical attitude is an important value, while 31% consider that the state hinders rather than encourages this; self-realization is important for 30%, and 25% consider the state a handicap to this; and 42% would like to see the creation of friendly, hospitable cities and housing schemes, while 36% think that the state has failed to do this (Schmidtchen, 1983, p. 127). Concern that the state does not promote important values increases with the educational level of respondents and their sympathy toward left-wing political parties or the ecological party (Schmidtchen, 1983, p. 128). Dissatisfaction with the performance of democracy in the Federal Republic, however, also increases markedly as a function of unsuccessful integration into the labor market. While 12% of the 15- to 30-yearolds who have no experience of unemployment report that they are unhappy with the political system, this figure rises to 22% among those who have or have had experience of unemployment, and even 34% among those who have been unemployed for more than 6 months (Sinus, 1983, p. 147). The more uncertain the perspectives for socialization are for young persons, the more they are willing to extend their political activity into the field of illegitimacy (see Schmidtchen, 1983, pp. 224-225). Such phenomena revealing a crisis of trust in the functioning of the established democratic political system and a resulting distancing from it are in no way due to an increased lack of interest in politics among the young. In contrast, interest in politics among the young seems to have spread in recent decades, although boys continue to show more interest than girls (63% compared to 47%; Jugendwerk, 1985, Vol. 1, pp. 124-125). Nevertheless, a general increase in political interest among young persons cannot be assumed. It is far more noticeable that the proportion of students among German youth has increased enormously over the last decade, and it is particularly girls as well who have profited thereby from the extension of the education system in terms of an increase in their political interests. However, this does not mean that the level of interest of members of various status groups has actually increased, that is, for

78

W. Heitmeyer, Κ. Möller, and G. Siller

example, that today's students are more interested than those of 20 years ago (see Allerbeck & Hoag, 1985, p. 134). A glance at the reasons for political interest or disinterest reveals that young persons far less frequently report a lack of personal power or influence as a motive for their disinterest compared to adults (26% vs. 41%). However, almost twice as often as adults, the reasons they report for their interest are being personally affected by politics and wanting a share in determining and deciding policy as well as in shaping the future of society (see Jugendwerk, 1985, Vol. 1, p. 125). This suggests that the young (still?) do not feel as uninfluential as adults, but make stronger demands for the implementation of their participation claims. This is perhaps particularly because they also feel the long arm of politics in the formation of their "institutionally dependent individual state" (Beck, 1983, translated) in their everyday life. These findings explain why it is particularly young persons with a low level of satisfaction in democracy and, in particular, in their ability to participate (and, among them, predominantly those with a high level of education as well as a comparatively large number of girls and young women, but also the long-term unemployed with extremely uncertain socialization perspectives) who express sympathy with, call for, or even claim for themselves unconventional forms of political involvement (for summaries, see Kaase, 1987, pp. 69-70, 117, Table 19; Mädchen '82, pp. 35-37; Sinus, 1983, p. 161). This registers a loss in the ability of established politics to cope. It is interesting to note here that the factor youth clearly weakens in the transition from sympathy toward unconventional commitment to actual unconventional activity, while education becomes a more powerful predictor (see, Kaase, 1987, pp. 69-70, 117, Table 19). This is a further indicator that it is not biological age or a life-phase-specific and therefore transitory phenomenon that favors the willingness to engage in such activities but a structural change in the social living conditions of the subjects. While, up to the mid-1970s and, to some extent, even later (see Jaide, 1982; Jugend zwischen 13 und 24, 1975), there was more concern about a lack of willingness to participate among the young, the first studies on political action between 1974 and 1976 (see Kaase, 1976a, b) and the following youth studies of the 1980s showed a broad and representative development in the potential of unconventional political involvement alongside the conventional, above all, election-related activities of the young. A majority of young persons report that they are open toward alternative political activity alongside or separate from involvement in elections, associations, or political parties. The young who feel themselves close to the alternative movement even view involvement in self-help groups as more effective than taking part in elections (see, e.g., BMBW, 1985; Jugendwerk, 1985; Sinus, 1983, p. 55; Veen, 1986). Across the years, however, there has not been a continuous increase in unconventional political preferences. They tend to oscillate and be highly dependent on event and mobilization. A phase of decreasing sympathy between 1974 and 1980 (see Kaase, 1987, p. 109,

Destabilized Certainties of Political

Orientation

79

Table 11) was followed by an upturn (see the comparison from 1979 and 1983 data in Veen, 1986) that peaked in the unsuccessful peace demonstrations of 1983 against the NATO rearmament decision. In a comparison of the years 1980 and 1985, 16- to 35-year-olds increasingly less frequently report both classical civil and political-party-oriented political behavior as well as problem-specific participation and civil disobedience (see Uehlinger, 1985, p. 208). From this perspective, even unconventional political orientations can be interpreted as unstable period effects. Findings on the closeness of the young to the new social movements are similar. After the peak of mobilization in 1983—as Scherer (1988) succinctly summarizes the results of the relevant youth studies—"more than 50% up to more than twothirds of the young" sympathized with them; since then, it is "only every third up to every second member of the young generation" (pp. 187, 190, translated). To what extent new patterns of political and cultural orientation and activity can be confirmed as "a sign of possible alternative forms of societalization" (Brand, 1987, p. 34, translated) thus depends on the fluctuations in "topic-specific concern(s)," "on the definitions of need that change from case to case" (Brand, 1987, p. 43, translated), on the competition of political topics largely controlled by the mass media, and—underlying this—the constellations of sociostructurally defined living conditions for young persons. Perhaps even more strongly than sympathy for unconventional forms of involvement, support for alternative movements reveals that closeness to them increases when status uncertainty is present and social placement becomes difficult, because old forms and guarantors of integration into adult society prove to be anachronistic (see Bürklin, 1986; Rudzio, 1985). However, the establishment and growth of the Green party in Germany has had a system-integrative impact. Nowhere else in Europe is the relation between membership in sections of the social movement and preference for the Green party as strong as in Germany (see Müller-Rommel, 1988). It is specifically the reservoir of the new social movements, that is, the young members of the middle class with an above-average interest in politics who are (as yet) not integrated into the work process or are members of the white-collar and civil service professions in the reproduction sector, in particular, those who see their status as being threatened by technological change, who generally have a higher level of education and a rather pessimistic view of the future who are oriented toward the Green party. Nolens volens, the Green party absorbs a good part of this movement, and constrains and reinstitutionalizes trends toward an emancipation from institutional constraints. J. Huber (1988, p. 432) has recently pointed out that such cyclic movements are almost in line with the law of Kondratieff s "long waves" of the economic cycles transferred to the functional context of the "self-modernization of the modern." Indeed, whoever sees corrective functions for social change and social movement as well as for the destabilization of political orientation in such reintegration trends has to note that the impact of the Green party on first-time voters has declined in the second half

80

W. Heitmeyer, Κ. Möller, and G. Siller

of the 1980s. In the last national elections, the party gained more votes in the groups of 25- to 35-year-olds and 35- to 45-year-olds. The "party" of nonvoters, as well as radical right-wing parties, in contrast, made clear inroads into the voter potential of the under-25s. At the same time, socioculturally determined, politically relevant trends seem to be strengthening that are frequently labeled "postmodern:" preferences for style compared to content, for the subjective, for immediate gratification instead of normative justification constraints and delayed satisfaction, for self-determined consumption instead of ecological sentimentality, or for short-term role flexibility compared to justified continuity of action. Their belief that "anything goes" not only makes it impossible to classify them into the right-wing - left-wing spectrum—a trend that is also already seen in ecological positions—but also questions their ability to engage in any kind of political commitment at all. This expresses itself in distance toward social and political principles and fundamental as well as new (e.g., ecological) lines of conflict. It is constructed in a less explicitly political manner, and hardly graspable because of its permanent change in form. In summary, on the one hand, there are clear indications that the representative and corporatist model of political participation as a politics of representatives no longer functions. It proves to be insufficiently problem-specific, structurally unsuitable, too slow, and it frustrates the individual need for participation and action among the young in particular. On the other hand, the nonestablished, noninstitutionalized, unconventional forms of political involvement, which we find in a concentrated form in the new social movements, prove to be highly fluctuating, situation- and economy-dependent in a sociocultural sense, mostly topical in content and time but less constant in membership, structurally rather unstable because of an (almost complete) lack of traditions, and showing little chances of success against their institutional opponents and within the institutionally structured decision-making structures. Correspondingly, for some, the delegation of political control over reality to the political-scientific "expertocracy" or the delegation of political criticism to political, for example, alternative pressure groups or also to (right-wing) political protest parties can remain at least functional as long as their own life-courses remain unaffected directly by social crises, and the threatening dangers seem capable of being addressed by a representative politics of the critical, protesting, and publicly deviant.

3. Subjective Processing of Everyday Experience and Politically Relevant Problem States: Three Problem Areas The above-mentioned phenomena in the political orientations and actions of the

Destabilized Certainties of Political

Orientation

81

young can be understood as an outlet of the subjective processing of experienced or anticipated socioeconomic everyday experiences and political-ecological life conditions as well as attempts to respond to the actions and/or neglect of the sphere of institutionalized politics that is conceived and thus perceived as a control authority. From this perspective, at least three central problem areas can be ascertained (see, also, Heitmeyer, 1989, pp. 12-13). Coping Problems The first complex concerns apparent or real problems that the political institutions have in coping with socioeconomic, ecological, or other risk states that are viewed as politically relevant. Insofar as youth continues to be defined socially as a project aimed toward the future, it is natural that the young do not just react to current coping problems but are particularly sensitive to coping problems that affect their individual and social fiiture. If they not only have to expect impairments of calculable life plans, for example, trends toward the dissolution of work careers that ensure status and continuity, but also anticipate threats to their future lives from ecologically risky production, the fundamental protection of their own future is at stake. In recent years, three problem states are a repeated threat to future perspectives: 1.

Trends on the labor market. For example, 73% of the young respondents in the Shell survey of 1985 feared that there would tend to be fewer jobs in the future. 2. The threat to the environment, particularly through risky production processes. For example, 74% of the respondents in the Shell survey of 1985 thought it was probable that the environment would be destroyed by chemistry and technology. 3. The fear of nuclear war. A total of 38% mentioned this in the Shell study. While such views seem to be declining as a result of the weakening of political power blocks and increasing military detente between the world powers, the other areas, particularly the ecological problem, remain earnest. The estimation of the threat to future perspectives corresponds to questions regarding the increasing inability of official political procedures to cope with them. For example 54% of 16- to 23-year-olds (Infas, 1982) think that parliamentary democracy will be unable to solve the problems confronting society. It would seem that the young perceive an, in part, major difference between the

82

W. Heitmeyer, Κ. Möller, and G. Siller

ideal of democracy and its realization. Political decision-making processes are considered to be cumbersome—a perception that has led to an increase in the percentage of the total electorate (36% in 1974, 44% in 1980) who consider that rapid political changes in the Federal Republic of Germany can be brought about only through violence (Kaase, 1987, p. 66), while another study of youth (14- to 19-year-olds) reported that 25% of this age group would be willing to become actively involved in a revolution and 55% viewed revolution as conceivable (see Günther, 1982, p. 135). However, two findings stand out: First, young persons criticize the strong lack of human consideration, friendliness (from officials), and solidarity. These are the areas in which the greatest discrepancies between democratic ideals and their achievement are perceived (see Schmidtchen, 1983, p. 130; Zängle et al., 1988, p. 456, Table 4). The fact that twothirds of 16- to 35year-olds report that this is due to competition and achievement pressure (see Schmidtchen, 1983, p. 165) indicates the depth of the response to a widespread criticism of society. Second, complaints are raised about a clear deficit in participation (see Schmidtchen, 1983, p. 129). This admonition is clearly linked to criticism of the state. Approximately one out of every three 16- to 35-year-olds considers that the governments in bourgeois democracy represent the interests of big business rather than the people (see Schmidtchen, 1983, p. 164). Therefore, the problem is less that of a general dissatisfaction with democracy in Germany (see, also, Sinus, 1985, Tables 180-184) than a lack of opportunity to participate in political events. Data drawn on the total population show that this is not merely an issue concerning a transient adolescent stage: A total of 41% consider that the German political system takes account of the well-being of only a few interest groups; 55% refuse to believe that everybody has the same chances of influencing politics in the German political system (see Gabriel, 1987, p. 38). Communication Problems A second problem area refers to communication problems. On the one hand, there would certainly seem to be an increased need for interindividual communication as a result of the loss of meaning of a socialization linked to one's origins as well as the complexity of interactive relations with which subjects are confronted in a segmented society, because the negotiation of positions and constellations of relationships has taken over the position of the self-evident adoption of "natural" role patterns. However, on the other hand, the need to compete as the predominant mechanism for acquiring and maintaining social status threatens the possibility of achieving permanent understandings and forming shared interests. Strategic communication (see Habermas, 1981) is required when interpersonal trust is undermined by the need to secure and display individual uniqueness —mostly through achievement. It is not just interpersonal trust, but, to a far greater extent, trust in political institutions and their representatives that is - as mentioned above - disturbed. A

Destabilized Certainties of Political Orientation

83

large part of the responsibility for this phenomenon seems to be attributable to the lack of transparency of political decisions and the declining credibility of political representatives. More than twothirds of 15- to 30-year-olds consider the increasing lack of transparency in politicians' decisions to be a major problem (Sinus, 1983, p. 54; see, also, Sochatzky, 1988, pp. 261-262). Almost fourfifths of the young unemployed fear that most politicians are not really interested in the problems of ordinary people (see Zängle et al., 1988, p. 456). The preelection survey for the Berlin senate election in January 1989 carried out by Infas confirmed that the credibility gap has become so large that 56% of respondents were unable to associate honesty and incorruptibility with any of the parties campaigning for office. A representative survey by the Konrad Adenauer Stiftung in 1983 ascertained that only 26% of 18- to 24-year-olds expressed trust in political parties. Orientation Problems The third area is orientation problems. On the one hand, they can be interpreted as a consequence of the destructuring of the youth phase (see Oik, 1985) that tends to remove the certainty of achieving desired stations in the life course and makes the construction of a biography an individual task. On the other hand, they also arise from a perceived lack of transparency of social processes in general. The dissemination of the feeling of "not grasping things" can be seen in the fact that, for example, approximately 46% of 16- to 17-year-olds feel that they "no longer follow what's actually happening," while 63% maintain that "most people lack a real hold on things" (Heitmeyer, 1989, pp. 126-127; similar data are reported in Roth, 1988). Orientation problems and an increasing inability to cope with regard to the future are apparently viewed as being so serious that 45.2% felt that they could hardly take on the responsibility for giving birth to children in 1982. Among unemployed young persons, this proportion even reached 50.2% (Zängle et al., 1988). When it is considered that this item is generally viewed as the strongest criterion for anomic tendencies, and that anomic feelings, in turn, have major consequences in the area of political behavior and activity, any consideration of the political socialization of the young needs to pay far more attention to the orientation problem as a central consequence of individualization processes. A major problem is that it is particularly inherent to individualization processes to define these problems as being primarily "individual" and to distract attention from the functional mechanisms in society that cause them.

4. Functional Mechanisms in Society The social, economic, and ecological experiences and their subjective processing, which are expressed in the political phenomena, are based on central functional

84

W. Heitmeyer, Κ. Möller, and G. Siller

mechanisms in society. These mechanisms will be applied in the following explanation. It is first necessary to look at the sociostructural life conditions of the young. Their basic characteristic is a development affecting the whole of society that can be labeled modernization. This is accompanied by growing technological innovation and rationalization that impacts strongly on the areas of production and reproduction by making the preconditions and forms of securing material existence less stable for the individual and continuously questions the significance of traditional—also particularly politically relevant—interpretation contexts. Such destabilizations can be determined spatially, temporally, and socially. Although viewed separately here, these dimensions are also closely interlinked. Some core areas of these changes will be emphasized in the following, because they prove to be particularly important for the process of political socialization. Spatial Destabilization The spatial aspect concerns the extreme geographical mobility that modernized society requires of the individual subject: commuters, dispersed families, and internationalization of the labor market are just some of the phenomena that can be mentioned here. Large urban conurbations draw increasingly more individuals close together. This leads to specific big-city problems: segmentation of urban space into functional areas, satellite towns, new housing estates, destruction of (the structure of) old working-class districts, isolation, increasing anonymity, and so forth. Temporal Destabilization In temporal terms, it can be confirmed that the rapidity of technological and economic (and also the related sociocultural) change increases not only the necessary number of new adjustments in biographies but also new orientation opportunities that—in conjunction—nonetheless introduce time pressure and a hectic pace into life. Decisions need to be made quickly and are no longer lasting. Increasingly, their validity is oriented toward a specific situation. Under the dictate of time pressure, long-term future planning—which has always been conceived as the key task of the youth phase—becomes increasingly more difficult. This trend is accompanied by the fact that in the interests of maximizing current profits or satisfying current needs (e.g., for energy, chemical production, technical luxury products, etc.), the broader society is taking out very long-term mortgages on the future of the next generation. Such high-risk production is a threat not only to the individual but also to the entire world, and its complexity and universality causes many to withdraw into lethargy, cynicism, or even fantasy.

Destabilized Certainties of Political

Orientation

85

Social Destabilization In social terms, attention should be drawn to the destruction of social milieus: formerly relatively stable life communities with their attendant values that were passed on from generation to generation. Structures of social relationships are more short-term than before, they have lower personal constancy, are highly fluctuating, and less long-term. Political values are bound to break down when shared political life and meaning erode. Flexibility Pressure One general trend in these modernization dimensions can be conceived as flexibility pressure. The destabilization of spatial, temporal, and social patterns of planning and living life and the pressure toward a flexible life-style also requires the next generation to develop a new mode of socialization. When flexibility becomes a duty, and even necessary for survival, the handing down of selfevident cultural norms and other traditional contexts, which have a milieuspecific distribution, can no longer represent the be-all and end-all of the ability to link together the generations. As it is necessary to adjust to structural change and no longer to rigid structures, the pressure on the individual is no longer to accept and adapt to traditional structures, but to be flexible, and the individual has to cope with this demand individually. Individualization, the shifting of the responsibility for life-relevant decisions on to the shoulders of the individual, is therefore the new mode of socialization that characterizes modernization. The areas of socialization such as the family, school, peer group, trade unions, or youth associations are undergoing a comparable detraditionalization of political commitments. As a consequence, political collectives and large groups can no longer be permanent and have constant membership. It is more the case that competition, achievement pressure, a lack of human consideration, and a lack of community are also permeating the area of political orientation behavior. The old orientation certainties have been destroyed, and individuals view themselves as being obliged to develop a sufficiently secure democratic orientation under these conditions within the triad of modernization, flexibility pressure, and individualization (the first characterizing the basic trend in the entire society; the second, the core of the orientation demands placed on the subject; and the third, the characteristic feature of the mode of socialization). It is only this that makes it possible to explain the forms of orientation described above.

5. Destabilization as Opportunity and Stress Against this background, destabilizations of political orientation certainties can be considered to bring both opportunities as well as stress for the political subject.

86

W. Heitmeyer, Κ. Möller, and G. Siller

Nonetheless, many questions remain unanswered in this context. For example, the time factor is increasingly loaded politically. For, can politically effective collectives still form under flexibility pressure? Although the individually available time has been extended, thus permitting additional political activities, at the same time, flexibility pressure once more reduces the shared time, thus increasing problems of temporal negotiation, and, in view of the highly complex problems, destroying a central precondition for overcoming the politically dangerous "atomization" of the individual. Destabilization as Opportunity The disintegration of "old" social and political milieus can be perceived as an opportunity insofar as unwanted loyalties also disappear, spatial and social mobility may create new political horizons, and the increasing time available to the individual may open up new action scopes in which new political orientations can be formed personally with personal responsibility, in order to develop personal life plans, to control them, and to direct future solutions to society's problems toward them. On the one hand, this can reduce the loss in the ability of political institutions to cope with high-risk industrial production through its curtailment, and, on the other hand, it can counter the loss of consensus through new forms of similarity. This is the context in which the new social movements are active. Destabilization as Stress With the increased individual availability of time, the loss of traditionally conveyed orientation certainties that accompanies the disintegration of the social milieu in which enforced social mobility and the loss of fixed social status assignments lead to a feeling that all individuals are just being thrown together is perceived as a stressor. The loss of control in political institutions is not associated so strongly with ecologically unsound production. Instead, attempts are made to counter it by trying to reestablish old patterns of orientation certainty and order. A loss of social consensus should be countered by new similarities in which, for example, national homogeneity, ideologically interfaced with the character of certainties, plays an important role. Fundamentalist, extreme rightwing concepts that generate certainty and lie beyond the open democratic system that promotes uncertainty because of its lack of closure are associated with this.

6. Considerations on Changes in (Youth) Policy If the causes of the above-mentioned political phenomena are revealed by the intensifying, in some ways "new," functional mechanisms of society such as modernization, individualization, and flexibility pressure as well as in their

Destabilized Certainties of Political Orientation

87

subjective processing, then the provision of any support for the opportunity side requires developments in which political ideas must be directed toward designing basic functional contexts within society that will reduce the losses in coping, understanding, and orientation and enable other political orientations and other political activity to develop. The renewed or continued discussion on the legal reform of youth welfare in Germany is not just so advanced that youth welfare can develop more strongly toward a social service system to satisfy the demands of young persons. It is also necessary not to allow social and educational work with the young outside schools to continue to be instrumentalized as a sociopolitical net for problem states that have their causes elsewhere. Offensive youth work requires an offensive youth policy that is not just restricted to halfhearted attempts to ensure merely that processes of socioeconomic change can be tolerated, but opens up new, extended opportunities for young persons to influence and design their own social and political life relationships. This postulate is more than the emancipation and participation utopias that have belonged to the self-evident claims of the relevant professions since 1968. It is primarily far more due to the structurally anchored gain in the opportunities and constraints of individual decision-making situations. As a result of the erosion of collectively shared and socialized orientation routines, new certainties of orientation must build on the development of competencies in orientation flexibility. This, in turn, will have a stabilizing effect on society and politics only when opportunity structures are kept available in the life relationships in which flexibility does not deteriorate into avoidance behavior but offers satisfying planning opportunities, resources, forms of participation, and collective references. These four fields can be used for a brief sketch of conceivable alternatives to the current status quo: To prevent the perception or experience of increasing coping problems, opportunities for participating in high-risk decisions must be sought. For the future of society must—at least in subdomains—be perceived as shapeable, and the possibility of revising political decisions on important modernization issues must be assured. It is unacceptable that a majority of adults take risks that extend far into the future of the next generation. The majority principle as the consequent mathematization of politics loses its inherent validity when new majorities that have not yet entered adulthood can no longer correct decisions and when the current formal responsibility for decisions and the actual extent of a decision taken reveal such a large temporal and spatial gap. This is the case for most current high-risk production (e.g., arms race, nuclear power, genetic technology). Politics based on the statistical duration of ecological half lives reveals that the

88

W. Heitmeyer, Κ. Möller, and G. Siller

abstract egalitarianism of the votes of decision-makers is a fiction. It is necessary to consider extending the majority principle to increase the participation of the young generation in long-term decisions that will affect their future. Should not the next generations who are highly affected by options on the future be protected by including some kind of generation contract on armament and ecology policy in the decision-making process that will have priority over disinterested majorities who are scarcely or not affected? The main goal here is to reduce the current major problems of representation perceived by the young through new forms of participation. We need more political fantasy, for example, in the direction of a principle right of veto for the young in life-relevant future issues (see Jordan & Michalzik, 1986), generation-specific plebiscites, far-reaching decentralization of decision-making powers, or regional and local youth committees to supplement the youth welfare committees dominated by association managers, politicians, and youth professionals. Progress toward a new stage of "participant revolution" seems to be unavoidable, insofar as the previous political and cultural homogeneity and relatively uniform consensus civilization anchored in daily life can no longer be taken for granted in light of the modernization trends mentioned above and their consequences for the conditions in which the young grow up. At the same time, there is a need to prevent new, mostly nationally toned associations of problematic provenance taking over as a surrogate and filling in the gaps in the constitution of community (Heitmeyer, 1989, pp. 102-103; see, also, Guggenberger, 1985). A further aspect of safeguarding the ability to cope with the individual future concerns the calculability of one's own life plans. Under the current conditions of changing job and labor market trends, concepts that guarantee a minimum of certainty gain in importance. Whatever practical form this should take, be it a negative income tax model, a standard citizen's income, or a need-related support conception (for a review, see Heinze et al., 1988), such concepts could bring about a reduction in the dependence of the individual condition on institutions (e.g., through social welfare) if they were linked to bureaucratic simplifications of state wealth transfer; and if the basis for calculating payment were independent of gainful employment and were to include informal activities, this would possibly de-escalate competitive relationships between the users. For some, setting up a minimum material existence could also function as a partial liberation to engage in increased political participation. In this context, a minimum material guarantee and the accompanying right to income should not be disassociated from the right to work in order to avoid the threat of a new class separation between passive clients of the welfare state and active shapers of economy and politics. Minimum income concepts must also be accompanied by a redistribution of employment through reductions in working hours (see Gorz, 1989, pp. 287-295). Political discussion in Germany is mostly and increasingly conveyed by the mass media. The more public life—and also political life—becomes an event that is

Destabilized Certainties of Political

Orientation

89

orchestrated by the mass media, the more those who are interested in joining the discussion must be given a voice in these media. In the mass media, the young participate almost exclusively as an object of reporting but hardly as producers of their own contributions. As a result, some young persons believe that they can only leave their mark and gain public attention when they raise violence to a symbol of their protest. If communication problems are not to become excessive, other possibilities of accessing the media must be created for the young. There is a need for pilot schemes with mass media speaker's corners, for example, selfmanaged broadcasting slots on television presenting not only a youth-specific type of radicality in terms of information, care, and anger but also revealing the dominance of political marketing. Technological and political broadcasting institutions such as public channels can be only a first step in this direction. The erosion of the old media for the socialization of the young generation can no longer be reversed. Therefore, there would seem to be little sense in considering a return to old milieus and the political orientation habits that proceed from them. The changes in socioeconomic structure are so strong that they cannot be turned back through political and normative will. In addition, the far-reaching changes in the new, formerly communist German states also remove the ideological basis for such illusions. Vice versa, there is a need to ascertain which new socialization media could arise to take on the role of a milieu substitute. The spheres of youth cultures, consumption, and the mass media should be examined from this perspective (see Heitmeyer & Möller, 1988). Recent efforts in youth policy in these fields still tend to follow classical protective approaches to youth (see, e.g., Möller, 1987). The amendment to German law on the protection of the young in public life of April 1985 (JSchöG) clearly reflected this orientation. In contrast, an offensive youth policy would predominantly fight for the chance to establish stable large and small groups that would be able to deal with politics and conflict —opportunities that can also arise on the basis of recent technological and media-related networking possibilities. The construction and promotion of independent information networks could be a building block in the foundation of new bases of understanding among youths and between youths and adults. It is obvious that the political scope for such initiatives cannot be found within the narrow limits of departmental, "classical" youth welfare—and monetary state youth prevention policies. To engage in youth policy as social policy, in contrast, means to lead it out of the shadows of its function as a secondary compensatory element of social, family, legal, and educational policy. The answers to this basically "old" demand are still not available. They are joined by the question whether changes in the field of youth, which are determined essentially by the individualization process, open up new opportunities or—in recent politics—dilemmas, that is, a mixture of inability to act, an obscuring of

90

W. Heitmeyer, Κ. Möller, and G. Siller

the object of policy, and muddling through.

Note 1. Translated from German into English by Jonathan Harrow, University of Bielefeld.

References Allerbeck,K. & Hoag, W.(1985). Jugend ohne Zukunft? München: Piper. Beck, U. (1983). Jenseits von Stand und Klasse? Soziale Ungleichheiten, gesellschaftliche Individualisierungsprozesse und die Entstehung neuer Formationen und Identitäten. In R. Kreckel (Ed.), Soziale Ungleichheiten, Sonderband 2 (pp. 35-74). Göttingen: Schwartz. Beck, U. (1986). Risikogesellschaft. Auf dem Weg in eine andere Moderne. Frankfurt: Suhrkamp. Brand, K. W. (1986). Kontinuität und Diskontinuitäten in der neuen sozialen Bewegung. In R. Roth & D. Rucht, (Eds.), Neue soziale Bewegungen in der BRD (pp. 30-44). Bonn: Campus BND. Brock, D. (1988). Vom traditionellen Arbeiterbewußtsein zum individualisierten Handlungsbewußtsein. Soziale Welt, 4, 413-434. Biirklin, W. P. (1986). Die Grünen: Versuchung junger Menschen oder Etablierungsprobleme der neuen Bildungsklasse? In V. Voss & K. Friedrich (Eds.), Die Jungwähler (pp. 145165). Bonn: Bonn Aktuell BND. Dahrendorf, R. (1980). Widersprüche der Modernität und Zukunft der Freiheit. In E. Brauchling, T. Leuenberger, & E. Niederer (Eds.), Die Zukunft der westlichen Gesellschaft (pp. 9-26). Bern/Stuttgart: Haupt. Deutsches Jugendinstitut & Brigitte (1982). Mädchen '82. Hamburg: Gruner + Jahr/Deutsches Jugend institut. Feist, U. & Krieger, H. (1987). Alte und neue Scheidelinien des politischen Verhaltens. Eine Analyse zur Bundestagswahl 1987. Aus Politik und Zeitgeschichte, 12, 33-47. Gabriel, O. W. (1987). Demokratiezufriedenheit und demokratische Einstellungen in der BRD. Aus Politik und Zeitgeschichte, 22, 32-45. Gluckowski, P. (1987). Lebensstile und Wandel der Wählerschaft in der BRD. Aus Politik und Zeitgeschichte, 12, 18-32. Gorz, A. (1989). Kritik der ökonomischen Vernunft. Berlin: Rotbuch. Günther, H. (1982). Die verwöhnte Generation. Köln: Hans-Martin-Schleyer-Stiftung. Guggenberger, B. (1985). An den Grenzen der Mehrheitsdemokratie. In B. Guggenberger & C. Offe (Eds.), An den Grenzen der Mehrheitsdemokratie. Politik und Soziologie der Mehrheitsregel. Opladen: Westdeutscher Verlag/VVA BND. Habermas, J. (1981). Theorie des kommunikativen Handelns (2 Vols.). Frankfurt: Suhrkamp. Heinze, R. G., Olk, Th., & Hilbert, J. (1988). Der neue Sozialstaat. Freiburg: Lambertus. Heitmeyer, W. (1989). Rechtsextremistische Orientierungen bei Jugendlichen. Empirische Ergebnisse und Erklärungsmuster einer Untersuchung zur politischen Sozialisation. Weinheim/München: Juventa. Heitmeyer, W. (1989). Jugend, Staat und Gewalt in der politischen Risikogesellschaft. In W. Heitmeyer, K. Möller & H. Sünker (Eds.), Jugend - Staat - Gewalt (pp. 11 -47). Weinheim/ München: Juventa. Heitmeyer, W., & Möller, K. (1988). Milieu - Einbindung und Milieu - Erosion als individuelle Sozialisationsprobleme. Zur Entwicklung "neuer" Sozialisationshorizonte und Sozialidentitäten. Zeitschrift für erziehungswissenschaftliche Forschung, 22(3/4), 115-144.

Destabilized Certainties of Political Orientation

91

Hofmann-Göttig, J. (1984). Die jungen Wähler. Frankfurt/New York: Campus. Huber, J. (1988). Soziale Bewegungen. Zeitschriftfiir Soziologie, 6, 424-435. Infas (1982). Zw Situation der Jugend in Nordrhein-Westfalen. Drucksache 9/1950 (pp. 17-40). Düsseldorf: Landesregierung Nordrhein-Westfalen. Jaide, W. (1982). Achtzehnjährige - zwischen Reaktion und Rebellion. Politische Einstellungen und Aktivitäten Jugendlicher in der Bundesrepublik (2nd ed.). Opladen: Leske + Budrich. Jordan, E. & Michalzik, M. (1986). Politik und Jugend: Erziehen oder Einbeziehen? Deutsche Jugend, 10, 427-433. Jugendwerk der Deutschen Shell (Ed.).(1985). Jugend und Erwachsene Ί985. Generationen im Vergleich (5 Vols.). Opladen: Leske + Budrich. Kaase, M. (1976a). Bedingungen unkonventionellen politischen Verhaltens in der Bundesrepublik Deutschland. In P. G. Kielmansegg (Ed.), Legitimationsprobleme politischer Probleme. Sonderheft 7 der politischen Vierteljahresschrift (pp. 179-216). Opladen: Leske + Budrich. Kaase, M. (1976b). Strukturen politischer Beteiligung. In R. Wildenmann (Ed.), Form und Erfahrung. Ein Leben für die Demokratie. Festschrift fur Ferdinand A. Hermens (pp. 129151). Berlin: Duncker & Humblot. Kaase, M. (1987). Politisch motivierte Gewaltanwendung junger Menschen in der BRD. Bonn: Ministerium fur Jugend, Familie, Frauen und Gesundheit. Möller, K. (1987). Alles unter Kontrolle? Neue Medien und pädagogische Jugendarbeit. In G. Neubauer & Th. Olk (Eds.), Clique - Mädchen - Arbeit (pp. 159-184). Weinheim/München: Juventa. Müller, U. (1983). Wo Jugendliche aufwachsen. München: Juventa. Müller-Rommel, F. (1988). Neue soziale Bewegungen in Westeuropa. Politische Einstellungen, Wertorientierungen und Wahlverhalten der Anhängerschaft. Jugendforum,2, 33-40. Münchmeier, R. (1986). Lebenslagen Jugendlicher als Herausforderung für die offene Jugendarbeit. In Evangelische Arbeitsgemeinschaft ftir Klubarbeit e.V. (Ed.), "Was soll's?" Grundsatzfragen offener Jugendarbeit. Frankfurt. Olk, Th. (1985). Jugend und gesellschaftliche Differenzierung - Zur Entstrukturierung der Jugendphase. Zeitschrift für Pädagogik, 19. Beiheft, 290-301. Roth, R. A. (1988). Jugendarbeitslosigkeit und politische Kultur. Eine Regionalstudie zur Untersuchung politischer Einstellungen bei beschäftigten und arbeitslosen Jugendlichen. Passau: Passavia-Uni-Verlag. Rudzio, W. (1984). Systemaversionen bei linksorientierten Jugendlichen. Aus Politik und Zeitgeschichte, 50, 27-50. Scherer, K. J. (1988). Jugend und soziale Bewegung. Zur politischen Soziologie der bewegten Jugend. Opladen: Leske + Budrich. Schmidtchen, G. (1983). Gewalt und Legitimität. Opladen: Leske + Budrich. Schultze, R. O. (1987). Die Bundestagswahl 1987 - eine Bestätigung des Wandels. Politik und Zeitgeschichte, 12, 3-17. Shell-Jugenduntersuchung (1975). Jugend zwischen 13 und 24. Hamburg. Sinus (1983). Die verunsicherte Generation. Opladen: Leske + Budrich. Sinus (1985). Die verunsicherte Generation. Jugend und Wertewandel. Materialband 1 zur Sinus-Studie. Stuttgart/Köln/Mainz: Kohlhammer. Sochatzki, K. (1988). "Wenn ich zu bestimmen hätte": Die Erwachsenenwelt im Meinungsspiegel von Kindern und Jugendlichen: eine empirische Bestandsaufnahme. Weinheim: Beltz. Uehlinger, H.-M. (1985). Strukturen und Erklärungsmodelle politischer Partizipation in der BRD. Opladen: Westdeutscher Verlag/VVA BND. Veen, H. J. (1986). Lebensperspektiven, Arbeitsorientierungen und politische Kultur in der Mitte der 80er Jahre. In V. Voss & K. Friedrich (Eds.), Die Jungwähler (pp. 35-76). Bonn: Bonn Aktuell BND.

92

W. Heitmeyer, Κ. Möller, and G. Siller

Wissmann, M.& Hauck, R.(1983). Jugendprotest im demokratischen Staat. Stuttgart: Weitbrecht. Zapf, W., Breuer, S., Hampel, J., Krause, P., Mohr, H.-M., & Wiegend, E. (Eds.).(1987). Individualisierung und Sicherheit. Untersuchungen zur Lebensqualität in der Bundesrepublik. München: Beck. Zängle, M., Beckmann, M., & Halder, H. (1988). Arbeitslosigkeitserfahrungen und soziopolitische Einstellungen. Zeitschrift fiir Soziologie, 6, 451-464.

The Syndrome of Right-Wing Extremism Among School Children: An East-West Comparison Wolfgang Melzer

1. Introduction This chapter examines the extent and the causes of the orientation toward rightwing extremism among young people and school children in the context of a theory of political socialization. School is a place where this potential can be discharged, although young people prefer other areas of action that are not under the same supervision. One must also examine what contribution school as an institution with its "anomic structure" makes toward every form of deviant behavior, for example aggression, violence, or extreme right-wing orientations. In the following, I am not concerned with either; the focus is far more on school children as individuals with particular attitudes and as potential political actors. I shall estimate the political risk potential in this area and examine particularly susceptible subgroups. In conclusion, I shall examine to what extent the effects of educational and social structure participate in the emergence of an orientation toward right-wing extremism. The question of violence and aggression arises, on the one hand, in the everyday world of young people. School, school life, and peer group contacts, which develop on the fringe of this "ecological section" (cf. Baake, 1983, p. 48), play a significant role in the formation of this everyday world. On the other hand, it also arises in the sphere of institutionalized politics or of the anticipated pattern of acting of young people in exercising political influence (whereby links between "private" and "public" experiences and attitudes in the sense of a theory of political socialization are assumed). In response to the almost classical question on preferred forms of political influence that are most likely to succeed, young people state a clear preference for "alternative political modes of action," whereas "violence as a political means" lags clearly far behind the forms of "conventional political action," which received a very poor rating (cf., e.g., Jugendwerk, 1985, 1992). According to our own data, only about 6% of young people in East and West Germany totally or partially tend toward an acceptance of violence ("To defend oneself, if needs be, by harder means such as throwing stones, violent confrontations with the police"); of these, about one third tend toward violence

94

W. Melzer

motivated by right-wing extremism, while, inversely, the percentage for the various facets of extreme right-wing orientation is clearly much higher (see below), and the respective interest in acceptance of violence is comparatively lower. On the surface, violence and right-wing extremism are two different forms of deviant political behavior that intersect only partially and should not be lumped together too hastily in analysis. This type of throwing together qua definitione (see Heitmeyer, 1987, p. 16) would limit the circle of school children who are susceptible to extreme right-wing ideologies to a "hard core," and thus conceal the danger of marginalization and playing down extreme right-wing orientations, which then can be shrugged off by others as "Zeitgeist flatulence." A menace to political culture emanates, in our opinion, not only from the group of right-wing extremists using violence (who must be opposed politically and with the power of the state) but also to the same degree from the latent sphere of right-wing extremism, from those who tend toward an unstable "game" of the type of right-wing extremism tolerated by society, but who disassociate themselves personally from violence motivated by right-wing extremism. Perhaps these belong to a pedagogically more promising group, while those who have once crossed the threshold of criminality can only find their way back with difficulty. The whole range of young people, amongst whom these two groups are commonly regarded only as a small minority, will be the basis of the following analysis. Proceeding from a survey of the current discussion on the subject, a theoretical model of right-wing extremism among young people, which has already been examined empirically, will be introduced and worked out by means of deduction. The patterns of interpretation arrived at by structural equation modeling—described in Melzer's terminology (1992, p. 121) as the "syndrome of right-wing extremism"—will be put into concrete terms by means of sample descriptions, that is, by means of a representation of "stand-in" variables for the individual indices or factors of the model. We are concerned not only with a quantification of phenomena such as "manifest hostility toward foreigners," "antiSemitism," or "authoritarianism" as marginal problems or as real dangers to our political culture but also with the question of the particular menace potential of specific subgroups among young people: Does right-wing extremism have a greater impact on male rather than on female adolescents, and, in addition, is it more marked among young people with lower educational aspirations and correspondingly shorter actual school attendance compared with the high level of aspirations and attendance at institutions of further education—in this connection, can socialization effects be ascertained, and if so, how are they to be interpreted?

The Syndrome of Right-Wing Extremism

95

2. Right-Wing Extremism as a Syndrome Since the politically motivated violence and arson attacks against foreigners at the beginning of the 1990s, and since the incidents at Hoyerswerda, RostockLichtenhagen, Mölln, and Solingen, the question of the causes of right-wing extremism has been raised more and more frequently (cf. Butterwegge & Isola, 1991; Friedrich & Schubarth, 1991; Heitmeyer, 1993a; Heitmeyer et al., 1992; Klönne, 1990; Pfahl-Traughber, 1992; Schubarth & Stenke, 1992). Most of the attempts at explanation are based upon social change caused by processes of individualization in society and the ensuing consequences for the living situation of young people. According to the position formulated by Heitmeyer (see Heitmeyer, 1987; Heitmeyer et al., this volume), tendencies toward instability, which represent fertile ground for extreme right-wing ideological patterns, take effect as a result of macrosociological processes of erosion. In particular, dissolution of traditional safeguards of orientation, which goes hand in hand with processes of social change, leads to a feeling of "maelstrom" in the individual and of a threat to self-esteem. In order to come to terms with this condition of tension and with this psychological burden, an effort is made to fall back on orientational certainties and on the order of old patterns. Loss of social comprehension is combated by the formation of new associations in which national homogeneity, among other things, plays an important part. Fundamental, extreme right-wing, certainty-generating concepts, from beyond the pale of the democratic system, which is open but also generates uncertainty because it is incomplete, are part of this pattern. A second aspect of the debate on the growth of right-wing extremism is concerned with the current explanatory value of classical studies on the authoritarian character. Especially with regard to their relevance for East Germany, opinions differ greatly. Undoubtedly, any identification of authoritarian social structures and authoritarian personality traits can be ruled out; however, the significance of authoritarian family and school conditions, for example, should not be underestimated (see Hopf, 1991; Oesterreich, 1993). Another feature of the discussion on current right-wing extremism is the increasing inclusion of groupdynamic and situational factors in the emergence of xenophobic violence, which can be seen most clearly as a reaction to the ever more frequent attacks on refugee hostels (see Willems, 1992). A final feature of the discussion, which has been thematized increasingly in the context of the asylum debate, is the question of problematic changes in political culture and of the withdrawal from politics (see Heitmeyer, 1993b). Two contrasting processes particularly typical of current sociopolitical developments: On the one hand, the economic risk situation of modern industrial societies renders national solo attempts impossible and promotes a "tendency toward globalization" (Beck, 1986); on the other hand, in the context of "real socialism" and the associated dissolution of two diametrically opposed blocs, a renaissance of nationalism and regionalism can be observed that goes hand in

96

W. Melzer

hand with an upsurge in old and new reservations and with derogation and isolation. The global trend thus characterized corresponds to changes in the psychological and mental sphere. Thus the results of comparative historical studies point to an increase in egocentricity and to a decrease in altruism. It is worth noticing that this is true for both East and West Germany (see Förster et al., 1992; Richter, 1990). An explanatory model of right-wing extremism must take into account the microsocial development, the individual forms of processing, as well as the framework of conditions attained in the process of political socialization. All in all, in the discussion about right-wing extremism, one can observe a disintegration of ever more complex theoretical structures, which become more elaborate in sociotheoretical and culture-philosophical ways, on the one hand, while, on the other hand, they show a lack of examination or ability to be examined. For this reason, an attempt was made to integrate, in our opinion, the two main explanatory approaches: the classical, referring to the personality structure of the individuals, and the current life-situation-oriented approaches. In this model, the structural analysis of right-wing extremism is placed in the context of a theory of political socialization, that takes account of the previous and contemporary politically relevant experiences of young people in their surroundings (e.g. family vs. youth centeredness, inclusion in social networks, the burdens of school and career, materialism vs. postmaterialism, interests and leisure-time activities) and lays their consequences for the different facets of right-wing extremism open to examination (see Melzer, 1992, p. 127). Bi- and multivariate analyses have shown that the hard core of right-wing extremism, which culminates in the demand that all foreigners should leave Germany, is conveyed by means of so-called "mediators" along with the experiences of young people in their life situation. The following function as such mediators: nationality stereotypes, anti-Semitism/ethnocentricity, authoritarianism, and historically nationalizing attitudes. Whereas the spheres of anti-Semitism and ethnocentricity represent the historical form of a structure of prejudice and discrimination, in the case of the negative nationality stereotypes, it is a question of their present-day expression (e.g., antipathy toward Turks, Poles, etc.). Ethnocentricity is defined as a concentrated form of nationalism, in which one's own nation (one's own people) is regarded as being the focal point and in a superior position to other ethnic groups. In presentday terms, negative nationality stereotypes correspond to anti-Semitism as a form of rejection of or discrimination against Jews handed down through history. Historically nationalizing attitudes qualify historical events and processes (e.g., the Nazi era), redefine; them and make them appear legitimized as social Darwinism, for example.

The Syndrome of Right-Wing Extremism

97

The framework of relations and conditions of the mediators for the manifest forms of hostility toward foreigners is referred to as the syndrome of right-wing extremism, which, for its part, is influenced by structural conditions that emerge from the whole lifecourse of young people and, in particular, from their political socialization.

3. An Inspection of the Model: Substantiating Elements and Mediators of the Syndrome of Right-Wing Extremism An empirical examination using structural equation modeling shows the following structure of the syndrome of right-wing extremism, with several significant differences in the comparison between West German (W) and East German (E) youth (see Figure 1). The most important result was that both causal analyses confirmed the anticipated correlation of the mediators and their integration into a complex overall model. With reference to the merits of the two overall models and the explanatory value of the central variables, on the whole, good, and in parts very good, standards were achieved (see the coefficients in Figure 1). Second, the assumed difference in significance of the mediators as explanatory variables was verified. Third, we take as confirmed, as also expected, the different processes in East and West Germany by means of the structural models and the differences in the beta values for young people from the old and the new Federal States. The mediator "nationality stereotypes," that is, antipathy toward nations that are discriminated against, possesses the strongest direct explanatory value as a new structure of prejudice with regard to "manifest hostility to foreigners"; in comparison, old prejudice patterns of ("anti-Semitism") become effective indirectly by way of strategies of reinterpretation of German history ("historically nationalizing attitudes"), which, in turn, as endogenous factors with the second highest explanatory value, have an influence on, support, and legitimize "manifest hostility to foreigners." "Anti-semitic/ethnocentric attitudes" and "authoritarian character structures" have less direct impact on "manifest hostility toward foreigners" than the mediators mentioned above; they show, however, indirect effects, so that, on the whole, they can also be ascribed a large significance in the explanation of "manifest hostility toward foreigners" in both structural models.

98

Figure 1 : Structural analysis of the syndrome of right-wing extremism

W. Melzer

The Syndrome of Right-Wing Extremism

99

When we compare East and West German youth, it is striking that the current patterns of prejudice in connection with authoritarian personality dispositions have a more direct effect (and in addition are conveyed) as an explanatory background for right-wing extremism in East Germany. In the case of West German youth, in contrast historical reinterpretational patterns are predominant, by means of which—as already mentioned—old resentments (anti-Semitism) are transported. Thus the hypothesis chosen by Adorno for the explanation of the potential of fascism on the basis of sociohistorically acquired character structures are still of significant relevance. We know from our comparative study of Polish youth that the tendency established in East Germany is more clearly marked in Poland; thus the differences recorded among East and West German youth against the background of modernity and convergence-theory hypotheses can be interpreted as a universal cultural difference (cf. Melzer et al., 1991). The indication of the existence of a double culture in the former GDR, which is regarded as an important condition for the emergence of political consciousness among East German youth, may be sufficient at this stage to clarify the direction of our argumentation. Although in the People's Republic of Poland, the state structures of authority were called into question and the political culture took a more pluralistic form than in the former GDR, the rates of authoritarianism amoung Polish youth are clearly much higher than those of East German youth, which, in turn, are much higher than those of their West German counterparts. Here the differences in political systems are not predominant but rather the grade of "selectivity of modernization" and how it is passed on into everyday life (see Zinnecker, 1991). As Figure 1 shows, both the direct and the indirect effects of the authoritarian structures, mediated by nationality stereotypes, on the manifest hostility toward foreigners are more clearly marked among youth in East Germany. The negative nationality stereotypes as further mediators also have a stronger explanatory weight in the model for East German than for West German youth. In East Germany, it is more the current and immediate prejudicial structures (here, in concrete terms, the stronger antipathy toward nations discriminated against) that determine the syndrome of right-wing extremism, while for the youth of West Germany, the historically nationalizing and the old, anti-semitic and ethnocentic resentments passed on by way of them, can be regarded as the most important determinants. That efforts are being made nowadays to cast German history in a better light is doubtlessly connected with the change in the situation in Germany and its new political role in world politics. The "capitulation-like" collapse of the rival systems in Eastern Europe has contributed to the development of ethnocentric feelings of superiority among a section of the young; these feelings are not only relevant to the current situation but also have led to a warping of history, to

100

W. Melzer

growing historically nationalizing attitudes, and to a reemergence of old resentments toward Jews. Figure 1 shows that the tendency toward a "cleaningup of German history" among West German youth represents a far stronger explanatory factor for manifest hostility toward foreigners than among the youth of East Germany. Anti-Semitism, as a social phenomenon that is clearly on the increase again, is more marked in West Germany and, moreover, it "hides behind" the strategies of historical reinterpretation, whereas the direct effects on hostility toward foreigners among the youth of Eastern Germany are comparatively more evident; this tallies with the picture already described of right-wing extremism there.

4. Education and Gender as Factors Influencing the Syndrome In the following, the complexity of the interpretational structure will be reduced by dealing with the individual elements of the right-wing extremist syndrome descriptively and in sequence. This is done by selecting one item from each of the five indices, which will be interpreted as being representative. It will then be examined systematically to see whether East-West, gender-specific, and education-related differences can be ascertained. The relevant educational variables included in this evaluation are the actual length of school attendance1 and the level of educational aspiration.2 Negative Nationality Stereotypes: Antipathy Toward Turks In order to assess unconscious and unexamined prejudices against foreigners, we used an instrument from research into stereotypes, the so-called congenialityantipathy scale. A total of 27 nations/ethnic groups had to be evaluated by the young people on a 5-point scale (1 = very congenial, 5 = very disagreeable). An order of precedence3 was established on this basis; several nations that are strongly discriminated against can be found at one end. Among these are the Poles, our immediate foreign neighbors, and the Turks, our internal neighbors. As the Turks make up the largest group of foreign workers in Germany, and as discrimination against them has become virulent since Mölln and Solingen, we have chosen this nationality to demonstrate our group comparisons on stereotypical prejudices (see Figure 2).

101

The Syndrome of Right-Wing Extremism

Total

Male

Female

Education (-)

Education (-)

Basic school (1)/POS (2)

Upper school (3)/EOS (4) 0,0

20,0

40,0

60,0

80,0

100,0

(1) Hauptschule (2) Polytechnische Oberschule (3) Gymnasium (4) Erweiterte Oberschule

Figure 2: Negative nationality stereotypes: Antipathy towards turks (percentagefrequency of "very disagreeable"/"disagreeable").

The Turks are one of the nationalities that are particularly unpopular among German youth and who are rejected by them. Appproximately one in four West German youths and as many as one in two East German youths find Turks disagreeable or very disagreeable. As young people in the former GDR have had barely any contact with Turks, this strong antipathy toward them is a typical example of the effect of prejudices, diffuse fears, and latent feelings of being threatened. Hostility toward foreigners does not require contact with them! The clearly higher grade of antipathy amongst East Germans in comparison to West Germans must be taken into account in the analysis of the influential factors such as gender, education, and type of school. These factors tend to be secondary in relation to the influence of the system in this particular example. All the same, the factors education and gender are also clear determinants of the expression of negative nationality stereotypes. Their influence can be represented in the following way: Young people with high educational and career aspirations find Turks a lot less disagreeable than young people with low aspirations. The

102

W. Melzer

differences in the East and also in the West amount to about 20 percentage points. Higher educational aspirations go hand in hand with a greater ability for reflection and differentiation and thus with a greater tolerance of other peoples and cultures. This is shown to be true when one observes the actual school attendance: POS or Hauptschule students show a far more marked antipathy toward Turks than do EOS or Gymnasium students. In the East, this difference even amounts to 27 percentage points. By comparison, the gender-specific differences did not prove to be so great, but are present nevertheless: Antipathy toward Turks among male youths is more prevalent than among female youths. These differences are somewhat greater in East Germany than in West Germany. Anti-Semitism As an indicator for anti-Semitism, we have chosen the item: "History has always shown: Wherever the Jews were they caused offense, so there must be something wrong with them." In contrast to first-hand and rigid attitudes toward Jews (e.g., nationality stereotypes), this item aims at deeper-seated dimensions of antiSemitism and tends to measure the subtle, latent prejudices (see Figure 3). The East-West comparison shows at first glance that this form of anti-Semitism is more marked among West German than among East German youth. In West Germany, almost 40%; in East Germany, "only" a good quarter of the youth have latent anti-Semitic attitudes. These findings show how inappropriate it is to ascribe the problem of right-wing extremism to East Germany, as was customary after the first riots against asylum-seekers in Saxony, Brandenburg, and Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. Nevertheless, this result is surprising, especially when one considers the anti-Israeli policy of the GDR and its refusal as a successor German state to accept responsibility for the holocaust, the manifold activities in the former FRG aimed at promoting good German-Israeli relations.

The Syndrome of Right-Wing

103

Extremism

Total

Male

Female

Education (-)

Education (-)

Basic school (1)/POS (2)

Upper school (3)/EOS (4) 0,0

20,0

40,0

60,0

80,0

100,0

(1) Hauptschule (2) Polytechnische Oberschule (3) Gymnasium (4) Erweiterte Oberschule

Figure 3: Anti-Semitism "History has always shown: wherever the Jews were, they caused offense; so there must be something wrong with them." (percentage frequency of "perfectly correct"/"fairly correct").

However, prejudices against Jews and against Israelis must be considered in comparison. In the case of the nationality stereotypes, antipathy among the youth population toward these two groups varied greatly in its distribution: Whereas in West Germany, 12% expressed antipathy toward Jews and 16% toward Israelis; in East Germany, 18% felt antipathy toward Jews and 63% toward Israelis (see Melzer, 1992, p. 130). This somewhat stronger stereotypical prejudice pattern among East German youth than West German youth lies on the line of distinctions of the interpretational pattern structure (see interpretation of Figure 1). Moreover, the high rates of antipathy of East German youth toward Israelis are transmitted to their attitude toward Jews, so that one can speak of diffuse prejudices in this area. Whereas among those who find Jews disagreeable, almost 90% also take a negative view of Israelis. The rate of correspondence among

104

W. Melzer

West German youth is only 56%, that is, they differentiate more clearly between Jews and Israelis. However, the relatively high correspondence rates for the antiSemitism item (see Figure 3) illustrate over and above these differentiations in the nationality stereotypes generally high resistance of anti-Semitic prejudices and feelings of resentment. Education, type of school, and gender again prove to be important determinants. Young people with higher aspirations for educational and career qualifications endorse the statement quoted about 20% less than the contrasting group. This is true to the same extent for East and West. The influence of school form is, however, much stronger in West Germany. While 54% of West German Hauptschule students and 28% of West German Gymnasium students endorse the above statement, and the difference according to type of school is thus 26 percentage points, the school form difference in the East is, at 9%, significantly lower (POS students: 33%; EOS students: 24%). With regard to the influence of gender, the greatest differences can again be found among East German youth. East German male youths are—based on our example—are nearly twice as susceptible to anti-Semitism than young East German females. In the West, on the other hand, the corresponding genderspecific difference tends to be low. Historically Nationalizing Attitudes: Cleaning Up History There are three items subsumed under the index "historically nationalizing attitudes" that address a strong identification with the concept of fatherland: Power and strength are listed as the best preconditions for ensuring peace and —as the third item—the external threat from foreign influences is regarded as a major historical danger (see Figure 4).

105

The Syndrome of Right-Wing Extremism

Total

Male

Female

Education (-)

Education (-)

Basic school (1)/POS (2)

Upper school (3)/EOS (4) 0,0

20,0

40,0

60,0

80,0

100,0

(1) Hauptschule (2) Polytechnische Oberschule (3) Gymnasium (4) Erweiterte Oberschule

Figure 4: Historically nationalising attitudes: "The major dangers to our people in this century are brought about by foreign influences." (percentage frequency of "perfectly correct"/"fairly correct").

As our analysis shows, the intended reinterpretations of modern German history made in this statement are more prevalent among West German youth than among their East German counterparts. We found the causes for these among West German youth in, among other things, an "ethnocentric delusion of superiority" in connection with the collapse of the former rival system in the East. It is interesting to note that the same tendencies toward "cleaning up German history" can be seen among the youth as those previously disseminated by conservative and reactionary historians. The influence of the factor "education" on the expression of historically nationalizing attitudes is shown to be enormous in the East as well as in the West. The difference in the acceptance of the above statement between young people with higher or lower educational aspirations is 23% in the West and 21% in the East. The effects of type of school are again greater among West German youth

106

W. Melzer

than among East Germans. Fifty-seven percent of West German Hauptschule students agreed with the given statement in comparison to 25% of West German Gymnasium students. In the East, the figures were 31% of POS students and 14% of EOS students. In contrast to the other results, gender plays only a minor role. Only in the case of East German youths could slight differences be recognized. Authoritarian Character Structures The influence of education and gender on authoritarian attitudes is demonstrated with the item "If you don't defend your honor, you are not worth much." This is one of five items (see Melzer, 1992, p. 134) from an adapted version of the comprehensive F-scale (see Melzer, 1992, pp. 124, 133).

Total

Male

Female

Education (-)

Education (-)

Basic school (1)/POS (2)

Upper school (3)/EOS (4) 0,0

20,0

40,0

60,0

80,0

100,0

(1) Hauptschule (2) Polytechnische Oberschule (3) Gymnasium (4) Erweiterte Oberschule

Figure 5: Authoritarian character structures: "If you don't defend your honor, you are not worth much" (percentage frequency of "perfectly correct"/"fairly correct"). At first, the analysis shows that a considerable number of young people endorse the given statement; about 50% in the East compared to about 40% in the West

The Syndrome of Right-Wing Extremism

107

(see Figure 5). The greater susceptibility of East German youth toward authoritarian patterns of thinking is caused not least by the conditions of an authoritarian state, which had corresponding consequences for educational and, in part, familial socialization. The factors education and type of school have more decisive consequences than the political system. With regard to different educational aspirations, the difference comes to about 15% for both East and West German youth. The differences regarding type of school are even greater: In the West, 54% of Hauptschule students and 32% of Gymnasium students expressed their support; in the East, 59% of POS and 38% of EOS students. As educational participation and aspiration are influenced to a high degree by sociostructural factors, one can assume that system and class differences are exaggerated in the case of authoritarianism and have an accumulative effect on a relevant number of East German youth, which, in all, explains the stronger effects in the causal analysis (see Figure 1 and the section on educational or sociostructural effects). Male youths have a stronger tendency toward authoritarian patterns of thought than female youths. These gender-specific differences are again somewhat more marked in the East than in the West. Manifest Hostility Toward Foreigners Manifest hostility toward foreigners was determined by two items: "It irritates me that we have so many foreigners in our country" and "It would be better if all foreigners left Germany" (see Figure 6). Almost 40% of young people in West Germany feel irritated by foreigners; in East Germany, more than half. Just over 30% of West German and 40% of East German youths are in favor of all foreigners leaving Germany. The greater intolerance of foreigners among young people in the new Federal States to a degree of about 10% is also shown in a German-German survey of students carried out by the Deutsches Jugendinstitut (see Schubarth & Hoffmann-Lange, 1992). The origins of the greater hostility toward foreigners among East German youth can be sought in the different experiences of socialization as well as in the partly divergent life situations at present (the upheaval in the East as a "criticallife-event").

W. Melzer

108

Total

Male

Female

Education (-)

Education (-)

Basic school (1)/POS (2)

Upper school (3)/EOS (4) 0,0

20,0

40,0

60,0

80,0

100,0

(1) Hauptschule (2) Polytechnische Oberschule (3) Gymnasium (4) Erweiterte Oberschule

Figure 6: Manifest hostility toward foreigners "It would be best if all foreigners left Germany" (percentage frequency of "perfectly correct'V'fairly correct"). Again, the factors "education" and "type of school" have an enormous influence on the expression of hostility toward foreigners: the higher the educational and career qualification. The more tolerant the attitude toward foreigners. The majority of young people with high educational aspirations do not accept the given statement. Whereas the influential factor "education" has more or less the same effect in the East and in the West, the differences in type of school with regard to manifest hostility toward foreigners among West German youth are far more evident. While the rates of acceptance between POS and EOS students differ by between 10% and 15%, there are differences of up to 30% between Hauptschule and Gymnasium students.

On the other hand, the gender-specific differences relating to manifest hostility

The Syndrome of Right-Wing Extremism

109

toward foreigners are far greater among East German youth. Male youths in the East are about 15% more intolerant of foreigners than young females. In contrast, the gender-specific differences only come to a few percent. Educational or Sociostructural Effects? The analysis of the syndrome of right-wing extremism has shown a considerable political hazard potential among young people that does not permit an interpretation of right-wing extremism as simply a marginal problem. Hostility toward foreigners, authoritarianism, reinterpretation of history, antipathy toward Turks or Poles, and anti-Semitism are widespread among the majority of specific subgroups of young people. It is true that in the sphere of manifest hostility toward foreigners, the ratings of East German youth are much higher than those of their West German contemporaries. From the viewpoint of political socialization research, however, the differences in the interpretational pattern structure between East and West German youth is of greater relevance: Hostility toward foreigners is conveyed—as we were able to show—to a greater degree in East Germany by means of a present-day, stereotypical prejudical structure (antipathy toward foreigners) as well as authoritarian character structures, which can be regarded as a discharge of the specific political and pedagogical culture in the former GDR. In West Germany, by comparison, somewhat stronger anti-Semitism and strategies of historical reinterpretation represent typical patterns of interpretation. These different effects must be seen in relation to the particular conditions of socialization in the former GDR and in the FRG, and will therefore be examined systematically in the following. The results up to now show, first, gender-specific influences, that is, young females are less prone to right-wing extremism than male youths; and second, level of aspiration in relation to training and career qualifications and also actual school attendance are relevant influential factors: Education seems to provide a guarantee that the individual who has received it has a better protection against the hazards of right-wing extremism. Do these overall correct basic trends hold true for all elements of the syndrome of right-wing extremism andfor East and West German youth to the same extent, or can differentiated experiences be recognized? If we compare the genderspecific influences, we come to the conclusion that there are differences borne out by statistics among West German youth only in the area of authoritarianism ("defence of honor"). In the case of anti-Semitism and cleaningup of history, gender differences are not at all significant, while, in the case of nationality

110

W. Melzer

stereotypes and the two grades of manifest hostility toward foreigners, only slightly significant differences exist with very low bivariate correlations. For East German youth, on the other hand, with the exception of cleaning up history, we find statistically relevant, highly significant differences between girls and boys in all dimensions of right-wing extremist orientations. This levellingout in West Germany corresponds to the overall trends in the survey over and above the attitudinal dimensions (family, school, peers, politics, intercultural communication), with the exception of the spheres of leisure and consumption, in which gender-specific differences actually outweighed EastWest differences (see Melzer 1991, pp. 1-92; Melzer et al., 1991, p. 98). It seems to be the case that, in spite of formal equality between men and women in the former GDR, more marked role differences (e.g., in the family) and specifications of socialization existed than in West Germany, where the "fantasy figure" of a disadvantaged being, "the Catholic working girl from the country," was able to shake off her gender-specific character in the course of educational reform and the changes in the political and pedagogical culture within the last few decades. In the following, we want to concentrate on the second part of the question how the influentialfactor "education, " which proved to be empirically relevant when brought into operation as educational aspiration and participation, should be evaluated. To what extent does school play a role in the creation of extreme right-wing orientations? Does the correlation that is repeatedly emphasized in the literature (see, e.g., Rolff et al., 1990, 1992) between social structure and education not suggest a certain, albeit a minimal consolidating effect of attitudes that have already come into being in the original environment? What can realistically be expected of prevention programs in schools against (violence and) right-wing extremism? In order to examine these questions, we have checked through all elements of the extreme right-wing syndrome for their correlations with the social background of male and female students, and have compared the results we received with the correlations for educational aspiration and actual length of school attendance. As a first step, in order to examine the basic correlations assumed up to now, we have calculated the correlations of the two educational variables used in the previous analyses with class membership separately for East and West German youth (see Figure 7).

The Syndrome of Right-Wing

111

Extremism

school form West

\

0.79**/

aspiration

0,42**

social elees

0,50** school form

East

0,46**/

aspiration

\

0,35**

0,24**

social elees

Figure 7: Educational Aspiration and Social Background (correlations)

For West Germany, the results confirm—in spite of an educational reform extending over decades—that there is still a considerable link between social class and education. There is, however, a significant direct influence of social class on the type of school chosen (r =.42**) and consequently on the entire educational biography and the individual level of education. The achievement of these goals is—and to an even greater degree—determined in a mediatory way by means of the educational and career aspirations of the school children, whereby the will of the parents is an extra crucial factor. The rates of correlations between school and aspiration (r =.50**) as well as between aspiration and school form (r =.79**) are on a level that is seldom attained in sociological research, and they document the assumed correlation in an impressive way. As correlations do not allow statements on causality, the results must be taken as indices for interpénétrations and reciprocal consolidating effects. Membership of lower social classes does not only increase the likelihood of lower educational aspiration and participation and thus ultimately of being less successful at school, but, vice versa—determined by the processes of social selection—there are also socialization effects that strengthen the awareness of the social periphery and thus

112

W. Melzer

the tendency to isolate potential rival social groups (e.g., foreigners, asylum seekers, immigrants of German origin). The educational and socializational effects already outlined, which are apparent in West Germany, also exist, in principle, in the transitional period from the old to the new school system in East Germany; they are, however, scaled more gradually and are less clearly marked. This can be attributed essentially to two historical viewpoints: First, the effects of socialization of a shared 8 years at school in the POS under identical institutional and curricular learning conditions should not be underestimated. Second, during the time of the GDR, secondary negative careers were not brought about by school selection, as was the case in West Germany's Hauptschulen—only about 10% of school children attended Upper secondary school (EOS), while the overwhelming majority were fitted out with a solid general education that was more or less the same for everybody. All in all, the correlation between social background and education can be confirmed for both sections of the population as an intermediate result. The effects of these two socialization factors on right-wing extremism was examined comparatively in a further stage by means of partial correlations. These revealed that school selectional processes reinforce social origin. This finding shows, on the one hand, the significance of social structure for the emergence of right-wing extremism; simultaneously, however, that a negative basic disposition can be toned down by cultural activities, by learning processes in school, by education, and so forth. Over and above these expected findings of an interplay of primary and secondary socializational effects, we have again examined all elements of the syndrome of right-wing extremism in detail to see if the conditions of their emergence can be traced back more to the social background or to the educational sphere, and we arrive at the following interesting results: 1.

Manifest hostility toward foreigners occurs to the same extent in East and in West Germany and in the same proportions, with corresponding reinforcing effects of social background and the educational and qualificational processes we examined.

2.

Negative nationality stereotypes and authoritarianism, which play a more minor role for West German youth in the explanatory model, are only established minimally in the social background of East German youth and are brought to life in and by the school, interpretatively, because of their repressive structures and their pronounced formalism, by means of "pedagogy of following orders," and ritualized group pressures. This

The Syndrome of Right-Wing Extremism

3.

113

statistical correlation is not present for West German youth. Anti-Semitism and historically nationalizing attitudes are more likely to emerge within the social background (anti-Semitism) or are only slightly consolidated by school (cleaningup of history); while among West German youth, for whom this interpretational pattern structure was predominant, the roots lie clearly within the sphere of education.

All in all, one can deduce a careful optimism from these findings with regard to efforts made in school to prevent violence and right-wing extremism. The frame of mind of West German youth and the socialization effects established for this area indicate the significance of curricular-based study of questions of history and of intercultural learning, while the positive turn of the results illustrates the relevance of school atmosphere, school interaction, and of school life for processes of political socialization in East German youth. However, the formulation selected at the beginning, that school is only one place where right-wing extremism and violence is evident among young people, can be extended in such a way that school and education also represent only one element of political socialization and only a single segment from the more comprehensive world of adolescents. Experiences are also gained in other spheres of life in which socialization—including political socialization—takes place. Here, family plays as important a role as career or the anticipated acquisition of social status, school, success at school, as well as the relationship to one's own age group and so forth. In the final analysis, it is a question of whether the social network functions with sufficient support systems for young people. Whenever the social network—so the overall tenor of this chapter—reveals weak points or gaps, when male and female students have nobody they can turn to in times of need, when their parents are not available or cannot be relied on as supportive persons, when the excessive demands of school cannot be counterbalanced, or when peer socialization does not function and young people—for whatever reason—feel isolated, then the political dangers, including right-wing extremism, are particularly high. This complexity of the structure of conditions suggests that not all problems of growing up, which society as a whole induces and is responsible for, can be foisted off onto the secondary socialization agency. That would be unjust, and school would collapse under this burden.

W. Melzer

114

Notes 1.

2. 3.

Actual school attendance; West Germany: Hauptschule (Basic Secondary School) vs. Gymnasium (Upper School); East Germany: Polytechnische Oberschule (Polytechnical Secondary School; POS) vs. Erweiterte Oberschule (Extended Secondary School; EOS). Educational aspiration level: high expectations (= education +) vs. low expectations (= education -) in relation to school and career qualification. The French are the people most favored by West German youth, followed by the Americans—a finding that makes nonsense of the talk of anti-Americanism—then the Spanish and the Italians. For the young people of East Germany, the Austrians, the Dutch, the Swiss, and the French occupy the first places. The Americans are in tenth place—well above the East Germans' former allies from the Eastern Bloc.

References Baacke, D (1983). Die 13- bis 18jährigen (3rd ed.). Weinheim: Beltz. Beck, U. (1986). Risikogesellschaft. Auf dem Weg in eine andere Moderne. Frankfurt: Suhrkamp. Butterwegge, Ch. & Isola, H. (Eds.). (1991). Rechtsextremismus im vereinigten Deutschland. Bremen: Steintor. Förster, P., Friedrich, W., Müller, H., & Schubarth, W. (1992). Jugendliche in Ostdeutschland. Leipzig: Freudenberg Stiftung. Friedrich, W., & Schubarth, W. (1991). Ausländerfeindliche und rechtsextreme Orientierungen bei Jugendlichen. Deutschland Archiv, 10, 1052-1065. Heitmeyer, W. (1987). Rechtsextremistische Orientierungen bei Jugendlichen. Weinheim: Juventa. Heitmeyer, W. (1993a). Rechtsextremistische Orientierungen bei Jugendlichen. Weinheim: Juventa (4th ed.) Heitmeyer, W. (1993b). Gesellschaftliche Desintegrationsprozesse als Ursachen von fremdenfeindlicher Gewalt und politischer Paralysierung. Aus Politik und Zeitgeschichte, Β 2/3, 313. Heitmeyer, W. et al. (1992). Die Bielefelder Rechtsextremismus-Studie. Weinheim: Juventa. Hopf, W. (1991). Familiale und schulische Bedingungen rechtsextremer Orientierungen von Jugendlichen. Zeitschrift fur Sozialisations- und Erziehungsforschung, 1, 43-59. Jugendwerk der Deutschen SHELL (1985). Jugend und Erwachsene '85. Opladen: Leske + Budrich. Klönne, A. (1990). Die neue Rechte angesichts der deutschen Einheit. In Ch. Butterwegge, & H. Isola (Eds), Rechtsextremismus im vereinigten Deutschland (pp. 66-74). Bremen: Steintor. Melzer, W. (1992). Jugend und Politik in Deutschland. Gesellschaftliche Einstellungen, Zukunftorientierungen und Rechtsextremismuspotential Jugendlicher in Ost- und Westdeutschland. Opladen: Leske + Budrich. Oesterreich, D. (1993). Autoritäre Persönlichkeit und Gesellschaftsordnung. Weinheim: Juventa. Pfahl-Traughber, A. (1992). Rechtsextremismus in den neuen Bundesländern. Aus Politik und Zeitgeschichte, Β3/4, 11-21. Richter, H.-E. (Ed.). (1990). Russen und Deutsche: alte Feindbilder weichen neuen Hoffhungen. Hamburg: Hoffmann & Campe.

The Syndrome of Right-Wing Extremism

115

Schubarth, W., & Stenke, D. (1992). "Ausländer" - Bilder bei ostdeutschen Schülerinnen und Schüler. Deutschland Archiv, 12, 1247-1254. Willems, H. (1992). Fremdenfeindliche Gewalt. Gruppendynamik,4, 433-448. Zinnecker, J. (1991) Jugend als Bildungsmoratorium. Zur Theorie des Wandels der Jugendphase in west- und osteuropäischen Gesellschaften. In W. Melzer, W. Heitmeyer, L. Liegle, & J. Zinnecker (Eds.). Osteuropäische Jugend im Wandel (pp. 9-24). Weinheim: Juventa.

Are Girls Less Political Than Boys? Research Strategies and Concepts of Gender Studies Among 9 to 12-Year-Olds1 Juliane Jacobi

1.

Introduction

The following description of a research design will introduce the reader to a project aimed at answering the question posed in the title of this chapter: Are girls less political than boys? This description is followed an outline of general assumptions that guide research on gender-specific forms of political socialization. The state of knowledge on gender and socialization is reconsidered, and a new perspective on the conceptualization of gender studies among children is presented.2 The question at stake can be answered only by a deeper understanding of the gender-typical formation of processes of political socialization during childhood. It seems that both the conventional quantitative methods of political socialization research as well as the underlying concept of politics no longer fit the changes in social structure and culture.2 Qualitative studies focusing on interaction seem to be a promising approach as well as the choice of the age group that is known to organize most rigidly along gender lines. The 9- to 12-year old age group promises to provide insight into the gender-related forces in the process of political socialization. Proceeding from the hypothesis that girls are not less political than boys but differently political because of the localization of their experiences and life interests, we are studying the "political culture" of two groups in Grades 3 and 5 as well as 4 and 6 at the "Laborschule," a progressive elementary and secondary school at Bielefeld.

2. Conditions of the Research Field The sample consists of 9- to 12-year-olds of both genders. In the period surrounding the transition from elementary to secondary school, interaction processes among children experience a push toward differentiation, also particularly regarding the aspect of gender-typical socialization. During this phase, there is a particularly strong need for gender-segregated groups (see

118

J. Jacobi

Oswald et al., 1989; Oswald & Krappmann, 1988; Oswald et al., 1986). We have selected the Laborschule at Bielefeld as it proves to be particularly suitable for our purposes in a number of ways: First, transition to secondary school takes place "under one roof," as the Laborschule covers elementary school and the first phase of secondary education (Sekundarstufe I). This provides organizational continuity, practicality, and a direct comparison of grades in a study designed to run for 3 years. In addition, it is an all-day school (compared to many German elementary schools that close in the afternoons) that provides numerous other observation situations in addition to school lessons, such as library, disco, canteen, school garden, playground, and so forth. Although the children spend their entire day within the institution of school, in programatic and practical terms, the school exhibits the character of a social space that the children themselves shape to a greater extent than in traditional German schools. Within this framework, children are used to being cared for by social workers in their postgraduate practical year as well as by teachers. Our prestudy has already determined that the children are not surprised or irritated when various adults take on different roles at the same time within their groups. This provides a particularly good precondition for the presence of observers in the field. Our comparisons with other schools have not revealed similarily good levels of acceptance. The structural and organizational characteristics of this state-run experimental school also provide favorable field conditions: The structure concerns the total organization of the school, its relatively small size, the types of lesson, the curriculum and the organization of subjects, the opportunities to learn outside of traditional lessons, no grading, social pedagogic and school psychological work, open-plan architecture, scientific work in the institution, and a holistic educational program (von Hentig, 1990). As the name Laborschule implies, the sociodemographic composition of students actually does offer laboratory conditions for the study of processes of political socialization. First of all, half the students are girls and the other half are boys. Each group is compiled approximately according to this ratio. There is also a social clause that regulates student enrollment. However this clause is not applied to the actual formation of groups. There are three groups in each enrollment year consisting of 18 to 20 children. It can be assumed that all groups are generally very heterogeneous socioeconomically, and that social differences are present in the group constellation. Processes of political socialization are structured by the experience of equality and difference. For this reason and because the number of observers in a qualitative study is limited, it is necessary to particularly emphasize the sociodemographic characteristics of the field. The open-plan architecture of the school conveys another idea of school openness

Are Girls Less Political Than Boys?

119

than closed classrooms. Thus, lessons can be called public, they are given in so-called fields, and can be observed by outsiders. There is a stronger need to make and negotiate rules for the entire school than in traditional schools. Nonetheless, in recent years, the political intentions, the promotion of communication, have come increasingly into disrepute, and there are increasing complaints regarding the stress to all participants of the open-plan construction, the noise, and the lack of privacy. Regardless of how one evaluates it, the fact that the close proximity compels negotiation plays a role in our study. Lesson organization, which has a very strong reform orientation, alternates the form of lessons and offers an unusual range of types of lesson: There are "own work" lessons in which children decide what they want to do; there are project lessons; and there is an institution of group meetings during care lessons. Children are always allowed to move freely through their fields and do not have to sit on their chairs for hour after hour. This also strengthens communication and interaction between the children. Naturally, the differences compared to traditional schools could give rise to the suspicion that students at the Laborschule experience a completely exceptional political socialization. For the general interest underlying our research, this would be fatal. This suspicion is contradicted, first of all, by the experiences of teachers at the Laborschule. In expert discussions during the prestudy phase, they stressed that their students were not as different from other students as the specific pedagogic concept would desire in certain fields. One of the teachers' basic and frustrating experiences is that children still express their "autonomy" even when educational goals are "good." Programs and practice are two completely different pairs of shoes, and we are interested in the forms that practice takes. In addition, the above-mentioned suspicion is contradicted by one of our systematic methodological considerations: The structural, organizational, and design units of the Laborschule create a particular visibility of phenomena that would be impossible to observe in a traditional school. This is not because these phenomena basically do not belong to the repertoire of children at traditional schools, but because they are either not or only scarcely anticipated institutionally. Hence, the Laborschule provides us with field conditions characterized by good access and structural richness, and they certainly allow us to anticipate general findings on processes of political socialization.

3. On the Exploration Methods In our prestudy, we have carried out a comprehensive field protocol of one group. This protocol was not yet oriented toward any guideline. In addition, conversations with teachers of the above-mentioned grades were documented. The results of this prestudy have led to a more specific plan of methods that will

120

J. Jacobi

be sketched briefly: Drawing on the success of Oswald and Krapmann's (1988) interaction study with children, the most important assessment method is participant observation by two observers in each case. In terms that they can understand, the children are told who the researchers are and what they are doing. Hence, a covert assessment is not intended. During the prestudy phase, experience confirmed repeatedly that open replies to the children's queries create a basis of trust so that children feel that they are taken seriously and are not put off by researchers. Naturally, both children and their parents must grant permission for the children to be observed. A further outcome of experiences in the prestudy is that observations actually have to be participant in the sense of having an opportunity to discuss situations with the children. Watching and writing protocols alone often leads to a distorted picture. For example, after reading a reader's letter against the war in Yugoslavia ("We don't want this war") written by girls attending a comprehensive school, a 5th-grade group are discussing whether they want to do something. A copy of the letter is going round the group; one boy is drawing stars and the word "bang" on the letterhead. Taken by itself, this situation could be interpreted as an example of the militaristic orientation of boys. When the observer asked the boy to explain his actions, he turned completely red and explained that "these were stars in space." The fact that the boy turns red initially shows that he feels caught out and knows that he should have acted differently. This conflict would not have been visible if the observer had only documented his "bang" drawings without questioning him. Hence, it seems to be meaningful not only to observe what the children are doing but also to document what they say they are doing. The differences and contradictions that arise frequently put us on the track of central psychosocial structures. We have seriously considered using documentation media, but have currently decided to limit ourselves exclusively to observation protocols. Under no other technical preconditions is the reactivity of the researcher as good as when she only has a pencil in her hand, and the reaction of the participants to the technical overstructuring of the field is not so low in any other circumstances. The mobility of the subjects, which permits a more varied interaction than traditional lessons, must be complemented by the mobility of the observer in the field. The negative side of this is the lack of structure in the assessment situation. We have countered such problems by developing a structurally oriented observation guideline. In addition, content constellations in the topic of political socialization and gender-specific interaction will be pursued even further with the help of other methods. Stories written by the children and pictures that they have painted will be collected if they contribute to our topics and the children let us have them. This material permits an extended insight into the imaginative world of children that cannot be attained through group observation alone. It is particularly gender—

Are Girls Less Political Than Boys?

121

typical themes, styles, and interpretations that are objectified and made visible through the media of stories and pictures. In addition, they also represent reflective confrontations with reality that reveal forms of processing in the children that are not so visible in interactions but may well be necessary for their interpretation. The decisive difference to surveys is that reflection is not produced on demand, but that the self-concept, fantasies, and desires of the children are reflected by themselves. Here as well, we also intend to talk to the children about their products in order to help understand them. Continuous discussions with the teacher, which could provide additional information, belong to the further reservoir of methods. Because of our research topic, we consider it to be meaningful to include male and female perspectives in the observations. The decision to enroll a further scientific colleague has been made with this particularly in mind. This relatively detailed presentation of the research design has drawn attention far away from the considerations on gender-typical political socialization. To relate the results of interaction studies to differences in political orientations of girls and boys extrapolated from the adult perspective (twofold life perspective of girls, public occupational life orientation of boys), we have to inspect prevailing concepts of gender studies in the field of political socialization. Our observations focus on the interaction between gender-segregated groups in the "public" domain of the group. If, in this phase of late childhood and pre-adolescence that we are focusing on here, it should actually be true that the gender segregation of peers has its most extreme expressions, whereas, on the other hand, the group orientation within the context of participation in group decisions in no way permits any differentiation of the dominance of one group over the other, then our study could contribute to an explanation of both the persistence and the changes in gender-typical structure in the political sphere.

4. Female Socialization/Male Socialization Depending on the frame of reference, the general thesis on the political distance of German youth can once more rebound according to gender with this question, or it can express the everyday observation that politics continues to be a male domain. We have posed this question within the context of feminist research. Feminist research has travelled a long way and developed within various theoretical approaches of the social sciencies and humanities. Whereas the 1970s and early 1980s were concerned primarily with deficit research within the framework of a highly undifferentiated model of emancipation adopted from the student movement, in recent years, social scientific research into the living conditions of women has become increasingly concerned with studying gender

122

J. Jacobi

differences as a historically determined social construction. In this context, our question is conceived with a twofold answer in mind. In the sense of a conventional, simultaneously also dominant concept of politics, girls are unpolitical because politics only provides room for a part of their political interests. The other part, which relates directly to the conditions that shape private life, is contained only marginally, if at all, in this understanding of politics as, for example, social policy. This two-sided interest of girls characterizes the decisive difference between the genders in questions on access to politics. The basic hypothesis of our study was therefore initially: Because of the localization of their experiences and interests in life that forces girls to take public and private perspectives, they are political in a different way. I shall show how this hypothesis can be operationalized for a research design. The results of socialization research that gave the ideas for a new concept of gender studies in the realm of political socialization will be summarized. In Germany, there is a great shortage of studies specifically directed toward the political socialization of girls as well as systematic considerations within socialization theory on the role of gender relationships in political socialization (Körner, 1976; SINUS-Institut 1983, 1985). However, findings from the field of phenomenologically oriented educational research on children are clear: An early study on the utopias of elementary school children has shown that the utopias of boys in the 1950s had a strong political orientation while those of girls were "unpolitically private" (Sauer, 1954). This study reflects the well-known assignment of the genders to the dichotomized division of modern society. F a r reaching political changes since the 1950s, even a general trend toward radical change in political culture in the Federal Republic of Germany, which is popularly considered to center around 1970, have not brought about any notable changes in this picture. The analysis of a collection of essays by 10-year-olds on the topic of "After the nuclear strike," compiled within the context of efforts at education toward a policy of peace at a progressive school in 1982, that is, during the heyday of the so-called peace movement, shed some light on genderized concepts of political action among 9-year-olds. There are clear gender-specific divisions of fields: The majority of boys fantasize about defensive battles and counterattacks; girls rebuild the lifeworlds that have been destroyed. Private and public, male and female, the well-known pattern is reflected yet again, and it is broadly in line with the outcomes of studies in the 1950s. In this small sample, there are individual girls and boys with other orientations whose stories are on a higher, yet completely age-appropriate level of development, that address political actions such as petitions and demonstrations to those responsible in the conventional area of politics or who do not engage in defensive battles. This limited, but distinctive group does allow us to reflect on genderized stages of development.

Are Girls Less Political Than Boys?

123

These findings from educational research on children can be explained by ideas found in the critical extension of the construct of "social character" within socialization theory, particularly in feminist social psychology from the field of critical theory (see Becker-Schmidt, 1989; Bilden & Becker-Schmidt, 1991). They contain a developmental psychological dimension whose plausibility is aided by findings from feminist research on morals. Both approachs will be sketched briefly in the following. They are closely interrelated, though not identical, and each is quite capable of criticizing the other. Both share the wish to explain the following finding: In many areas of development, there is a difference between boys and girls, and although this has changed, it does not seem to be disappearing. The most popular theoretical explanations are those of psychoanalytically oriented American feminists whose assumptions are a critical extension of the work of Freud: Through the different process of identification that stems from the different position of the mother, male subjects are formed differently to female subjects. These theoreticians are oriented toward the construct of the social character, because this is used to try to link phenomena of social structure, such as work and dominance, to mental dispositions, that is, character structures (see Chodorow, 1978). Carol Gilligan (1982, 1991), in particular, has had a lasting impact on the entire debate on moral development in children by applying this approach to developmental psychology. She has carried out her own studies based on Kohlberg's analysis of moral development. Her studies criticize his underlying assumptions of an equal conception of development for boys and girls. As an outcome of both these studies and a critical réévaluation of Kohlberg's findings, she has presented the hypothesis that there is a specifically different developmental process in the field of the moral development of children and adolescents that depends on gender. Her hypothesis is that girls and young women develop within a context-related ethics of care, while boys and young men develop within context-independent and abstractly binding norms that, to put it briefly, are identical with the values of Western democracy and the achievement society. Gilligan conceives her ethics of care as an autonomous stage of moral development achieved by women that should complement the highest moral achievement of male development that is bound to general norms. Hence, she develops a nonhierarchical model with two different ethics. In terms of developmental psychology, this is due to the different identity formation that already commences in early childhood and requires the separation from the mother, the first reference person of the other sex, for the achievement of male identity; whereas the mother does not have to be "suppressed" for the formation of female identity (Gilligan, 1982). Over the years, Gilligan's hypotheses have been discussed broadly and critically (see Maihofer, 1988; Nunner-Winkler, 1991). Below, I shall also discuss the main criticisms that relate directly to the area of political socialization. However, at this

124

J. Jacobi

point, it should be stated initially that hardly any other work from the field of feminism has had a comparably broad impact on other discussions in the social sciences. In my opinion, this primarily means only that the author has succeeded in promising usable explanations for the phenomena of gender differences (see Davis, 1991). An abundance of everyday observations seem to confirm Gilligan's explanations, and they all have something to do with the above-mentioned different forms of experience and biographical perspectives of girls and boys in which not only abstract norms but also the caring aspect of human relationships is always important for girls and women. In gender-differentiated research on the so-called change in values, a trend has actually asserted itself that can be described with Gilligan's model (see Jacobi, 1990a, b). For our own research, we consider not so much the so-called depth dimension that has been interpreted in a social-psychological framework, but rather the sociological dimension. We extend this approach both theoretically and empirically: the assumption that there are gender-defined territories and that these are relevant to socialization. Here, Pierre Bourdieu's (1970, 1987) analyses of the sociology of culture, in particular, provide further orientation.3 Official politics are a male territory, and changes in this field are slow if not downward. Whether the quota discussion in Germany, a specific form of antidiscrimination action, for example, will basically change this trend remains to be seen. The thoroughly slow-moving development in this field certainly has its reasons in the "distance from politics" of female interests. Our research on political socialization is concerned initially with understanding how this distance from politics arises. Some first studies working with such a concept of territoralization according to genders are already available from research on adolescents (see Engeler & Friebertshäuser, 1989; Friebertshäuser, 1992). Qualitative childhood research works with a similar concept, although it is not explicitly gender-speci-fic (see Behnken & duBois-Reymond, 1991; Behnken et al., 1991).

5. Gender and Politics Territories have a symbolic order, a culture, that is produced by men and women and to which, depending on their classification, men or women have to adjust if they wish to function in them successfully. This is achieved in only a limited manner. However, the following must also be considered within such theories: When members of the group of the opposite sex move in these territories, they also change this culture. Therefore, for the political socialization of girls and boys, we have decided to strive toward a study of zones outside of the family on the basis of this territorial assumption in which areas and their gender-specific classification can be analyzed in a more differentiated manner than before. This will also include looking at the way in which institutional dominance—conveyed either structurally or personally—supports or destabilizes these territoralizations.

Are Girls Less Political Than Boys?

125

The impressions gained from the research already conducted have been very mixed: Up to puberty, children have a need for gender-segregated zones. On the other hand, individual children who pass beyond boundaries accept discrimination, become resigned in foreign territories, or assert themselves. This means not only that territorial assignments are basic and structural but also that it seems to be possible for individuals to transcend them. They are apparently necessary for the identity formation of children and adolescents, because identity without gender identity cannot be acquired. Territorialization has a twofold function: It establishes access barriers, forms of traffic (social capital is transferred in them and acquired as habitus), and discriminations. As female access to other territories is defined decisively by the family focus of the female life plan, territorialization produces a restriction to these territories in girls and young women. Each change of territory means a conscious decision, involves the experience of a lack of social capital in the form defined in the other habitus, and also requires coping with experiences of discrimination. Experience agrees with the female state of life exclusively in territories in which personally formed structures are not eclipsed completely by institutional ones. Related to politics, this means either an orientation within the field of conventional politics toward marginalized areas such as social or educational policy, in other words, to areas that are completely at the bottom of the hierarchy of importance in conventional politics, or toward the as yet unoccupied areas of alternative politics. These reflections on gender and politics in social interaction lead to a conclusion that will help to reconceptualize gender studies as well as studies in political socialization. Research on political socialization has previously neglected the phase of childhood just as much as the sociostructural and sociocultural category of gender in any systematic perspective. Quantitative and standardized methods dominate. Although German youth research discusses cultural and structural changes under headings such as detraditionalization and individualization, and thus the change in the objects and methods of political socialization research, it also, and still, blends out the category of gender. In contrast, the role of gender within the framework of psychological research on moral development has led to strong and controversial discussions in recent years. The polar models of gender-related moral practices in Gilligan's work seem to be too stylized and simplified from an empirical perspective (see Döbert, 1991; Edelstein & Nunner-Winkler, 1986). For example, the concept of "being concerned" has been used in a discussion of gender differences in political socialization to criticize this stylization. Nonetheless, the socialization of gender-differentiated ways of "being concerned" with political objects has yet to be studied. Research on childhood has pointed recently to the strong role of peer socialization in social learning. However, studies from feminist research have shown clearly that the role of the peer group differs for boys and girls. There has been little

126

J. Jacobi

research on interaction between the genders among 9- to 12-year-olds, because, up to now, the hypothesis of "two separate worlds" has been particularly dominant in this age group. On account of the dominance of this hypothesis, it is surprising that there have still been no ethnographic studies of gender socialization. For example, Oswald and Krappmann (1988) have pointed to the mutual interrelationship of gender-segregated "worlds," although they have not dealt explicitly with the interactions of peers and between the genders. However, both the structure of these interactions and the content have to be studied in order to find out how the structure of genderized "cultures" is shaped, reproduced, and changed. Although the social worlds of children have been researched relatively well in the USA (Spindler & Spindler, 1986; Thorne, 1993), a simple generalization of this research would not do justice to the cultural differences across various societies. Both phenomenological research on "public childhood" and the "public domain" of children as well as sociocultural research following on from Bourdieu have yet to present a qualitative exploration of gender-defined spaces or territories, their acquisition, and their reproduction. In contrast, feminist research has explicitly addressed female life-worlds, although there are still very few contributions to comparative gender research in this context that have not been based on hierarchical premises. The important methodological point in our research approach is a critical re-evaluation of these premises. Feminist research has always worked with the underlying assumption of male/female hierarchies. It is only quite recently that the active construction of genderized cultures has attracted social scientists. The world of children is looked upon mostly as a reproduction of a well-known pattern of adult gender relations. It seems to give us deeper insight into the reproduction of gendered cultures if we look upon the children's world as being in a process of being constructed by the interactive persons themselves. These observations will provide an answer to the question how, in the specific case of political socialization, girls and boys act among themselves and with their mutual peers from the other gender. With regard to the groups under study, political culture does not mean the practice of civil rights and duties but the communication, interaction, and decision-making processes, conflict behavior and conflict-solving strategies, as well as representation of interests among students in the homogeneous age groups at the school. The concept of social learning includes political socialization, as we understand it. However, political socialization refers particularly to the subaspect of social learning that concerns learning to differentiate what can and what cannot be negotiated publically by whom, and how the form of sanctioning functions. It seems that public school life and public group or class life have to be seen in relationship here. As we assume that there are gender-defined social territories through which sociostructural and sociocultural classifications are repro-duced,

Are Girls Less Political Than Boys?

127

we shall analyze this more precisely. However, this socializing classification process should not be conceived deterministically or fimctionalistically: Empirical research has repeatedly revealed contradictions and differences between social structure, cultural encoding, and individual courses of socialization. Although the classifications regarding which gender is viewed to be more responsible for which objects of social negotiation tend to be fixed, they are continually reconfirmed or attacked interactively. Hence, the borders of social territories can differ completely across various groups. We are particularly interested in plotting the processes of political negotiation within these groups, insofar as these processes offer descriptive material for both sides—cultural self-affirmation and cultural change. On the path toward a differentiated qualitative social research, we want to influence the gender-political debate in favor of dismantling stereotyped ideas of masculinity and femininity through this type of research.

Notes 1. 2.

3.

Translated from German into English by Jonathan Harrow, University of Bielefeld. This article is deeply indepted to the cooperation with Helga Kelle. Together with Helga Kelle and Georg Breidenstein, I am working on a research project funded by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (PFG). The respective articles in the Handbuch der Sozialisationsforschung from 1980 and 1990 tell this story without clear intention, but with clear outcome (see Bilden, 1980, 1991; Kulke, 1980, 1991).

References Becker-Schmidt, R. (1989). Identitätslogik und Gewalt. Beiträge zur feministischen Theorie und Praxis, 24, 51-64. Behnken, I. & Bois-Reymond, M. du (1991). Kinder unter sich. Spielwelten in alten Stadtquatieren. Ein interkultureller Vergleich. In Ch. Berg (Ed.), Kinderwelten (pp. 132-154). Frankfurt: Suhrkamp. Behnken, I., Leppien, E., Lutz, M., Pasquela, J., Woidkoviak, Α., & Zinnecker,J. (1991). Kindheit im Siegerland. Unpublished methods manual, University of Siegen. Bilden, Η. (1980). Geschlechtsspezifische Sozialisation. In Κ. Hurrelmann & D. Ulich (Eds.) Handbuch der Sozialisationsforschung (pp. 777-812), Weinheim: Beltz. Bilden, H. (1991). Geschlechtsspezifische Sozialisation. In K. Hurrelmann & D. Ulich (Eds.), Neues Handbuch der Sozialisationsforschung (pp. 279-301). Weinheim: Juventa. Bilden, H. & Becker-Schmidt, R. (1991). Impulse fur die qualitative Sozialforschung aus der Frauenforschung. In U. Flick, E. von Kardorff, H. Neiip, L. von Resenheim, & St. Wolff (Eds.), Handbuch qualitative Sozialforschung (pp. 23-30). München: Psychologische Verlagsunion. Bourdieu, P. (1970). Zur Soziologie der symbolischen Formen. Frankfurt: Suhrkamp. Bourdieu, P. (1987). Die feinen Unterschiede: Kritik der gesellschaftlichen Urteilskraft. Frankfurt: Suhrkamp. Chodorow, N. (1978). The reproduction of mothering: Psychoanalysis and the sociology of gender. Berkeley, CA: The Regents of the University of California. Davis, K. (1991). Die Rhetorik des Feminismus. Ein neuer Blick auf die Gilligan-Debatte. Feministische Studien, 2, 79-97. Döbert, R. (1991). Männliche Moral - Weibliche Moral. In G. Nunner-Winkler (Ed.), Weibliche

128

J. Jacobi

Moral. Die Kontroverse um eine geschlechtsspezifische Ethik (pp. 121-146). Frankfurt: Campus. Edelstein, W. & Nunner-Winkler, G. (Eds.). (1986). Zur Bestimmung der Moral. Frankfurt: Suhrkamp. Engeler, St. & Friebertshäuser, B. (1989). Zwischen Kantine und WG - Studienanfang in Elektrotechnik und Erziehungswissenschaft. In H. Faulstich-Wieland (Ed.), Weibliche Identität. Schriftenreihe des Instituts Frau und Gesellschaft, (Vol. 10, pp. 123-136). Hannover: The Institute. Friebertshäuser, B. (1992). Übergangsphase Studienbeginn: eine Fallstudie über Riten der Initiation in eine studentische Fachkultur. Weinheim: Juventa. Gilligan, C. (1982) In a different voice. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. Gilligan, C. (1991). Moralische Orientierung und moralische Entwicklung. In G. NunnerWinkler (Ed.), Weibliche Moral. Die Kontroverse um eine geschlechtsspezifische Ethik (pp. 79-100). Frankfurt: Campus. Hentig, H. von (1990). Die Bielefelder Laborschule. Aufgaben, Prinzipien, Einrichtungen. Impuls, 7, Bielefeld. Jacobi, J. (1990). Sind Mädchen unpolitischer als Jungen? In W. Heitmeyer & J. Jacobi (Eds.), Politische Sozialisation und Individualisierung. Perspektiven und Chancen politischer Bildung (pp. 99-116). Weinheim: Juventa. Körner, J. (1976). Vorurteilsbereitschaft und autoritäres Verhalten. Eine empirische Untersuchung an 9-12jährigen Grund- und Hauptschülern. Stuttgart: Metzler. Kulke, Ch. (1980). Politische Sozialisation. In K. Hurrelmann & D. Ulich (Eds.), Handbuch der Sozialisationsforschung (pp. 745-776). Weinheim: Beltz. Kulke, Ch. (1991) Politische Sozialisation und Geschlechterdifferenz. In K. Hurrelmann & D. Ulich (Eds.), Neues Handbuch der Sozialisationsforschung (pp. 595-613). Weinheim: Juventa. Maihofer, A. (1988). Ansätze zur Kritik des moralischen Individualismus. Zur moraltheoretischen Diskussion um Gilligans Thesen zu einer "weiblichen" Moralauffassung. Feministische Studien, 1, 32-52. Nunner-Winkler, G. (Ed.).(1991). Weibliche Moral. Die Kontroverse um eine geschlechtsspezifische Ethik. Frankfurt: Campus. Oswald, H. & Krappmann, L. (1988). Soziale Beziehungen und Interaktion unter Grundschulkindern - Methoden und ausgewählte Ergebnisse eines qualitativen Forschungsprojekts. Materialien aus der Bildungsforschung Nr. 33. Berlin: Max-PlanckInstitut für Bildungsforschung. Oswald, H., Krappmann, L., Chowdhuri, I., & Salisch, M. von (1986). Grenzen und Brücken. Interaktion zwischen Mädchen und Jungen im Grundschulalter. Kölner Zeitschrift fur Soziologie und Sozialpsychologie, 3, 560-580. Oswald, H., Krappmann, L., & Salisch, M. von (1988). Miteinander - Gegeneinander. Eine Beobachtungsstudie über Mädchen und Jungen im Grundschulalter. In G. Pfister (Ed.), Zurück zur Mädchenschule? Beiträge zur Koedukation. Frauen in Geschichte und Gesellschaft, I (pp. 173-192). Pfaffenweiler: Centauras. Sauer, G.-K. (1954). Kindliche Utopien. Göttinger Studien zur Pädagogik, 34. Weinheim: Beltz. SINUS-Institut (Ed.).(1983). Die verunsicherte Generation, Jugend und Wertewandel. Opladen: Leske + Budrich. SINUS-Institut (Ed.).(1985). Jugend privat: Verwöhnt? Bildungslos? Hedonistisch? Opladen: Leske + Budrich. Spindler, G., & Spindler, L. (Eds.).(1986). Interpretative ethnography of education. Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum. Thorne, B. (1993). Gender play: Boys and girls in school. New Brunswick, Canada: Rutgers University Press.

Part 3 Individualization and Relationship

Individualized Life Plans and Concepts of Partnership During Adolescence Georg Neubauer

1.

Introduction

The idea for this chapter arose out of a variety of study contexts. I shall list these in order to demonstrate the breadth of the approach. 1. 2.

3. 4.

The discussions about the theorem of individualization and about postmodernity (see Ferchoff & Neubauer, 1989). Comparative studies of adolescents in the former Federal Republic of Germany (FRG), the former German Democratic Republic (GDR), and Israel (Melzer et al., 1990; Neubauer et al; 1992). Studies of adolescents from the perspective of socialization theory, in particular, studies of sexual socialization (Neubauer, 1990). Action research in youth work (Neubauer, 1991).

In the following, I shall concentrate on one aspect that arises from Beck's (1986) discussion of the theorem of individualization. This refers to the situation of women and men and their release from the traditional female and male roles in what I shall call the postmodern society.1 After presenting Beck's theoretical assumptions, I shall clarify them with my own empirical findings from the study of adolescents.

2.

Gender Roles: From Traditional to Postmodern

The traditional female role in modern society is characterized, above all, by personal concern for others, the priority of personal relationships, sensitivity, emotionality, voluntary cooperation, and altruism. It also includes closeness to nature as a result of physical reproduction, that is, childbearing. Modern society assumes that these socially desirable characteristics are necessary for the reproductive sphere of the family, which is assigned to women, and the typically female workfields, which are frequently located in the reproduction sphere with its need for humanity, care, dedication to the needs of others, and emotionality. On the other hand, the male role is dominated by activity, thirst for knowledge, a manipulative approach to the world, mastery of nature, creation of one's own controlled rationality, and separation and demarcation within social relationships.

132

G. Neubauer

All these characteristics are defined as necessary in order to survive and succeed in occupational life. For this reason, it is men, in particular, who are assigned the career form of work in society as their primary task, the meaning of their life, and as the determining factor of their status and their "normal biography" (Bilden, 1980). In his analysis of the changes in modern society, Beck concludes that women have been freed or have emancipated themselves from their industrially produced ties to housework and marriage maintenance during the phase of modernization since World War II. He gives five conditions for this development: 1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

Increase in life expectancy. While, in earlier decades, a woman's life span was just about long enough to bring the socially desired or required number of surviving children into the world, nowadays, maternal duties are over by the age of 45 for many women, and are followed by an average of three decades of life in an "empty nest." Modernization of housework. The rationalization of housework has led to a devaluation in its worth. This has led women to seek life fulfillment in occupational work outside the home. This is closely connected to the third point. Decline in the number of children. Contraception has made it easier to control the number of children and has led to a considerable reduction in the size of families. This has reduced the burdens of housework and large families. Fragility of marriage andfamily care. Because of increasing divorce rates, women are faced with an increasing need for economic security. Almost 70% of all single mothers live below the poverty line. This forces women to intensify their efforts to gain work qualifications, which then finds its expression in Point 5. Increasing equality of educational opportunities for men and women. This gives rise to a stronger career motivation among women.

The change in the traditional female role increases the pressure for a corresponding change in the male role, although no significant developments have become apparent in this respect. While women have to relax the old allocations of "being there for others" and are forced to look for a new social identity for reasons of economic security as well, autonomous economic security and their old role identity coincide for men. Economic individualization and traditional male role behavior are an integral part of the male gender role stereotype of the "career person." Being supported by their wives is historically unknown to men; the "freedom" or the "obligation" to be gainfully employed while simultaneously living in a family is taken as a matter of course. Thus, potential changes in the male role are not inherent, but are, above all, induced externally, especially by the change in the role of women. On the one hand, the

Adolescence Concepts of Partnership

133

increased participation of women in gainful employment releases men from the yoke of the role of sole breadwinner. On the other hand, the "family balance" is becoming fragile, as the side of male existence specified for women, namely, providing the backup for the man to pursue his career, no longer exists to the same degree. Family is thus becoming a constant juggling act, with diverging multiple ambitions between careers and their demands of mobility, educational pressures, obstructive childrearing duties, and housework, in which the newly arising possibilities of choice must be dealt with and legitimized subjectively. This begins as early as the, strictly speaking, still conventional decision on career mobility. While the labor market demands mobility without regard for personal circumstances, marriage and family make the opposite demands. The logical consequence of the modern-day market model is a society devoid of family and marriage. However, the subjective reactions to growing loneliness are showing that the genders desire to move closer to one another and positively desire a "two-person relationship" and children as well. The dynamics of individualization do not automatically threaten the cohabitation of the genders; it is more the forms of cohabitation that are changing. Thus, the family is only the surface on which the historical conflicts between men and women are becoming visible. In this context, some authors talk of a "war of the sexes" or a "gender conflict." Under these conditions, the family as a lifelong unit could become a marginal case, with the norm being a life-phase-specific oscillation between short-term families or nonfamilial forms of cohabitation. Empirically, the degree of release from the family as a result of this can be seen in the biographical synopsis of the data on divorce and remarriage, as well as on forms of cohabitation before, between, and during marriage under conditions of individualization.

3.

Empirical Findings From Youth Research

If we look at the findings from youth research, this "war of the sexes" seems to be preprogrammed. For example, more boys than girls demand that their mothers should stay at home and that their fathers should provide for the material livelihood of the family. I have collated the results of two studies I carried out that show similar findings to those of Allerbeck and Hoag's (1985) study of adolescents (see Neubauer, 1989, 1990).

134 Table 1 :

G. Neubauer

Household and Child Models According to Gender

Adolescents 1987a

Students 1988b

m

f

Model 1\ The man pursues his career, the woman looks after the household and the children.

19

7

7

0

Model 2: The man pursues his career and provides for the upkeep of the family, the woman looks after household and family but works temporarily to improve their income.

15

21

12

9

Model 3: Both man and woman pursue their career and share responsibility for household and childrearing, so that both have the same amount of time for their career.

57

61

67

82

9

11

14

9

Total

100

100

100

100

Ν

143

187

221

242

Other models

No information (percentage)

3

m

f

1

"344 West German 14- to 18-year-olds surveyed with a standardized questionnaire (Neubauer, 1990). b 466 students at Bielefeld University aged between 18 and 25 surveyed with a standardized questionnaire (Neubauer, 1989).

If we first look at the study of adolescents, it shows that a large proportion of boys see themselves as the sole breadwinner. Nevertheless, a large number of both boys and girls favor a role with equal rights in career and household. An analysis of the results in terms of school attended revealed that Gymnasium2 students particularly favored Model 3 and showed a similar distribution to the college student population of 1988. College students showed a particularly strong gender difference: Female students totally rejected a sole breadwinner role for the man. Without going into greater detail, it can be assumed that the gender conflict makes its presence felt not only in the question of employment of men and women but also in the question of how household chores and, if necessary, childrearing are to be dealt with and shared when both partners are working. Many studies including that of Allerbeck and Hoag (1985), have shown that one can assume a two- or threefold burden for the woman, which, in turn, can and will lead to conflict.

Adolescence Concepts of Partnership

135

In the following, I would like to turn to a second approach in my analysis that has been opened by my comparative study of adolescents. For nearly a decade, I have been working with colleagues from Israel, with whom, among other things, I am currently conducting a comparison between a study of adolescents carried out in 1990 and a study made in Israeli kibbutzim in 1992 using the same survey methods. The conditions of socialization in a kibbutz are built up explicitly so that both men and women can and must pursue their careers, and childrearing is, for the most part, organized collectively. In the last 20 years or so, one can observe a "refamilialization," which, according to Beck, is inconceivable for a society in the new form of modernity. In the kibbutz, it was the women who insisted that the children should sleep at home again and that they (the women) should personally do the cooking and washing. I do not want to go into in greater detail regarding how far this development has progressed and what consequences it has for the conditions of socialization of children and adolescents. These topics are addressed in the two books Der Kibbutz als Utopie (Melzer & Neubauer, 1988) and Jugend in Israel und in der BRD (Melzer et al., 1990), which I coedited, and the results of our comparative study are reported in Neubauer et al. (1994). I would rather turn to a second comparative study that I conducted together with the staff of the former Central Institute for Youth Research at Leipzig in 1990. We published the results of this study and two others by members of our Center for Childhood and Youth Research in the book Jugend im deutsch-deutschen Vergleich (Neubauer et al., 1992). Our study is closely related to Beck's considerations: He assumes that a third path, "the stemming and buffering of market relations," can be used as a response instead of the pseudoalternatives of "refamilialization" and "intense marketing of relationships." In this context he makes the following proposals: Partnership-oriented forms of labor market mobility. This is an employment agency for families according to the motto: If he or she is needed, then a job must be found for the other partner (male or female). Ensuring livelihood and labor market participation. In the case of separation, for example, the partner responsible for bringing up the children must be relieved of this burden by child-minders and day-care centers in order to be able to carry on working. If my colleagues from the East are to be believed, and I do not doubt this, then such proposals were implemented in the former GDR. In this context, I would like to briefly examine the socioeconomic situation of college students in the former GDR, because the comparative data presented in the following refer to college students in West and in East Germany. One of the main reasons for

136

G. Neubauer

marrying early in the former GDR, for instance, even while still studying, was that there were several material advantages alongside the loving relationship: a better chance in the state-controlled allocation of accommodation, interest-free marriage loans, and other preferential treatment for families. Moreover, being married was an additional argument in job interviews after graduation, as a graduate married couple, for instance, would be given jobs in the same place. In addition, the "socialist marriage" was not very binding either in legal or in economic terms. Divorces were relatively unproblematic to arrange (no waiting times) and also did not have any economic consequences (normally no maintenance payments), as it was assumed that the single parent (male or female) would carry on working. Corresponding state provisions generally made this possible (e.g., creches, etc.). Based on data from our comparative study, I would like to show what effect these different structural conditions had on the future planning of West and East German college students. Table 2:

Desired Form of Future Living Arrangements (Percentages)

West German studentsb

East German students8 m

f

m

f

Marriage

58

64

41

30

Unmarried with a partner, sharing household

30

28

38

41

Permanent partner, separate household

10

8

19

26

2

0

2

3

Total

100

100

100

100

Ν

381

438

122

179

Without partner

No information

17 (2%)

8 (3%)

"Standardized written survey of 836 East German college students in 1990 (see Neubauer et al., 1992). •"Standardized written survey of 309 students at Bielefeld University in 1990 using the same questionnaire as in the GDR (see Neubauer et al., 1992).

Adolescence Concepts of Partnership

137

In fact, more East German college students wanted to marry than West German college students. In East Germany, more women than men wanted this; in West Germany, more men than women. Another large difference was that only about 1 in 10 in East Germany wanted to have a partner without sharing a household; this was true to a higher degree for college students in West Germany (almost one fifth of the men and more than one quarter of the women). Hardly any college students in either the East or in the West wanted to live without a partnership (i.e., the singularization forced by the market in West Germany does not go as far as forcing the total abstention from a partnership), but more than one fifth of West German college students wished for an individualized form of accommodation with a house-external partnership ("permanent partner, separate household"). All in all, West German college students did not want to forgo having children either, while there was a continuing and increasing trend among women to keep open the question of having children in general. By 1988, over one third of the West German female college students had not committed themselves. In the GDR, a decline could be observed, although the desire to have children was still very strong on the whole. It is possible that the East German increase in the trend to keep open the option of having children could be attributed to the fact that we interviewed the students shortly after reunification. With regard to the population in East Germany, it can be established that the birth rate is decreasing rapidly (in 1990, still about 190,000 births; in 1991 only 110,000). The number of marriages decreased from about 130,000 in 1989 to 50,000 in 1991 (Neubauer et al., 1992, p. 175).

138

G. Neubauer

Table 3 :

College Students' Desire to Have Children (Percentages) Yes

No

m

72

8

20

f

70

6

24

FRG students 1988b

m

73

6

21

f

53

11

36

GDR students 1980°

m

96

1

3

f

97

1

2

m

87

3

11

f

89

2

9

FRG students 1980a

d

GDR students 1990

Don't know

"Taken from a survey of 1,923 college students at 12 West German universities (Clement, 1986). b As this question was not included in the 1990 Bielefeld survey, data were taken from 1988 (see Neubauer et al., 1992). 'Unpublished data from the Partner II Study of the former Central Institute for Youth Research at Leipzig. d Data from the Partner III Study of the former Central Institute for Youth Research at Leipzig.

In all, the synopsis of the data reveals that a gradual change in partnerships is emerging on the path toward a new modernity. At least the traditional partnership in which the man is the breadwinner and the woman stays at home and looks after the children is no longer accepted as a matter of course, as was the case a few decades ago. Novel living forms appear to be gaining in significance, at least in percentages. Thus, a model is appearing on the horizon, for example, that could steal a march on the traditional partnership model: nonmarried partnerships with separate households (single existence), the man and the woman both pursue their careers (double incomes), and children are not inevitably excluded (shared childrearing). On the whole, forms of life partnership seem to be diversifying and the number of possible options seems to be pluralizing. Finally, I would like to examine the possible consequences for youth research.

4.

Conclusions

I do not believe that the sole solution to the ever-widening gender conflict is to propose that men should give up their previous role. In the present day, men no more than women will heed the call "back to the kitchen sink!" Hoff and Scholz's

Adolescence Concepts of Partnership

139

(1985) study of new fathers and "house husbands" shows that characteristically those men who have taken this step would like to reconsider. The house husbands suffer from housewife syndrome: invisibility of their work, lack of recognition, and lack of self-confidence. In view of this experience, even the men in Hoff and Scholz's survey who consciously exchanged, as they put it, "alienated career work" for housework, have reconsidered their picture of their career and recognize gainful employment as an ego boost for themselves and others. I totally agree with Beck when he says that equality between men and women cannot be achieved within institutional structures that presuppose their inequality. The only solution that can be found at present is to ensure economic and career success on the basis of the traditional male gender role. Needless to say, women will argue that, if this is the case, their careers might have to take second place. Moreover, it must be feared that, in an economic recession, women will again be sent back to the kitchen sink so as not to injure the male identity. At present, however, I cannot see any social and institutional preconditions that will enable satisfactory solutions beyond the existing women's and men's roles to be found. On the other hand, it must be stated that the sexes are being forced as subjects to negotiate and try out forms of cohabitation on a private basis. These processes are not always voluntary or in good humor, but are also under pressure from social structures that are partly making the way free for, and partly forcing, a redefinition of gender roles. Thus, society has become a field of experiment, forcing the subjects into developing new forms. For this reason, I would like to return to the social examples of the GDR and the kibbutzim. The GDR example indicates that it is definitely possible to mitigate the apparent contrasts of male and female roles by means of suitable social structures. Our East German colleague Kurt Starke put this question in the following way: "Should it not be possible in a country as rich as ours to create the conditions for a measure of work acceptable to both partnerships and families (thereby also a socially reasonable measure) for all those who wish to have it?" (Neubauer et al., 1992, p. 176). The kibbutz example, however, also shows that two gender-specific role models cannot be replaced by only one (in this case the male role model). Therefore, in my opinion, it makes good sense to assume that there is a female as well as a male socialization and therefore a female and a male role, which should be taken into account by youth research both collectively and separately. Bearing this in mind, I believe that it makes increasing sense and will become urgently necessary to carry out research on boys. Of course, it will be pointed out to me,

140

G. Neubauer

especially from a feminist viewpoint, that youth research up to now was mainly research on boys. However, this justified criticism mostly refers to the fact that the contents of youth research have primarily examined deviant behavior (e.g., juvenile delinquency, drug abuse) and political orientations (e.g., right- and leftwing radicalism); fields which particularly involve boys. In my opinion, these surveys should be scrutinized more closely with regard to the socialization of boys; and deviant behavior, for example, should be related more directly to boys' or men's roles. I do not want to suggest that the emerging gender conflict is in danger of being solved by male violence. However, it must be taken into account that deviant behavior can very conceivably be a consequence of a threat to the male identity. Therefore, it is important to examine previous juvenile research or research on boys in this light.

Notes 1. 2.

Beck does not refer to a postmodern society but describes the present-day situation as a path leading to a different form of modernity, as in the subtitle of his book. The German Gymnasium is a secondary school providing courses leading to university entrance qualifications.

References Allerbeck, Κ. & Hoag, W. (1985). Jugend ohne Zukunft? München: Piper. Beck, U. (1986). Risikogesellschaft. Auf dem Weg in eine andere Moderne. Frankfurt: Suhrkamp. Bilden, H. (1980). Geschlechtsspezifische Sozialisation. In K. Hurrelmann & D. Ulich (Eds.), Handbuch der Socialisationsforschung (pp. 297-301). Weinheim: Juventa. Clement, U. (1986). Sexualität im sozialen Wandel. Stuttgart: Enke. Ferchhoff, W., & Neubauer, G. (1989). Jugend und Postmoderne. Weinheim: Juventa. Melzer, W., & Neubauer, G. (Eds.).(1988). Der Kibbutz als Utopie. Weinheim: Beltz. Melzer, W., Ferchhoff, W., & Neubauer, G. (Eds.).(1990). Jugend in Israel und in der Bundesrepublik. Weinheim: Juventa. Neubauer, G. (1989). Studentsexualität und AIDS. Unpublished research report, University of Bielefeld. Neubauer, G. (1990). Jugendphase und Sexualität. Stuttgart: Enke. Neubauer, G. (1991). Jugendsexualität und Sexualpädagogik in der BRD im Zeitalter von AIDS. In R. Kuntz-Brunner (Ed.), Sexualität BRD/GDR im Vergleich (pp. 41-68). Braunschweig: Holtzmeyer. Neubauer, G., Melzer, W., & Hurrelmann, K. (Eds.).(1992). Jugend im deutsch-deutschen Vergleich. Neuwied: Luchterhand. Neubauer, G., Emmerich, I., Starke, K., & Weller, K. (1992). Trauscheinehe Ost oder "wilde" Ehe West? Lebensplanung, Partnerschaft und Sexualität von Studierenden. In G. Neubauer, W. Melzer, & K. Hurrelmann (Eds.), Jugend im deutsch-deutschen Vergleich (pp. 141-177). Neuwied: Luchterhand. Neubauer, G., Mansel, J., Avrahami, Α., & Nathan, M. (1994). Family and peer support of Israeli and German adolescents. In F. Nestmann & K. Hurrelmann (Eds.), Social networks and social support in childhood and adolescence (pp. 385-394). Berlin: de Gruyter.

"Kids'-Stuff Boys" and "Stuck-Up Little Madams": 13- to 16-Year-Olds in School and Peer Group Klaus-Jürgen Tillmann

1. Introduction This article is concerned with relations between boys and girls during the transition from childhood to adolescence. At the end of the latency period and the beginning of puberty, 13- to 15-year-olds cannot be described accurately in terms of childhood but are far from being adult. Moreover, they are still very unsure of themselves when faced with the manifestations of juvenile culture; indeed, they are excluded from many of its attractive locations (e.g., commercial discotheques). They are, as Kieper (1984, p. 170) puts it, "an age group without status." At the same time, however, these adolescents have to cope with new tasks and find new orientations: Distancing from the parental home is accompanied by an increase in the significance of the peer group, which is also used as an area for making contact with the opposite sex. The "farewell to childhood" (Kaplan, 1984) referred to here usually begins at the age of 11 or 12, when the changes caused by puberty cannot be overlooked. At 16 at the latest, when the school-leaving age is reached, adolescents have finally left childhood behind them. The following paper is concerned with the relationship between the sexes in this phase: How do boys and girls of 13 to 16 approach each other; what relationships are established between the sexes among people of the same age during this period? Which are the particular problems facing girls and which boys? In order to answer these questions, the results of West German research on schools and juveniles in the 1970s and 1980s have been examined. These findings are reported and interpreted here.

2. The Initial Situation Before the questions formulated above can be examined, the initial conditions relating to them must be described: On the ontogenetic dimension, an outline is given of the way the sexes deal with each other in the preceding phase of childhood. On a structural dimension, I describe the conditions created for communication between peers by their being bound to school and their families.

142

Κ.-J. Tillmann

The "Separate Worlds" at the End of Childhood Looking further back in childhood, one can observe that the world of 6-year-old boys and girls is not yet divided. In particular, Oswald et al. (1986, p. 572) have demonstrated, in their observation study in Berlin elementary schools (Grades Ιό), that when they start school, children are still very open in their dealings with the opposite sex. Thus they also express their affection physically, for instance, by sitting on one another's laps, leaning on each other, or comforting others by caressing them. However, as soon as children have entered the latency period (from the age of about 6 onward), they are no longer seen touching each other in this loving and tender fashion. In the fourth year of school, among 10-year-olds, we find a completely different picture: Children of the opposite sex are no longer counted among their particularly close friends. The peer groups formed among 9to 12-year-olds are now clearly made up of children of the same sex (see Petillon, 1982, p. 415). Although children of this age have to deal with each other day in day out, "the worlds of girls and boys" are still "clearly separated from each other" (Oswald et al., 1986, p. 563). At the end of the 12th and the beginning of the 13th year of life—as puberty sets in—this rigid division begins to become more relaxed. However, this first takes place only in the wishes and in the imaginations of the children: In the 6th year of school, about half the girls may claim to be friends with boys, but no mixed-gender groups could be detected at this age. What happens is that boys and girls still form separate groups, but they now . . . like to find opportunities to parade in front of each other, trying to impress each other. Thus there still exists a clear border between the sexes among 12-year-olds. Segregation has not yet been abolished, but, for a minority among the boys and girls, it is beginning to be relaxed. (Oswald et al., 1986, p. 564) In other words, most 12- to 13-year-olds are still moving in circles made up of friends of the same sex, but they clearly express the wish for this to change (see Schlaegel et al., 1975, p. 208). This can also be recognized in the changing way that boys and girls treat each other from about the age of 11 onward: In almost one third of their interactions, the girl is regarded as a girl and the boy as a boy. They tease, make insinuations, and play with proximity and distance. The boys take the initiative more often, but the girls certainly also take part actively. (Oswald et al., 1986, p. 576) This gives an outline of the situation at the end of childhood: The "separate worlds" are dissolving, interest in the opposite sex is turning into groping and uncertain forms of making contact; anxious yet, at the same time, inquisitive.

Boys and Girls in School and Peer Group

143

Life in School and in the Family It can be said of almost all the 13- to 16-year-olds with whom this chapter is concerned that they live with their parents in their own families and attend normal secondary schools. This brings us to the two central areas of activity of adolescents: (a) the family, which provides emotional and material security, but of which they now have to take leave step by step; and (b) school, in which, at the end of the middle school, the decision is made on which certificates should be taken; which opportunities in life should be attained by their own achievements. Both these areas of activity will be considered briefly in the particular light of the relationship between boys and girls. School. In our society, the transition from childhood to youth is linked more closely than ever before with one's existence as a schoolboy or schoolgirl: Practically all 13- to 15-year-olds and, by now, more than 70% of all 16-yearolds attend school full-time—in most cases, a general secondary school (see BMBW, 1988, 1989, p. 26). Here, two consistent characteristics of the school system—the division into school years and co-education—determine the central conditions for the communication fields of the sexes: In school, boys and girls of the same age meet each other day in day out; it is there that they have to deal with each other and can try out various ways of approaching each other and of creating distance. Whereas the classes are extremely homogeneous as far as age is concerned, the school as a whole offers more scope. As students from older and younger classes are present, there is the opportunity to establish relationships with (somewhat) older or (somewhat) younger boys and girls. Now school is not officially meant to be a "contact market," but a purpose-designed institution for carrying out instruction. Yet, for the students, it has just this dual function: From their subjective point of view, it is not only a matter of "learning and achievement," but also of finding social recognition, receiving an emotional echo, and satisfying communicative needs. This aspect gains significance to the extent that the peer group becomes more important to the 13- to 16-year-old and, contact with the opposite sex is sought increasingly: school as a place where friends are met, in which communication tinged with the erotic also takes place, a place to arrange the clique's after-school activities (see Gaiser et al., 1979, p. 155). Now the same holds good for school as for other areas in society: that it is tied up in the system of bisexuality determined by the patriarchy (see Tyrell, 1986). Students (boys and girls) and teachers (men and women) alike always behave in their sex role, too, and male dominance and female second-ranking is experienced daily as being normal. Whereby it must be said that, officially, equal treatment of girls and boys is required, so that the mechanisms of privilege and disadvantage tend to take effect subconsciously (see Horstkemper, 1990). In this field, several studies have demonstrated clearly that the "established" relations between the sexes tend to be reproduced more strongly in the students' cliques

144

Κ.-J. Tillmann

than actually in lessons (see Brehmer, 1982). The family. More than 80% of the juveniles attending school at present live in their own families with a mother and a father; of these, about 20% grow up as an only child, about 50% have one brother or sister, while almost 30% have two or more siblings (see Behnken et al., 1991, p. 112; Jugendwerk, 1992, Vol. 4, pp. 10, 143; Popp & Tillmann 1990, p. 565). The first thing these figures demonstrate is that, in spite of a variety of trends that tend to undermine stability, the "complete" family has retained its dominant position as the place in which juveniles live. In the "internal" relationship between the sexes, these families are still organized along patriarchal lines. This applies as much to the distribution of work and power between fathers and mothers as to the different ways of bringing up sons and daughters (see Tillmann 1992). The figures mentioned above also reveal that the "merry crew" of brothers and sisters has long since disappeared out of the lives of modern juveniles: Father, mother, and two children is the statistical norm in the German family, and about half of all juveniles grow up in this constellation, whilst another 20% are only children. This also means that only a minority of boys grow up with a sister; only the minority of girls grow up with a brother. Thus a truly "classic" opportunity for juveniles to approach the opposite sex has disappeared: The friends of brothers and sisters, who play a significant role in the diaries of juveniles up to and into the 1950s (e.g., Küppers, 1964), are now mentioned considerably less often. In short, the (extended) family as a place in which young people can make contact with members of the opposite sex of their own age scarcely functions any more. Thus, first friendships between boys and girls are formed more frequently outside the family than they used to be, and many juveniles consciously keep this new experience out of reach of their parents. Increasingly, they are regarded as "one's own territory," to be shared with friends of one's own age, but not with parents (see Fend, 1990, p. 100). Now this wish for independent experience that cannot be pried into by adults often collides with the parents' ideas, because they see their responsibility for bringing up their children and base their claim to information and control on this. The problem is often exacerbated when the first friendship with a member of the opposite sex is formed: Then the parents' checks on the juveniles' movements and coming-home times, which are still exercised much more strictly where girls are concerned, collide with the young people's wish to be together as often as possible and with the least possible supervision. The kind of relation-ships that develop between boys and girls under these circumstances—and how these are embedded in the society of their peers—will be outlined by means of some representative data.

3. The Peer Group In their representative time comparison study, Allerbeck and Hoag (1985, p. 38) found that, between 1962 and 1983, the incidence among juveniles of belonging

Boys and Girls in School and Peer Group

145

to a clique had risen from 16% to 57%, and that, during this development, the girls had caught up. Now these results were obtained among 16- to 18-year-olds, but other studies confirm that this development has also taken place among younger juveniles. Thus in the "Brigitte" survey, half the 15-year-old girls stated that they belonged to a clique, and 70% of these members of cliques met at least twice a week for activities together (see Seidenspinner & Burger, 1982, Table 73). Similar values are reported by Engel and Hurrelmann (1989, p. 57) and by Jugendwerk (1992, Vol. 4, p. 199) in the case of 13- to 16-year-olds: 65% meet more or less frequently to spend their leisure time in a clique. The vast majority of these circles of friends (70%) are of mixed sexes. Other studies reveal that the mixing of the sexes in cliques increases appreciably between the ages of 12 and 15 (see Fend, 1990, p. 177). In all, about half the 14- to 16-year-olds are particularly active in a circle of friends of their own age. The others are seldom or never involved in such relationships. As far as the involvement in cliques is concerned, there is little difference between the sexes, and yet two points are conspicuous: Girls prefer smaller groups (up to six persons), whereas boys often move in larger circles of friends (see Engel & Hurrelmann 1989, p. 58); and among those who meet their cliques with particular frequency (daily), there are perceptibly more boys (see Fend 1990, p. 224). This involvement of juveniles in a peer group must not by any means be confused with participation in conspicuous juvenile styles (punks, rockers, skinheads, etc.). The adolescents do know these group styles, and they have their opinions on them and occasionally also come into contact with them (e.g., at football matches), but scarcely anyone actually participates in "the scene" at this age (see Allerbeck & Hoag, 1985, p. 45; Sander & Vollbrecht, 1985, pp. 226-227). So here it is not a matter of conspicuous groups in the juvenile subculture, but rather of inconspicuous cliques formed at school and in the neighborhood. The results available make it possible to estimate approximately the significance of relationships between two juveniles within (or parallel to) the clique structure. Research by Engel and Hurrelmann (1989, pp. 60-61) shows that almost all those questioned named a person of the same sex as their "best friend"; in three out of four cases, this was a friendship formed within the same school or the same kind of school. Other studies point out that, at this age, friendships between girls are much more frequent and much closer than those between boys (e.g., Breyvogel, 1983; Strave, 1984, p. 46). As far as a pair relationship with the opposite sex is concerned, the first uncertain attempts begin between the ages of 13 and 15. "Steady" friendships often last only a few weeks, and are nearly always integrated into clique structures and activities. The pairs do not meet alone but in the presence of peers of the same sex, who give a sort of "reassurance." For this reason, meetings are arranged together in such a way that pairs can—without leaving the group completely—still withdraw from it a little, perhaps into a bush, so that they remain partially in sight and hearing and can resume contact with the group at any time (Projektgruppe, 1975, p. 110).

146

Κ.-J.

Tillmann

This and other qualitative studies make it clear that, at this age, the clique functions as a "training ground" for romantic attachments. The clique is at one and the same time a reservoir of friends. When friendships break up, one can return to the (common) clique and form new friendships with members of the opposite sex. However, the clique also fulfils the function of a "chaperone." Romantic attachments do not only develop in the clique, but are at least partially lived there, (see Sander & Vollbrecht, 1985, p. 227) About 22% of the 13- to 16-year-olds state that at the time of questioning, they have "a steady boyfriend" or "a steady girlfriend" (see Jugendwerk, 1992, Vol. 4, p. 199), whereby the girls are clearly in the lead: 37% of the girls but only 27% of the boys had been in love by the time they were 14 (see Jugendwerk 1981, Vol. 1, p. 177), and girls of this age are accordingly more frequently "going steady": 29% of the 15-year-old girls state that they have a steady boyfriend at the moment; at the same time, 41% of them say they have "not yet" gone steady. These "not yet" figures must be about twice as high where boys of the same age are concerned (see Allerbeck & Hoag, 1985, p. 43; Seidenspinner & Burger, 1982, Table 74). Thus it becomes clear that at this age, in the case of both sexes, the "steady boy- or girlfriend" is the exception rather than the rule: Shorter phases in which a boy or (more likely) girl "goes steady" frequently alternate with longer phases without such a relationship. Accordingly, the great majority of 15-yearold girls, too, spend most of their leisure time with a (female) friend (68%) or in a clique (32%); only 23% of the 15-year-old girls state that they frequently spend their leisure time with a boyfriend. A year later—among the 16-year-old girls—the (girl)friend is still in first place, but the boyfriend (33%) has now caught up with the clique (33%) as far as time is concerned (Seidenspinner & Burger, 1982, Table 72). Initially, the sexual activities involved in these relationships between boys and girls scarcely go beyond "kissing and cuddling" and "petting." Surveys made at the beginning of the 1970s and at the beginning of the 1980s put the number of 14-year-olds with "coitus experience" at 5%, the number of 15-year-olds at 20%, and among 16-year-olds, it then rises to 35%. Whereas far into the 1970s, the girls had their first experience of coitus later than the boys on average, these differences have now largely disappeared (see Jugendwerk, 1985, Vol 1, Table 205; Schlaegel et al., 1975, p. 210). All these data together make it possible to outline social relationships within the peer group as follows: Between the ages of 12 and 14, the cliques composed hitherto of members of the same sex give way to groups of friends that, in more and more cases, are of mixed gender. About half the juveniles of this age, both boys and girls, see themselves as belonging to such cliques and spend a great deal of their leisure time within them. "Best-friend" relationships with a member of the same sex are widespread at this age and occur more frequently and with more intensity between girls than between boys. At this age, the first pair relationships with members of the opposite sex occur, whereby they are mostly of short

Boys and Girls in School and Peer Group

147

duration and, on average, earlier and more frequent among girls than among boys. These friendships involve the first, on the whole tentative, sexual experience. The fact that girls embark on such relations with the opposite sex earlier and more frequently points to an important aspect of relations between the sexes at this age—the quicker development of the female—the social and psychological effects of which are considered more closely in the following pages.

4. The Earlier Development of the Female The fact that girls can be seen to develop ahead of the boys between the ages of 11 and 14 has frequently been demonstrated on the evidence of the biological changes (e.g., growth, pubic hair, reproductive maturity) that take place (see Oerter & Montada, 1982). At this age, girls are, on average, 1 or 2 years ahead of the boys as far as physical maturity is concerned; whereby it must be remembered that there is considerable individual variety within the groups of the sexes, which I shall deal with in more detail later. The result is that especially in the 6th to 8th year of school, the physical development of the children in one class varies enormously: Childish boys and tall young men, boyish girls and "real young ladies" are sitting next to each other at their desks, so that these classes often make a "groteque impression" (see Fend, 1990, p. 140) on the beholder. However, one consistent feature is the gap in development between most of the girls and most of the boys: Thus, in the 6th year, 80% of the girls but only 20% of the boys are in the middle of puberty; it is not until the 8th year that an approximation takes place (see Petersen, 1987). Here it is not the biological facts that are of interest so much as their social and psychological significance. Oerter and Montada (1982) demonstrate that although there is practically "no direct causal relationship between physical changes and psychological experiencing and behavior" (p. 260), significant secondary effects can be observed: As the juveniles—and also the people surrounding them—perceive these physical changes, evaluate them, and react to them, the social situation changes, giving rise to new problems for the psyche to cope with. Thus a quicker physical development leads to an early acquisition of sexual attractivity. The experience of oneself as attractive, in turn, gives more selfconfidence where approaching members of the opposite sex is concerned. Partnerships that arise out of such situations can be a source of a variety of experience for reflection on oneself and others, so that an acceleration of psychological development can also take place. Such an interpretation would explain not only why the girls, developing earlier physically as they do, also generally embark on "steady" friendships with the opposite sex at an earlier age (see Table 1) but also why certain psychological events in adolescence occur on average 1 or 2 years earlier in girls than in boys: Whether it is a matter of a drop in self-acceptance, a rise in self-reflection, or a greater detachment from parents,

148

Κ.-J. Tillmann

the 13-year-old girls already have to cope with these problems, whereas they do not start bothering the boys until they are approaching 15 (see Fend, 1990, p. 85). Although the figures on "steady friendships" differ from study to study (see Table 1), the tendency is clear: Girls enter into such relationships earlier, and then much more frequently than boys; and this difference persists beyond the age of 15. However, the girls do not look in the direction of their peers in their own classrooms, but focus on older boys within and outside school: Only 19% of the girls who are "going steady" have a boyfriend of their own age (or even someone younger); but 71% have a boyfriend who is already between 16- and 18-years-old (see Seidenspinner & Burger, 1982, Table 74). It is true there are no comparison data available for boys, but here the reverse conclusion seems obvious:

Table 1 : Going Steady Among Boys and Girls

Girls

Boys 3

2

-

-

-

41%

27%

41%

1%

17-year-olds

53%

32%

-

21%

18-year-olds

61%

43%

-

21%

1

2

15-year-olds

29%

16-year-olds

Note.

3

24%

1 : Seidenspinner and Burger (1982, Table 74). 2: Allerbeck and Hoag (1985, p. 43). 3: Fend (1990, p. 183).

When boys—mostly one or two years later—start "going steady" with a girl, then she must almost always be younger. This age shift, with which the hierarchy of the sexes is reproduced, can be attributed to two causes: On the one hand, as a result of the girls' being ahead in their development, most boys in their own class are not regarded as physically attractive enough. On the other hand, the principle of male superiority also holds good here: For the girl, a boyfriend is (literally) someone "to look up to"; the boy wishes to feel and appear superior. Both these needs are satisfied most easily if the boy is a year or two older. As a result of this staggered age structure of erotic attractivity, boys and girls in their 7th to 9th years at school may occasionally spend their leisure time together (at the swimming pool or skating rink), but apart from that, their paths separate after school. The boys would in fact like to undertake some activity with the girls in their class, but these boys often appear to the girls "to be stupid, childish, boastful" (Gaiser et al., 1979, p. 156), so that a rift occurs in the class. This can

Boys and Girls in School and Peer Group

149

be seen very clearly from the following conversation with boys in their eighth year at school, now at a secondary school: Us: What sort of girls have you got in your class? What are they actually like? Wolfgang: Hm, well, let's say they're stuck up. Pele: Yes, yes, I think the girls in our class aren't interested in the boys in our class. Us: Are they interested in boys from other classes? Several answers: Yes. Us: Or aren't they interested in boys from school at all? Pele: They'd prefer to go to the other class. Pele: I'd say that our class, well, our class seems to me to be a bit inferior beside the other classes. The others are much bigger and older. (Projektgruppe, 1975, p. 11) It is, perhaps, easier to understand why the girls in their own class are described as stuck up, if one takes a look at what these girls have to say about their male classmates: Us: Do you sometimes meet boys, to go somewhere together or anything like that? Birgit: Hm, hm (meaning "no"). Doris: You can't do that with our boys, I mean the boys in our class, they're just babies, I mean really, (interruption for loud laughter) Birgit: They are, really. Sigrid: Well, you can't do anything with them. (Projektgruppe, 1975, p. 114) Whether boys of the same age are described as "babies" or "children that you can't take seriously" (Hübner-Funk & Müller, 1981, p. 177), the girls always give this as the reason for being interested in older boys. They make no secret of the fact that occasionally it is also partly motivated by the car in which they are driven to the disco at the weekend (see Hübner-Funk & Müller, 1981, p. 182). The problems this gives rise to from the point of view of the boys emerge from the conversation with Werner (aged 15): W.: Well, if you want to go with a girl and she doesn't want to, well that's really difficult sometimes. Yes it's a problem. I: Have you got a particular example in mind, when it was like that? W.: Well, it was like that with Beatrice, well, she didn't want to know about me. That was clear to me, that it's only for the evening. But I thought she was terrific, and so good looking it was wicked. And then I had got it into my head that I might make it. But that was really only a

150

Κ.-J. Tillmann

dream, nothing that you could put into practice. I: And why not? W: Well, really it was because I was too young for her; in my opinion, it was because of the age gap. 'Cos I heard from my friend that she said she quite liked me, it was just that I was a bit young. And most girls don't like that. Girls are basically 2 years ahead of the boys in their development. And, well, it's understandable. She'd rather go out with older boys. For her it would be embarrassing like . . . . (Kieper, 1984, pp. 184-185) Since here grave doubt is cast on the male claim to superiority, the boys have considerable trouble coping with it as far as their own image and behavior is concerned. They have—as Kieper (1984, p. 176) puts it—to take account of the "maturity lag" in their behavior strategies, while "at the same time not denying themselves as a sexual subject." The ways the individual boys come to terms with this vary considerably: Male bragging with more or less fabulated sexual adventures must be the best-known form. However, in fact, very few of them have the confidence to face the competition from older boys and court the attention of their female peers. Instead, physical approaches to the otherwise "unattainable" girls in their own class are often made in the form of aggressive sallies (see Projektgruppe, 1975, pp. 119-120). Then again, other boys can be found abandoning the struggle and fending o f f all heterosexual claims from within and without: The fear of approach clearly outweighs their own urges (see Kieper, 1984, p. 178), so that self-confidence is sought in other areas of activity altogether—especially in sportes (see Projektgruppe, 1975, p. 59). Such defence strategies are frequently combined with the attempt to label female peers as "decadent." Thus Frank (aged 14) declares that he knows a few girls in his own class and "they've only got one thing on their minds." When he is with them, he feels "practically like a pimp" (see Kieper, 1984, p. 176). Whether, at this age, the boys are more likely to withdraw or to approach the girls has in turn, among other factors, much to do with their physical development: If 14- to 15-year-old boys still make a rather childish impression, they do not as a rule belong to a mixed-gender clique, neither have they (as yet) a "steady" girlfriend (see Projektgruppe 1975, p. 155). This serves to remind us that there are very different paths of development within the same sex as well, and these are of considerable relevance for the relations between the sexes. This is dealt with in the following pages.

Boys and Girls in School and Peer Group

151

5. Paths Through Adolescence Most studies—whether qualitative or quantitative—make it clear that juveniles of this age have widely differing attitudes to relations with the opposite sex and to participation in subcultural activities. This difference can be demonstrated very clearly with the portraits of two girls as sketched by Sander and Vollbrecht (1985):

Anke (just turned 14) is in the eighth year of school, attending a "Realschule." She lives with her sister and their mother, who is bringing them up alone. Anke is in a permanent state of war with her mother, from whom, as far as possible, she keeps all information about her activities outside the home. Anke says that her clique is "more like home than my family" (p. 61), that she feels she is understood there; she spends her time with them in the afternoons and evenings. This clique, which consists mainly of 16- to 18-year olds, is the setting for her relationship with Stefan: "I'm always with Stefan. Stefan knows me pretty well, I know him pretty w e l l . . . and we also always know what to do" (p. 64). Anke's leisure activities are pleasure-oriented; for her they consist of conquering the places and entertainments that are actually reserved for older juveniles: visiting discos and bars, smoking, drinking alcohol, presenting herself in an erotic light. Anke is very proud of receiving recognition from people who are a few years older (see p. 43). iSusanne (aged 15) is in the 10th year, attending the Realschule, and lives with her parents and an older brother. She gets on well with all three; she feels secure in her family. In the evenings, she is often at home, reading or listening to music. Often her friend Karin comes round, and Susanne can discuss personal matters with her. Susanne's clique are the scouts and guides—a mixed-gender group in which she is very active. She spends a lot of her leisure time in the girls' group, where there is plenty of contact with boys, but she has no "steady" boyfriend. Susanne can grow up without marking it "with the symbols of adulthood: smoking, drinking alcohol, and staying out late" (p. 205). Although Susanne is almost 2 years older than Anke, she still lives much closer to her family, she is nothing like so fascinated by the locations of the juvenile scene, and relations with the opposite sex are not so important to her. In short, the two girls are moving along very different "developmental paths" leading out of childhood and into the area of heterosexual relationships. In their observations among juveniles in the 8th year of school, the Projektgruppe Jugendbüro (1975) came across very similar differences: A distinction is drawn between a majority of "family-oriented" and a minority of "subculture-oriented" juveniles. The girls and boys whose lives revolve round the family spend a lot of their leisure time

152

Κ.-J. Tillmann

within the family context, in which friendships with young people of the same sex are often integrated. Relationships with the opposite sex probably exist in the form of secret wishes, but not in reality. They still have so many inhibitions with each other that the sheer internal tension of it turns every attempt at an approach into a major exertion. In this way, their relations, if they do not in fact avoid each other, always quickly turn into quarrelling. (Projektgruppe Jugendbüro, 1975,p.113) These "family-centred" students are distinguished from those in the eighth grade who clearly approach each other in mixed-gender groups: 19 out of 75 boys and 13 of 61 girls are members of a mixed clique, which, in this study, is described as a "subculture." Their dealings with each other are most clearly seen in a description of the activities at their favorite leisure location, the open-air swimming pool: If possible, they want to remain here among themselves and undisturbed all day, in their circular "camp," with the cassette recorder on, giving their attention to members of the opposite sex, passing round a bottle of schnaps. In the water, they are not concerned with improving their swimming performance. They seek opportunities for friendly horseplay, making the others laugh with clownish diving, inventing games for several players. The surroundings of the swimming pool provide the subculture with a welcome opportunity for slightly erotic activities such as looking and displaying their own scantily dressed bodies. The physical proximity of the opposite sex is more likely to be sought as if by coincidence or in the guise of aggression, such as pushing and shoving, holding on, swiping at legs with knotted towels. (Projektgruppe Jugendbüro, 1975, p. 71) Most juveniles in the subculture speak of having a boyfriend or girlfriend they are going out with at present. As a rule, these pair relationships do not last more than weeks and then give way to other constellations. The rivalries, hurt feelings, and comforting involved form the stuff of conflicts that have to be worked on in the subculture. On the question of what conditions lead to these secondary school students behaving in a "family-centred" or a "subculture-centered" way, the authors came across three factors: Apart from physical development, the family situation and performance at school were decisive factors. As far as physical development is concerned, the significance for boys is very great indeed: anyone who is too small, who still looks too "childish," is not admitted to the subculture; for their group identity depends on publicly displaying the erotic and physical attributes of

Boys and Girls in School and Peer Group

153

adulthood (see Projektgruppe Jugendbüro, 1977, p. 155). This would be asking too much of "small" boys, besides, they would be damaging to the clique's image. Whereas in the case of boys, it is the (as yet unattained) physical size that functions as a sort of exclusion criterion, among girls it is very important to "look good"; if they come particularly near to fulfilling the ideal (slim and wellproportioned), then that does a lot to help their position in the subculture (see Projektgruppe Jugendbüro, 1975, p. 54). Now it is, however, by no means the case that all juveniles with the physical qualifications described show the appropriate subcultural orientation. On the contrary: At this point, other socialpsychological factors come into play: An atmosphere in the family that the juvenile perceives as negative and poor performance at school apparently lead the adolescent to seek support for his or her identity in subcultural cliques very early. The experience of a positive relationship with parents and success at school support a development that takes place outside the subculture (see Projektgruppe Jugendbüro, 1977, p. 157). This observation study in secondary school, which was carried out at the beginning of the 1970s, has now been confirmed by an up-to-date longitudinal section in the 1980s: In a random sample of 12- to 16-year-olds, Fend (1990, p. 212) finds two different "paths" through adolescence, which he defines as "adultand performance-oriented" (23%) and "peer-oriented" (35%). The decisive characteristic that distinguishes these groups "is the early distancing from childhood and the 'speed' at which the interim phase of adolescence is passed through" (p. 213). Whereas for the peer-oriented early developers, adolescence is an extremely difficult time, the family- and performance-oriented "late developers" remain to a large extent free of the dangers and conflicts typical of youth. The distinctions referred to can be summed up as follows: Early developers detach themselves perceptibly from their parents at the age of 12, they discuss their problems less and less at home, and, at the same time, they demand unchecked freedom of movement (e.g., going out in the evenings) very early. They have a marked inclination toward opposition to teachers, frequently coupled with absenteeism from school. The clearest distinction between the two groups lies in the question of integration in a clique and meeting friends daily. "These differences already exist at the age of 13 and they increase until the age of 15" (p. 230). Whilst late developers more frequently cherish a friendship with a single member of the same sex within the school context, the early developers are oriented toward clique activities outside school. The early developers orientation toward the pleasures of the adult world can be seen in frequent smoking and drinking even among 15-year-olds, in an absence of limitations on going out, and in the disposable pocket money, (pp. 165, 218). It is in this context that we must see the much earlier beginning of relations with the opposite sex (p. 214), which again is embedded in attractive situations in the juvenile scenario: Discotheque, earning money, cars and motorbikes are the central topics of conversation among

154

Κ.-J.

Tillmann

the early developers (p. 216). It is from these connections, from these activities, that the early developers draw their self-confidence: They consider themselves to be much more competent socially than the late developers, and they have a far more positive concept of themselves where their own appearance is concerned (p. 215). If the general developmental lead of the girls and the different developmental paths (within the sexes, too) are viewed together, the following picture emerges: 15-year-old juveniles sitting together at school are often "miles apart" where their heterosexual experience and the acquisition of the adult gender-specific role are concerned. The greatest gaps are to be found between the female early developers and the male late developers. Thus, there are 15-year-old girls who have steady relationships with 20-year-old men, some even living together; these girls "are not afraid of the sexual demands arising from this situation nor of their own sexuality" (Kieper, 1984, p. 182). In the same class, there are boys whose fantasies may be concerned with girls, but who are clearly afraid of actually approaching them. They keep their distance and defend their world of boys' friendships "against premature assaults by girls and the examples of the older boys" (Kieper, 1984, p. 178). "Early development" is described by Fend as a "risky path" through adolescence; for such adolescents discard the "good things of childhood" too soon, to seize the "bad things of adulthood" too quickly (Fend, 1990, p. 231). This risk involves, on the one hand, the danger of slipping into a fringe position in society (failure at school, drugs, criminality), but it can also concern the factor of reflexivity toward social norms and values (including the roles of the sexes); for the quickest possible "conquest" of adult sexual pleasures is, as a rule, linked with an orientation toward "macho" and "feminine" stereotypes. At least, it is particulary unlikely that a critical detachment from predominant sexual roles will be acquired along this path of development.

6. Relations Between the Sexes and Juvenile Identity I shall close with an attempt at summing up the results reported here to draw general conclusions: What new tasks face juveniles at this age in the matter of relationships between the sexes, what paradoxes and difficulties are involved in coping with these tasks—and, of course, which distinctions can be made that are specific to the sexes? At this age, boys and girls alike find themselves in the situation of having to understand themselves an new: Their childhood role as a boy or a girl now takes on an erotic note, peers of the opposite sex become interesting as potential partners for sexual activities, and their self-esteem becomes dependent to no

Boys and Girls in School and Peer Group

155

small extent on their own sexual attractivity. This opens a new, and, at the same time, tense and extremely intimidating dimension—and one that is still to some extent the subject of taboos. From about the age of 13 onward, both boys and girls are subjected to claims from within and without that challenge them to become sexually active (see Neubauer, 1990). Here, social pressure toward heterosexuality as "normal" certainly plays just as important a role as the need of the adolescent to conquer this area of adult experience (as one that also promises to be pleasurable). As far as the claims from without (i.e., the expectations of their social environment) are concerned, they do not all point in the same direction: Whilst among their peers, "success" with the opposite sex boosts their prestige considerably, parents' expectations are somewhat contradictory: Particularly in the case of very young juveniles, and then especially with girls, heterosexual friendships are often repressed and controlled. Yet, at the same time, it is true to say that parents start worrying if their daughter still has not got a boyfriend at the age of 17 (see Horstkotte, 1985, p. 40). Thus, whilst social pressure among peers is quite straightforward, parents' expectations vary considerably according to their moral concepts and according to the age and sex of the child. Many juveniles—but by no means all of them—find themselves caught up between contradictory expectations from their peers and their parents. Now if one asks in what way this situation presents itself differently to girls and boys, two connections must be pointed out: dual morality, which still persists, though it does not manifest overtly so much as implicitly, and the phenomenon of the "earlier development" of the girls. These two factors taken together cause a particularly difficult, paradox situation, indeed, one that is frequently fraught with conflict: Parents, too, now expect their daughters to become "womanly," to develop beauty, grace, and female attractions, to find "her place within the 'erotic culture' " (Elger et al., 1984, p. 100). At the same time, however, it is precisely this development that they view with concern: Their daughter could "get carried away" with her nascent female sexuality; she could "throw herself away," could be suspected of immorality. So, at the same time, girls are required to keep their "morals": They should be attractive but not show too much sex appeal; they should develop and display their sensuality within the limits of "decency" (see Ziehlke, 1993, p. 199). In the network of juvenile relationships, it is precisely this that is made more difficult: Because they physically develop sooner than boys, they find, from a certain point onward, that they are perceived as erotically attractive by older boys; that their femininity is interesting for (prestigious) older boys. Therefore they are given invitations and opportunities to step into the field of heterosexual activity comparatively early—and, as a rule, they will be urged by their older boyfriends to exceed (their own) moral limits. The main problem that girls of this age have with the new definition of their female role seems to be how to remain "decent" when confronted with these invitations, when faced with these expectations. There is extensive reporting on how this problem is dealt with in the case study of the Projektgruppe (1975). The girls watch each other

156

Κ.-J. Tillmann

very closely, to see, for instance, that nobody goes too far with her clothing. They are constantly maneuvering between the wish on the one hand to "go the whole hog" erotically; on the other hand, however, they studiously avoid anything that could jeopardize their reputations, (p. 58) This problem of balancing is also the subject of discussion among the "subculture girls": They consult each other on the subject of what "is still decent" when meeting boys (p. 109) and what not. The whole problem is all the more pressing, as the "decency" thus defined is not expected only by parents (teachers), but also because the boys use the same system of evaluation with a certain duplicity: On the one hand, they are fascinated by attractive girls, but, at the same time, they are quick to label these girls "whores" (see Kieper, 1984, p. 177). For the girls, this means that they have to curb their own curiosity, have to manage their newly acquired attractions prudently, have to limit their relationships with boys, and must not change boyfriends too frequently—in order to preserve their "reputation." This is the balancing act required of 13- to 14-year-old girls in particular, when they enter the new phase of relations between the sexes. If this is compared with the boys' situation, the problem can clearly be seen to be of a different nature: They, too, are challenged to approach the opposite sex, to demonstrate sexual success, but they are hardly subjected to the limitations of "decency." Frequent changes of girlfriends, early and "advanced" sexual experience do not jeopardize the reputation of the male—on the contrary, they enhance his image. In conjunction with orientation toward these values, which is kept up particularly among male peers, the boys are also under pressure to be successful, and many have great trouble coping with this. Then again, these problems are interwoven closely with the matter of the girls' developing ahead of them; for the sexual activities of the boys are not limited by the moral demands of "decency," but by a lack of opportunity to find the appropriate partner for their wishes. Fourteen-year-old boys may wish for a "steady" friendship with a girl, including heterosexual experience, but this wish remains unfulfilled in most cases: Their female peers are occupied with older boys; the younger girls "haven't got that far yet." The boys seldom find the partner they wish for in their imagination for the fulfillment of their own basic urges; for the interaction with the opposite sex that they would wish for. For this reason, many boys have at this age to cope with the experience of being ignored on account of a lack of physical attraction. Such a situation contradicts the general male claim to superiority, and the boys have to work on coming to terms with the cognitive and emotional dissonances this gives rise to. Many 13- to 15-year-old boys therefore have to walk the tightrope between their need to satisfy instinctive urges, form relationships, and gain prestige, on the one hand, and the experience of their own inadequacy, on the other. The various strategies boys resort to have been outlined above. These "lean years" (both sexually and as far as support for their identity is concerned) usually come to an end at the age of 16 or 17, when, in a first "steady"

Boys and Girls in School and Peer Group

157

relationship with a (younger) girl, male superiority seems to be established once more. Girls—this analysis suggests—are, despite the fact that between the ages of 12 and 15 their situation is fraught with conflicts, in possession of far better means of supporting a positive image of themselves. For they are not only much more successful than their male peers on an erotic dimension within their age group, but also, on average, perform better at school (see Horstkemper, 1987), and thus are "officially" more successful. It is, then, all the more astounding that in this phase the girls are unable to put their "successes" to use for the benefit of their self-esteem. When it comes to their own image of their performance or of their talents, or to the force of their egos, the boys achieve the better results, the higher scores, even at this age (see Fend 1990, p. 124; Horstkemper, 1987, p. 111). Judging by this, the female lead at this stage and their erotic and academic "success" do not seem to suffice to compensate for a sex-role socialization, which, in this society, is generally tuned to female inferiority.

Notes 1.

2.

This secondary analysis takes into account all representative West German studies since the 1970s and all such qualitative (case) studies in the same period as are relevant to the subject. Whereby the (by no means unproblematic) assumption is made that, in spite of the historic changes that took place in this period, all these studies can be related to each other and pieced together to create a whole picture. Here the terms "early" and "late developer" are not to be (mis)taken biologically. They are rather intended to describe the early/intensive and the late/detached entry on the "juvenile scene."

References Allerbeck, Κ. & Hoag, W. J. (1985). Jugend ohne Zukunft? Einstellungen, Umwelt, Lebensperspektiven. München: Piper. Behnken, I. (1991). Schülerstudie '90. Weinheim: Juventa. Brehmer, I. (Ed.). (1982). Sexismus in der Schule. Weinheim: Beltz. Breyvogel, W. (1983). "Ich habe j a Ilona." Eine Mädchenfreundschaft in der Schule. In W. Breyvogel & H. Wenzel (Eds.), Subjektivität und Schule (pp. 85-99). Essen: Neue Deutsche Schule. Bundesministerium für Bildung und Wissenschaft (BMBW) (1988/89). Grund- und Strukturdaten. Bonn. Elger, W., Hofmann, H. J., Jordan, E., & Trauernicht, G. (1984). Ausbruchsversuche von Jugendlichen. Selbstaussagen-Familienbeziehungen-Biographien. Weinheim: Beltz. Engel, U. & Hurrelmann, K. (1989). Psychosoziale Belastung im Jugendalter. Empirische Befunde zum Einfluß von Familie, Schule und Gleichaltrigengruppe. Berlin: De Gruyter. Fend, Η. (1990). Vom Kind zum Jugendlichen. Der Übergang und seine Risiken. Bern: Huber. Gaiser, W. et.al. (1979). Schule im sozialökologischen Kontext. Bedingungen inner- und außerschulischen Lernens bei Hauptschulabsolventen. Unterrichtswissenschaft, 2,143-161.

158

Κ.-J. Tillmann

Horstkemper, M. (1987). Schule, Geschlecht und Selbstvertrauen - Eine Längsschnittstudie über Mädchensozialisation in der Schule. Weinheim: Juventa. Horstkemper, M. (1990). "Jungenfacher" und weibliche Sozialisation - Lernprozesse im koedukativen Unterricht. Deutsche Schule, 1. Beiheft, 97-109. Horstkotte, A. (1985). Mädchen in der Provinz (Alltag und Biographie von Mädchen, Bd. 8). Opladen: Leske + Budrich. Hübner-Funk, S. & Müller, H.-U. (1981). Hauptschüler vor dem Eintritt in die Arbeitswelt. Eine vergleichende sozialökologische Studie aus bayerischen Stadtgebieten. In H. Walter (Ed.), Region und Sozialisation, Bd. //(pp. 137-187). Stuttgart: Frommann-Holzboog. Jugendwerk der Deutschen Shell (Ed.).(1981). Jugend '81, 4 Bände. Opladen: Leske + Budrich. Jugendwerk der Deutschen Shell (Ed.).(1985). Jugendliche und Erwachsene '85, 5 Bände. Opladen: Leske + Budrich. Jugendwerk der Deutschen Shell (Ed.).(1992): Jugend '92, 4 Bände. Opladen: Leske + Budrich. Kaplan, L. J. (1984). Adolescence: The farewell to childhood. New York:. Kieper, M. (1984). Selbstkontrolle, Selbstbehauptung, Sexualität. Eine Dokumentation von Interviewaussagen 14- bis 15jähriger Jugendlicher. Zeitschrift fiir Pädagogik, 30 (2), 169189. Küppers, W. (1964). Mädchentagebücher der Nachkriegszeit. Ein kritischer Beitrag zum sogenannten Wandel der Jugend. Stuttgart: Klett. Neubauer, G. (1990). Jugendphase und Sexualität. Stuttgart: Enke. Oerter, R. & Montada. L. (1982). Entwicklungspsychologie - ein Lehrbuch. München: Psychologie Verlagsunion. Oswald, H., Krappmann, L., Chowduri, I., & Salisch, M. von (1986). Grenzen und Brücken. Interaktionen zwischen Jungen und Mädchen im Grundschulalter. Kölner Zeitschrift für Soziologie und Sozialpsychologie, 38 (3), 560-580. Petersen, A. (1987). Those gangly years. Psychology Today, 21 (9), 28-34. Petillon, H. (1982). Soziale Beziehungen zwischen Lehrern, Schülern und Schülergruppen. Weinheim: Beltz. Popp, U. & Tillmann, K. J. (1990). Jugend und Familie - mehr Kontinuität als Wandel? Neue Sammlung, 30 (4), 564-572. Projektgruppe Jugendbüro (1975). Die Lebenswelt von Hauptschülern. Ergebnisse einer Untersuchung. München: Juventa. Projektgruppe Jugendbüro (1977). Subkultur und Familie als Orientierungsmuster. Zur Lebenswelt von Hauptschülern. Weinheim: Juventa. Sander, U. & Vollbrecht, R. (1985). Zwischen Kindheit und Jugend. Träume, Hoffhungen und Alltag 13- bis 1 ¡jähriger. Weinheim: Juventa. Schlaegel, J., Schoof-Tams, K., & Walczak, L. (1975). Beziehungen zwischen Jungen und Mädchen. Sexuelle Sozialisation in Vorpubertät, Pubertät und früher Adolezenz. Sexualmedizin, 4, 206-218. Seidenspinner, G., & Burger, A. (1982/ Mädchen '82 (Studie im Auftrag der Zeitschrift Brigitte). Hamburg: DJI-Forschungsberichte. Strave, C. J. (1984). Lernziel: Partnersuche. München: DJI Tillmann, K.J. (1992). Söhne und Töchter in bundesdeutschen Familien. In K. J. Tillmann (Ed.), Jugend weiblich - Jugend männlich (pp. 40-48). Opladen: Leske + Budrich. Tyrell, H. (1986). Geschlechtliche Differenzierung und Geschlechterklassifikation. Kölner Zeitschrift fur Soziologie und Sozialpsychologie, 38 (4), 450-489. Ziehlke, B. (1993). Deviante Jugendliche. Individualisierung, Geschlecht und soziale Kontrolle. Opladen: Leske + Budrich.

Sexual Abuse in Childhood: Toward an Individual or Institutionalized Solution? Inge Emmerich and Georg Neubauer

1. Introduction The discussion on the sexual abuse of children that broke out in the USA in the 1970s let loose a veritable flood of scientific and autobiographical publications, which then materialized into preventive and interventional programs.The German women's movement, in particular, placed sexual abuse of girls in the context of their feminist discussion on "sexism in everyday life," "rape of women," and the "antipornography campaign." The discovery of sexual abuse of children (particularly of girls) cannot be regarded as something new, nor as a particular feature of our times; it is much more the case that the discussion has led to a removal of taboos and a scandalization has taken place. An assessment of the present state of the discussion and its sociopolitical consequences becomes difficult, however, if one wants to place it in an international context. We can thus establish that the definition of what we want to talk about becomes relativized in a cross-cultural comparison. Even the question as to what age a person is still a child, an adolescent, or an adult is answered differently according to cultural differences. Attention is drawn to the fact that, in some countries, girls who are still children are married to adult men, and that this state of affairs is not classified as sexual abuse. In some empirical studies, sexual abuse with "children" extends up to the age of 18, which must be regarded with some criticism even within the same cultural group. As we neither intend to give an international, not to mention a historical, classification of the discussion that has taken place over the last decade, we wish to point out in these introductory remarks that the following considerations are more a diagnosis of the current state of the discussion in Germany, which does not make a direct transfer onto an international level possible, although similar developments in Western countries, in particular in the USA, have already taken place. On the other hand, particular caution is advised in the transfer of foreign textbooks on intervention. For example, differences in the legal system, legal situation, and in the organization of child and youth care mean that some forms of intervention do not appear feasible for Germany. The interventions practiced by Furniss (1991) in Great Britain, interlinking child and adolescent psychiatry, childcare institutions, state care of adolescents, the judicial system, and the police

160

I. Emmerich and G. Neubauer

serve as an example here. The present chapter focuses on the question of which image of childhood serves as a basis for (institutional) treatment of sexual abuse, and as to whether this image is suitable for child policy. Our basic concern is to establish which theory of (sexuality in) childhood can be referred to in the discussions and how the (sexual) self-determination of children can be guaranteed. On the other hand, we are faced with the dilemma, as described by David Finkelhor in his first study (1979): "We know more about sexual deviance than about sexual normality .... We ask about children's sexual experiences and hardly know anything about how they experience sexuality in the first place" (p. 20). The foregone discussion thus tends to be more marked by the normative images than by (empirical) findings about (sexuality in) childhood. Consequently, we asked ourselves the question, within the framework of a sexual education project, how children experience the thematizing of sexual abuse and what experiences they have had. Our concern was that the public and scientific discussion also take its bearings from the life situation of children. The idea for this project must be regarded as a reaction to the public and scientific discussion about this topic, as sexual abuse was treated as a blind spot in our previous work on sexual education (see Bärmann et al., 1990; Bärmann et al., 1991). On the basis of our experiences since 1982 in sexual education work with children and adolescents in schools and youth centers, the following questions arose: 1. 2.

Were we previously not aware of the signals from children and adolescents or were there none? Is sexual abuse not an explicit topic for children and adolescents in pedagogic fields?

In our action research project on the topic "Sexual education and sexual abuse," we assumed, as a result of the current public discussion, that not only we but also children and adolescents would have become more and more sensitive to this topic. Before we present the results of the project, we would like to examine the existing images of childhood.

2. Images of Childhood and the Sexual Abuse of Children Sexual abuse in Germany is defined in §176 of the Criminal Code (StGB) and basically makes sexual acts of an adult or adolescent with children under 14 punishable offenses.

Sexual Abuse

161

The extent of acts punishable by law is very wide. It ranges from verbal obscenities and playing doctor through exhibitionist acts and displaying of pornography to include genital manipulation, abuse, and rape and even includes killing. The heterogeneity can be explained on the basis of the purpose of the provision. According to the will of the legislature, §176 serves to protect the sexuality of children and their unimpaired development (Ostendorf, 1986). It should ensure the overall development of the child, free of premature sexual experiences, and should protect him or her from sexual stimulations of all kinds .... The constituent facts make "sexual abuse" by family members as well as by strangers, by both grown-ups and adolescents, punishable by law. (Honig, 1992, p. 386) Thus, it is normatively assumed that sexual acts between persons over 14 with children under 14 generally implies sexual abuse. In this way, children are fundamentally made into victims and adults into perpetrators. All in all, a too narrow interpretation creates the risk that all children will be deprived of the physical, emotional, and cognitive competence for sexual acts, which is absurd when one thinks of, for example, genital petting between a 13-year-old girl and a 17-year-old boy, which has been established in sexual research as an entirely normal stage of development (Neubauer, 1990). For this reason, the sociological discussion uses the concept of "informed consent" as a basis for definition. "The point of departure of this concept is that, for adults, rape has taken place in the eyes of the law when one person carries out sexual acts on another person without their consent" (Bange, 1992, p. 50). This criterion, that sexual acts are carried out against the will of the child, meets with unqualified approval among scientists as a definition of sexual abuse. There is, however, a lack of agreement as to when children, on the basis of physical, psychological, cognitive, or verbal development, are able to consent consciously to or object to sexual acts. The setting of the age limit at 14, as provided for in the StGB, cannot be applicable for all children, but has to be examined individually in every case. In addition, in the legal and psychological evaluation of § 176, attention is drawn to the fact that the occurrence of sexual abuse should be under discussion only if the sexual acts are undertaken to satisfy the sexual needs of the adult (Lempp, 1989a, p. 590; Schneider 1987, p. 685). The aim of this statement is that communal naked bathing of parents and children, for example, cannot be classified generally as sexual abuse, as only those involved can judge subjectively whether sexual abuse has taken place. That is to say simultaneously, that different people may come to very different conclusions when faced with the same facts of a case.

162

I. Emmerich and G. Neubauer

We are constantly being made aware of this when we present two almost identical scenarios for discussion at parents' evenings: The first scenario refers to a father who washes his 6-year-old daughter's genitals; the other scenario, a mother who washes her 6-year-old son. Although the discussion about how these are to be judged will be controversial, stereotypes become evident: The father will be accused more often than the mother of perpetrating sexual abuse on his daughter. This judgment takes its place alongside the statement that all men are potential perpetrators. It is more frequently assumed that the mother is being considerate, that she wants to prevent possible inflammation of her son's penis, for example.1 In general, it is assumed that women act in a caring and selfless way. It is also controversially discussed whether children of this age should still have their genitals washed by their parents, or whether they should do it themselves. Moreover, the penis could become erect, which would be embarassing for all concerned, or the children would be "helped" toward masturbation. These arguments serve to emphasize that parents hinder their children's development by such actions and confront them prematurely with sexuality. If we examine to what extent children can experience sexuality, parents often refer to the autoerotic activities that some of them have observed in their children, which, according to Freud, relate to a particular erogenous zone during development. At the age of 6, according to Freud, the latent phase begins and children grow up asexually, which the parents are not always able to observe in their own children, leading to the fear that their children might be behaviorally disturbed. To what extent these models of child sexuality hold true cannot be judged because of the above-mentioned research deficit, for "while we no longer think about the introduction of children into the world of love, eroticism, and sexuality, we do it all the more when it is a question of protecting them from sexual abuse" (Rutschky, 1992, p. 118). How then can sexual abuse be discussed without having a secure model of child sexuality? This approach can only be understood when it is assumed that premature sexuality is harmful for the development of the child. Moreover, what serves to make the discussion of sexual abuse more difficult is a power differential between adults and children, to a degree that at least structural violence is involved, which always comes to light when there is a difference between the upper and the lower, the strong and the weak. On the basis of these considerations, the term "sexual abuse" is being replaced increasingly by the term "sexual violence" in order to clarify that

Sexual Abuse

163

there is no such thing as legitimate "sexual use" of children by adults. "In other words, sexual abuse can occur even when the victim does not feel harmed or abused" (Finkelhor, 1979, p. 52). From this point of view, children become victims and adults become perpetrators, as conscious assent on the part of the children can be ruled out because of the individual and structural factors. The coupling of the "sexual abuse discussion" with the "violence discussion" allows the abstraction of sexuality and intimacy of children and its transfer to a social problem from the perspective of judging by third parties who now pose as the children's champions. The problem of sexual abuse is being pushed in the direction of violence in the generation relationship (from a feminist viewpoint, also in the direction of the gender relationship) and discussed in the context of harmful effects. However, "harm" is not only an empirical but also a moral phenomenon. "Violence" is also not a state of affairs that can be understood on its own, as it were. Empirical research into violence is concerned not only with one type of behavior but also with cultural norms, professional evaluations, and situational explanations, which are part of the subject matter. The problem policy is based on the concept of violence appropriated by the social state; so it refers to supposed or actual harm that has already occurred or will occur in the future and follows the maxim of control of "violence." The potentially harmful effects of sexual abuse for the victims are considerable reasons for measures of prevention and intervention. Studies show that early and late consequences must be expected (see Honig, 1992). For a proportion of the children affected, alongside physical consequences, (i.e., injuries), particularly immediate psychological reactions such as shock, fear, rage, hostility, depression, or inappropriate sexual behavior for their age must be expected (Brownek & Finkelhor, 1986, p. 69). Reactions that only occur in boys are fear of homosexuality, aggressive self-assertion toward others, and a tendency to become perpetrators themselves (Watkins & Bentovim, 1992, p. 239). The long-term consequences that become apparent in some adult women are depression, fear, feelings of isolation and of being stigmatized as victims, and low self-esteem. These women frequently complain of sexual disorders and suicidal fantasies or attempted suicide. It is striking that female victims often become victims of sexual violence for a second time as adults; they are over-represented among drug addicts, female psychiatric patients, young female drop-outs, and prostitutes (Finkelhor & Russell, 1984). For men, the long-term consequences are similar. In comparison to women, men react more often with drug abuse (Bange, 1992, p. 171) than with depression and fear (Bange, 1992, p. 162), and tend more to sexually exploit children themselves (Watkins & Bentovim, 1992, p. 240).

164

I. Emmerich and G. Neubauer

The explanations given do not mean, however, that women who have not experienced sexual abuse, for example, do not possess lower self-esteem than men; moreover, not every prostitute or drug addict has been abused sexually. The statements show, however—and it is important to record this—that the likelihood for these types of behavior and reactions increases with experiences of sexual abuse. In addition, not all children who have been sexually abused show the abovementioned forms of reaction; the persons concerned often show only mild handicaps or get over their experiences. Approximately one to two fifths of children and about one fifth of adult women who have had such experiences show serious psychopathological disorders (Browne & Finkelhor, 1986, p. 164). It is assumed that the longer the abuse continues and the more physical violence used, the greater the danger of harm. Presumably, the sexual practices also play a large role here (Beitchman et al., 1992). Less intensive experiences of sexual abuse (eg. petting, kissing, exhibitionism) seem to be processed by children without any significant effects (Baurmann, 1983, p. 16; Dannecker, 1987, p. 81; Finkelhor, 1984, pp. 15-16; Russell, 1986, p. 42) As well as the primary consequences of the experience of abuse, secondary consequences, which are brought about by the behavior of the immediate social surroundings and the social authorities, police, courts, and so forth, become the focus of research. Gomes-Schwartz et al.'s study (1990), among others, shows that 30% of child victims who show no symptoms initially have developed symptoms by the time of subsequent examination 18 months later. Thus even relatively harmless encounters for a child can trigger off panic, fear, and guilt feelings, lasting for shorter or longer periods, if parents or teachers react with panic or fear, dramatize the event, accuse the child of lying, or give her the feeling that she is now "disgraced," or that it was her own fault that things went so far. (Kutchinsky, 1991, p. 37) Early investigations devoted themselves to the question whether sexual abuse per se implies (later) psychological consequences, and in what context these can be related to familial conditions (Draijer, 1990; Kinzl & Biebl, 1992). In the efforts to find explanations for why certain children more easily become the victims of intra- and extrafamilial sexual abuse, more special attention is paid to the familial structures of the potential victims (Browning & Boatman, 1977; Herman, 1981; Kaufman et al., 1954; Madonna et al., 1991). The main risk factor mentioned by the authors is cutting oneself off from the outside world, a general distrust of external contacts, close, rigid relationships among the family members

Sexual Abuse

165

marked by pseudoproximity, fear of change, alcoholic and violent fathers, physical or psychological sicknesses of the mother, and a reversal of roles in the sense that the daughter assumes one or several of the mother's roles (Kinzl & Biebl, 1992, P- 1)· Draijer (1990) was able to find similar factors for a Dutch sample of sexually abused women. All these problems associated with sexually abused women complicate the question as to the causes of their psychological injuries. Early separation from the parents (Harris et al., 1986) and also the rejection of the child by the parents, even without sexual abuse (Burbach & Bordin, 1986; Parker, 1983), can also bring about later psychologocal impairments. In a regression analysis, Draijer (1990) considered both aspects—sexual abuse and familial conditions—for the prognosis of psychological disorders: Rejection and neglect by parents remain significant causes of psychological disorders, but also sexual abuse in childhood and experiences of physical violence from their later partner. "Girls who have been seriously sexually abused from the age of 11 on, both inside and outside the family, and who were separated from their parents for a long time as children have the worst prognosis" (Draijer, 1990, p. 138). The last result, in particular, illustrates the dilemma that emerges from the question of accomodation outside the family. On the one hand, the parents fail in their duty to support their child; accomodation outside the family, on the other hand, can intensify psychological disorders. Only in this way can one understand that the abused person identifies with the abuser, and depression rather than aggression tends to determine their feelings. Therefore, the quality of the parentchild relationship is very important as a protection mechanism or for the ability of children to overcome difficulties. Thus, long-term negative consequences do not only depend on the severity of the sexual abuse and its frequency and so forth, but we must also consider "that sexual abuse is also an expression and part of a complex multiproblem structure (e.g., malfunctioning family structure)" (Kinzl et al., 1992, p. 17). Using differentiated methods of observation, we come to the conclusion that girls and boys should indeed be protected, but should not be (legally) incapacitated. Thus, they should be entrusted with the competence to be able to deal with possible sexual abuse on their own. Not every child is automatically harmed and is in need of unrequested intervention. We must even have misgivings that intervention against the will of the child causes considerable harm. For this reason, it is necessary to obtain a better understanding of those cases in which official intervention is absolutely necessary. Perplexity of parents and helpers or the public interest of the jurisdiction cannot and should not be the sole criteria.

166

I. Emmerich and G. Neubauer

In particular, more exact analyses of the life situation and attitudes of children must be carried out. In the following, we would like to present the results of our study on this matter.

3. Experiences and Results of our Sex Education Studies In 1991/1992 we worked with a total of five groups of students in special reformatory schools and four groups in youth centers. In our sex education work, sexual abuse was thematized and, subsequently, narrative interviews were carried out with participant children and adolescents (40 in total). We also asked the participant adolescents to fill out a questionnaire on sexual abuse as well as other sexual experiences. Our emphasis on special reformatory schools was a consequence of the public discussion and reaction. We particularly received enquiries from the staffai these institutions regarding how they should deal with suspected sexual abuse. These enquiries seem to be the result of the extension of the etiology of "conspicuous behavior" concerning suspected sexual abuse. Many things for which there seemed to be no explanation before are now frequently attributed to and transferred to sexual abuse. Our discussions with the staff at these institutions showed that, in some cases, such suspicions already existed previously, but that these attempted explanations were not accepted. Only when the discussion became public and institutional assistance was offered did they avail of this help. If cases of sexual abuse are revealed to us by the children and adolescents themselves during the course of our sex education work with them, we take up their cases and offer them our support by referring them to existing institutions, and, if they so wish, we also accompany them there. During the first session of the sexual education studies, we hand out a short questionnaire, in which the participants can individually select three main topics from the eight on offer. Since 1991/1992, we have included the topic "sexual violence/abuse" in this catalogue. As we had assumed on the basis of the public discussion, this topic had great appeal and was ranked second in the list of priorities, slightly ahead of the topics "the first time" and "contraception." As in the past, the topic "love-friendship-sexuality" was the one selected most frequently. In the group work, the answer given to the question "What comes to mind when you think of sexual violence/abuse?" was almost always "rape." Borderline violations in the form of intimate contact are not normally associated with this term, but are more often described and perceived as everyday experiences. In this context, the children showed that they have developed a catalogue of criteria for

Sexual Abuse

167

themselves for judging these instances of abuse. In certain circumstances, they would consent to abuse if they knew the person well or found them likeable, or, for boys, if the person was a woman. So being touched by their father as children, for example, did not present them with problems; unwanted sexual abuse from strangers, on the other hand, is rejected on principle and is described as such. The children and adolescents basically assume that sexual intercourse between a girl and an adult man is not performed willingly and must be defined as rape. The children and adolescents reported concrete cases of sexual intercourse from their immediate environment between father and daughter and these were described, not as sexual abuse, but as rape. In this context two things were striking: 1.

As they assumed a narrow concept of sexual abuse (= rape) when asked, "How many children are sexually abused every year in the former Federal Republic?" they estimated the number at about 3,000 children. We had given the figures 3,000, 30,000, and 300,000 to choose from.2 2. In the discussion about two of the cases reported by the participants, they were primarily more upset about the secondary consequences than by the sexual abuse itself. Thus they took a very poor view of the fact that the abused girl was sent to a home, and, in the second case, that the girl who had become pregnant was forced to have an abortion against her will.

In spite of cases they knew about of sexual abuse by (step-) fathers and the public discussion about them, when asked, "In your opinion, are children and adolescents more likely to be sexually abused by people they know or by strangers?" they answered that it would more likely be by strangers.3 Under certain circumstances, the reason for this answer can be that they do not necessarily regard sexual approaches by persons they know as being sexual abuse. In the group discussions, boys rarely talked about sexual abuse. Sexual contact (including sexual intercourse) between boys and adult women was not defined as sexual abuse or rape, rather as a positive experience. How they judged sexual contact between adult men and boys was in stark contrast to this. It turned out to be very difficult to talk to the boys about this, as it concerns the sphere of homosexuality which often evokes feelings of disgust and abhorrence in them. In the narrative interviews we conducted after the sex education study, we received another explanation for this behavior in boys: Half of the boys we interviewed reported that they had been sexually molested and/or urged to perform intimate acts by men unknown to them. Because they were afraid of being called "queers" in the group sessions during the sex education study, they were unwilling to talk about this there. At the same time, they indicated that the situations were sometimes precarious, but that they were able to escape from these approaches. A 13-year-old boy proudly told us that he consented to a man's sexual approach

168

I. Emmerich and G. Neubauer

at first and when he had the DM 50 he demanded in his hand he "ran for it." During the narrative interviews, neither the boys nor the girls (except for one girl) were prepared to tell us about their own concrete experiences of sexual abuse with persons from their own close circle, although we had built up a relationship of trust during the sex education. Because of their fear of consequences for themselves and their families, they wanted to make sure that their experiences of abuse would not be documented in any way. In the questionnaire study as well, only one of the abused girls admitted that her father had tried to rape her when she was 12. Her father (42 at the time) had tried to make her submissive by beating her five times over a period of 3 months. Because of these incidents, she had gone to a home for girls of her own free will, where she had found access to a way of coming to terms with her experiences through the conversations and the care she received from the teachers. In total, half (13) of the girls stated in the questionnaire that adult men from their own family (4), two friends, and two strangers had made sexual demands of them against their will. In these cases, the girls had to take hold of the male person's sexual organs (6), or had to let themselves be touched (9). Seven girls regarded these approaches as unpleasant, two as pleasant, and three as both pleasant and unpleasant. At the time of these experiences, the girls were between 5- and 13years-old, whereby the most frequent age given (half of the abused girls) was 13. The girls only mentioned being abused by men, while the boys affected (9 out of 51 = 18%) mentioned men (6) as well as women (3). The persons concerned mostly did not belong to the boys' immediate circle of family or acquaintances. Four boys said that they had been kissed and had been touched on their sexual organs by adult men against their will. The majority of the boys did not give any more exact details. These assaults occurred between the ages of 7 and 13 and, with one exception, only happened once. With the exception of one case (no details), the boys said that it was wholly pleasant or both pleasant and unpleasant. Summary If we compare the results from the three different stages of the survey, it strikes us that children and adolescents are more prepared to talk about sexual abuse they experienced from men and women, the less public the situation. They are almost always unwilling to talk about the attempted or performed sexual intercourse they have experienced. Only the girl mentioned above who is using professional help talked in the interview about rape attempts by her father. In the group sessions, other children give accounts of sexual abuse and rape and

Sexual Abuse

169

thereby make an important distinction: Sexual abuse is portrayed as an everyday event and is not always regarded negatively, whereby the assessment depends on the person involved. Only sexual intercourse between girls and adult men is classed as sexual abuse (= rape). There are no reports of sexual intercourse between boys and adult women. In answer to our questions, they did not designate these experiences as sexual abuse and assumed that it was more likely that the boys would find it enjoyable. Sexual intercourse between boys and adult men was not thematized either. They find the topic unpleasant, as it would depict a homosexual act, which would be absolutely rejected by many boys. Boys do not talk about such homosexual acts even in the narrative interview; they only state this in the questionnaire. The boys' extremely negative rating of homosexuality and the fear of being labeled as homosexuals hinder a public discussion on the issue. In the interview, however, they tell us about sexual advances by men, but emphasize at the same time that they were able to evade these advances. Only in the questionnaire, are they certain that their statements remain anonymous and that they cannot be identified as potential homosexuals. Another obstacle—alongside the proximity to homosexuality— is the difficulty boys have in revealing themselves as victims. We must take into account, however, that, if possible, the interview partners are not the same people as those for the cases who indicated sexual abuse in the questionnaire. All the same, in comparison to the girls (about half), only 18% of the boys stated that they had been the victims of sexual abuse. All in all, it is difficult to generalize our figures because, up to now, we have mostly been working with children and adolescents from educational support institutions. Sexual intercourse, which is classed by the adolescents unequivocally as sexual abuse, is hardly ever reported in any of the three survey situations, although almost a quarter of the girls told us in informal surroundings about such experiences. Based on hints, we know that some of the boys have had similar experiences but are unwilling to talk about them in private situations because of the proximity of homosexuality. Our work with the children and adolescents made it clear to us that this topic is also taboo for them, and that they do not want any publicity when they themselves are the victims. This behavior can be interpreted in several ways: Abused children are afraid of publicity, because they are afraid of being stigmatized as victims. And so girls are afraid of being called "tarts" and boys "queers," from whom it would be better to keep one's distance.

170

I. Emmerich and G. Neubauer

On the other hand, they do not always regard the instances of abuse as negative, and therefore they are not able to accept the status of victim for themselves. Moreover, the children and adolescents let us know that, as a rule, they wanted to decide for themselves to what extent they would consent to sexual abuse by adults. Only in the case of sexual intercourse against their will with adults do they assume that it is rape. In addition, for girls, the circle of perpetrators is recruited from their own family and friends, and so they must be afraid of repercussions for themselves and their family if they were exposed. The boys, on the other hand, have experiences with persons from the extrafamilial sphere. It is possible that these are traditional gender-specific differences in the degree of social attachment of boys and girls. Boys are still allowed activities outside the family more frequently than girls (Neubauer, 1990) and claim the right to fend off sexual abuse on their own. One can assume, therefore, that while the stronger familial attachment of girls protects them in the foreground from sexual abuse, it does not substantially increase the competence of defense against sexual abuse from within the family as well as from outside. All in all, we came to the conclusion that the public discussion about sexual abuse has also increased the willingness of children and adolescents to talk about it. Here, in contrast to the (scientific) discussion, they have clearly defined only sexual intercourse with adults as sexual abuse. For them, the classification of other forms as sexual abuse is dependent on the emotional relationship they have to the persons concerned. Children have shown that they (want to) feel secure, selfconfident, and free enough to face up to sexual abuse in all spheres of life. Moreover, they gave us to understand that they have developed a competence that enables them to deal with everyday sexual abuse. For this reason, the public and the scientific discussion should also orient itself toward the life situation of children and adolescents.

4.

Childhood Between Individualization and Institutionalization

In order to answer the questions that have been raised, it seems to us to be sensible and necessary to take a look at modern childhood. Childhood has changed greatly in the last few decades; it has not been spared the sociostructural developments that can be observed in other spheres, and these complex changes now have an influence on nearly all life spheres of children. Of the various changes, that determine and influence each other or are interdependent, some are mentioned here in reference to the family. In general, a pluralization of familial life and household forms has established itself:

Sexual Abuse

171

Developments such as the delay and quantitative decline in marriage contracts, the increasing divorce rate, the rise in so-called "extramarital living communities," and the increase in the number of single-parent families are tendencies that are often mentioned as part of this trend. (Heitmeyer & Oik, 1990, p. 29; see, also, Beck, 1986) Children do not only normally grow up in complete families, and, especially in the case of single-parent families, they are far more frequently left to their own devices than in the past. Moreover, because of separation/divorce, the missing natural father or mother is replaced by a stepfather or stepmother who is not subject to the traditional ban on incest. Because of the reduction in the number of children, fewer children get even more attention, and their emotional significance for their parents and their happiness in life increases (emotionalization of the parent-adult relationship). Alongside the parents' uncertainty with regard to "correct upbringing" and the parallel increase in the number of professional childcare institutions, this development has also left its mark on the methods of upbringing: Discipline and strict obedience are no longer the norms, rather the fostering of independence, willingness to cooperate, and the communicative ability of the children, which are not conveyed by means of authority but by partner-based discussion. This development leads to a decrease in the power divide and in the conflicts between parents and children. The relationship between the generations has thereby become more open and liberal but simultaneously also more fragile, more emotional, and more complex. Instead of external parental supervision, "dos and do nots," and strict prescription of norms, this style of upbringing demands of the children a greater use of their reason, responsibility for their own actions, self-control, and self-reflection (from external to internal constraint, see Elias 1981). As a result of the prevalence of car-friendly housing forms and the increase in traffic, the play and leissure-time behavior of children has changed. Children (at least in the cities) have been cut off from spontaneous play; they often have to make do with unimaginatively constructed playgrounds, some of which take a long time to reach and require making appointments with other children (see Zeiher, 1988; Zeiher & Zeiher, 1991). Alongside the decrease in protected childcentered recreational facilities, there is an increase in the number of institutional recreational facilities and professionally and pedagogically supervised, extrafamilial services for children. "The activities of children (are) very similar to those of adults and adolescents in that they are spread over different locations" (Bertram & Borrmann-Müller, 1988, p. 19) and have been removed from neighborhood environments. In order to be able to reach the various different leisure-time and educational "islands" on offer, which are not normally interconnected, parents need a network of appointments with their children, as do the children among themselves, as well as the possibility of reaching them using (public) transport

172

I. Emmerich and G. Neubauer

(keywords: mother as "taxi driver," children with appointment books filled to capacity). The precondition for the modern-day organization of a child's everyday routine that even very young children behave competently and autonomously in very different role contexts, makes high demands on the individuality of the child, so that the tendency toward increasing individuality can be observed already in childhood. (Bertram & Borrmann-Müller, 1988, p. 19) For this reason, we assume that the "insulation" of the children's lifeworld can cause a potential increase in sexual abuse by persons outside the family circle, and because of the lack of interconnection between the "islands," the danger can grow that the parents or other adults do not become aware of these assaults. At the same time, one can notice a growth in competencies such as independence and selfconfidence in children, which make instances of sexual abuse less likely. Children nowadays are normally not as trusting in authority or as "submissive" as was the case two decades ago. This can doubtlessly be attributed to the changing styles and goals of upbringing, which, in addition, result in a less marked power gap between the generations, that is, also a greater self-confidence among children toward their parents and other adults. In any case, the relationships between the generations have changed de facto as well as in consciousness, which is expressed in particular in the strengthening of the self-confidence of more and more children at increasingly earlier ages, especially as adults also no longer adhere to the traditional authority relationship in their dealings with their children. (Büchner, 1990, p. 92) Moreover, the children's competence for action increases by circulating in different living spheres ("islands") and having to come to terms with many different adults and children. We assume that the abused children are able to develop entirely individual possibilities of dealing with these experiences for themselves, and that not eveiy child who has been subjected to sexual abuse must automaticallly be a case for educators and other helpers. It is also valid here, synonomous to the situation of abuse, to maintain boundaries and not to take away the children's rights because of normative considerations or in accordance with the Zeitgeist. Needless to say, this statement should not justify sexual abuse and should not play down its possible consequences. Without doubt, the discussion and analysis of this problem is justified not only for the reason that those victims in need of help can be guaranteed it but also so that the (potential) perpetrators are made to open their eyes to the fact that what they do is wrong and that they are the ones who bear the

Sexual Abuse

173

responsibility for sexual abuse. We are only defending ourselves here against the phenomenon mentioned at the beginning of the stigmatization and pathologization of children who are affected by (potential) abuse into (potential) victims, because we presume that the victim stigmatization of children, as well as sexual abuse, obstructs their development. The discussions about sexual abuse of children have led to an increase in the sociopolitical sensitivity of those professionally concerned and also to suspicion of sexual abuse being stated more frequently. In the beginning, the impression was given that this discussion would push away other important problems of children. In the meantime, it seems as if "levelheadedness in thought" and "level-headedness in action" are prevalent. In this respect, the increasing number of legitimate as well as illegitimate cases have had a role to play as well as the realization that institutional processing is coming up against both quantitative and qualitative limits.4 Many of these deficits must be seen in the context of the incorrect model of childhood. Thus, the fact that children are perfectly aware of the social correlations between "sexuality" and "violence" and reclaim the competence for themselves of being able to deal with it has been underestimated. As a rule, institutions only become aware of experiences of sexual abuse if a multiproblem structure exists for children and they become conspicuous because of this. Experiences of sexual abuse are then a component of the burden of problems of children and are not causes in their own right of grave consequences for a child's development. By structuring their reality, children often find means of making niches for themselves in order to survive. Only when they go down paths that are not socially acceptable (drugs, prostitution, homelessness, aggression, etc.) is a disclosure by third parties necessary. When disclosing their experiences, children must often realize that the fundamental fears and threats that surrounded their secret are true. In the ongoing paradox of a divided legal system, it seems that judges in family courts will grant placement outside the family on the grounds that the child is in danger (danger of suicide, neglect, seldom because of sexual abuse), while, normally, no legal action is taken with respect to the criminal responsibility of the perpetrators. "Until children can be encouraged to seek an immediate intervention .... the child will be left alone as the guardian of a self-incriminating secret, which no responsible adult can believe." (Summit, cited in Rennefeld, 1993, p. 25) These difficulties are not only due to institutional structures. The question concerning institutional help is dependent on the (lack of) knowledge of childhood

I. Emmerich and G. Neubauer

174

(e.g., sexuality, credibility, therapy ability, etc.), and on the social problem situations of children. Here, theoretical findings on socialization and development must be introduced to a greater degree.

Notes 1.

2.

3.

4.

In his study published in 1993, Gerhard Amendt questioned 903 mothers who had sons. He established that washing of the penis by the mother was still perfectly common even when the sons were quite old. Seventy percent of the mothers referred to the fact that the development of the penis should be checked regularly (p. 195). For the criminal elements of the offense of "sexual abuse of children" (§ 176 StGB), a relation of 1:5 prosecuted to not prosecuted criminal offenses is assumed by Baurmann (1991a). Other authors repeatedly refer to Baurmann when estimating the number of unknown cases. The number of registered offenses for 1991 was 14,554, from which we can assume 72,770 cases of sexual abuse on children, in which 83,110 children were victims, so that a number in the order of 80,000 (60,000 girls and 20,000 boys) is presumably the closest to the truth. In spite of this, Kavemann and Lohstöter's (1984, p. 28) figure of 300,000 is quoted repeatedly by many authors who lay claim to Baurmann's number of unknown cases of 1:20 for themselves. Baurmann's (1983) cited investigation is given erroneously as a source. In addition, these authors give a relation of boys to girls of 1:5, and thus they assume 250,000 girls and 50,000 boys as victims. The two investigations by Bange ( 1992) and Burger and Reiter ( 1993) are of interest in this context, as offenses that were made public can be compared with those that were not. As shown in other studies, the majority of perpetrators were known to their victims: Burger and Reiter's (1993) study illustrates that, particularly in the cases registered at counseling centers, the perpetrators are predominantly relatives of their victims (among the girls: 36% natural fathers, 30% step, foster-, adoptive fathers, partners of the mother; among the boys: 23% and 30% respectively). Mothers are not mentioned, which is also brought out by Bange's investigation among college students. Of a total of 518 female college students who took part in the survey, 2.2% were sexually abused by their fathers, and barely 1% by a teacher, while 1 girl in 10 was sexually abused by an acquaintance and about 1 in 25 by a friend (pp. 97-98). The last figures, in particular, indicate that the sexual abuse of girls investigated by Bange is often carried out by adolescent acquaintances or friends. Thirtyseven percent of the female student victims stated that the perpetrator was no older than 18. In about a quarter of the cases, they only go as far as forced kissing, embraces, and taking hold of the girls' breasts (28%). More than half of the perpetrators touched the girls' genitals, forced them to masturbate, or to show their genitals (51%). At least a fifth raped the girls anally, orally, or vaginally or attempted to (21%). Exactly half of the perpetrators used physical violence to force the sexual acts on their victims (Bange, 1992, pp. 112-113). Even though Bange indicates that the perpetrators from the circle of friends and acquaintances resort to physical violence more than family members (p. 110), it must be noted that the majority of perpetrators were scarcely older than their victims and so were at a similar stage of development. "The findings show a high readiness among boys to enforce their sexual desires without regard for the will of the girl or boy victim" (p. 113). This was the experience that about a third of the victims had between the ages of 13 and 16. One third had these experiences between the ages of 10 and 12 or earlier. In Burger and Reiter's study, 41% of the victims were under 10,19% between 10 and 12, and 40% between 13 and 18. In Burger and Reiter's (1992) study, of the total number of persons counseled, only 29% of those represented were sexually abused girls and 3% boys. As well as the victims, for the

Sexual Abuse

175

most part mothers are counseled (24%), while fathers (5%) and sisters or brothers (2%) only make up a small fraction in counseling. The contact persons from outside the family with a total of 21% make up a significant proportion of the clientle in counseling, of whom workers from educational and counseling institutions make up 18%. Counseling is rarely given to workers from women's centers and to policewomen; they make up 2% and 1% respectively. The perpetrators with 3% also represent only a very small fraction of the instances (p. 63). If we view the cases that have been cleared up in relation to those in which counseling was given, it is striking that only 35% of the victims received counseling (38% girls, 20% boys). Also when the number of referred cases is taken into account, the figures for counseling and referral seen as a whole lead us to the presumption that counseling as a basic form of care reaches only a small percentage of the victims .... If we assume that receiving care is a minimal expectation of victims, when they come to one of the institutions consulted, then the remaining figures indicate an alarming deficit, (p. 66) On the whole, girls seem to receive more care than boys, or do fewer boys take advantage of counseling and therapeutic services than girls? The proportion of victims who have not used available counseling possibilities cannot be elicited from the data. Even if this question could be answered positively, it would make one consider whether the range on offer itself, the form in which the offer was made, or the attendant circumstances were acceptable for the victims [also gender-specific] (p. 66)

References Alexander, P. C. & Lupfer, S. L. (1987). Family characteristics and long-term consequences associated with sexual abuse. Archive of Sexual Behavior, 16,235-245. Amendt, G. (1993). Wie Mutter ihre Söhne sehen. Fulda: Ikaru. Bärmann, U., Hesse, S., & Neubauer, G. (1990). Sexualpädagogik undAIDS-Prävention in der Jugendarbeit. (Abschlußbericht für den Minister für Arbeit, Gesundheit und Soziales Nordrhein-Westfalen). Bielefeld. Bärmann, U., Emmerich, I., & Neubauer, G. (1991). AIDS-Prävention in einem Stadtteil. Ergebnisse und Erfahrungen. (Abschlußbericht für den Minister für Arbeit, Gesundheit und Soziales Nordrhein-Westfalen). Bielefeld. Bange, D. (1992). Die dunkle Seite der Kindheit. Sexueller Mißbrauch an Mädchen und Jungen. Köln: Volksblatt. Baurmann, M. C. (1983). Sexualität, Gewalt und psychische Folgen. Wiesbaden: Forschungsreihe des Bundekriminalamtes, Vol. 15. Beck, U. (1986). Risikogesellschaft. Auf dem Weg in eine andere Moderne. Frankfurt: Suhrkamp. Behnken, I. & Zinnecker, J. (1987). Vom Straßenkind zum verhäuslichten Kind. Zur Modernisierung städtischer Kindheit. Sowi, 16 (2), 87-96. Beitchman, J. H., Zucker, K. J., Hood, J. E., da Costa G. Α., & Akman, D. (1992). A review of the longterm effects of child sexual abuse. Child Abuse and Neglect, 16, 101-118. Bertram, H. & Borrmann-Müller, R. (1988). Individualisierung und Pluralisierung familialer Lebensformen. Aus Politik und Zeitgeschehen, 13/88,14-23. Brinkmann, W. (1993). Kindesmißhandlung und Kinderschutz: Problemangemessene Hilfen zwischen karitativer Mildtätigkeit und fürsorglicher Belagerung. In G. Graeßner, Ch. Mauntel, & E. Püttbach (Eds.), Gefährdungen von Kindern (pp. 94-122). Opladen: Leske + Budrich. Browne, A. & Finkelhor, D. (1986). Initial and long-term effects: A review of the research. In D. Finkelhor (Ed.), A sourcebook on child sexual abuse (pp. 143-179). Newbury Park, CA: Sage. Browning, D. H. & Boatman, B. (1977). Incest: Children at risk. American Journal ofPsychiat-

176

I. Emmerich and G. Neubauer

ry, 134,69-72. Büchner, P. (1990). Aufwachsen in den 80er Jahren. Zum Wandel kindlicher Normalbiographien in der Bundesrepublik Deutschland. In P. Büchner, H.-H. Krüger, & L. Chrisholm (Eds ), Kindheit und Jugend im interkulturellen Vergleich (pp. 79-93). Opladen: Leske + Budrich. Burbach, D. J. & Bordin, C. M. (1986). Parent-child relations and the etiology of depression. Clinical Psychological Review, 6, 133-153. Burger, E. & Reiter, Κ. (1993). Sexueller Mißbrauch von Kindern und Jugendlichen. Intervention und Prävention. Stuttgart: Kohlhammer. Dannecker, M. (1987). Das Drama der Sexualität. Frankfurt: Athenaeum. Draijer, N. (1990). Die Rolle sexuellen Mißbrauchs und körperlicher Mißhandlung in der Ätiologie psychischer Störungen bei Frauen. In J. Martinius, & R Frank (Eds.), Vernachlässigungen, Mißbrauch und Mißhandlung von Kinder. Erkennen, Bewußtmachen, Helfen (pp. 128142). Bern: Huber. Elias, N. (1981). Über den Prozeß der Zivilisation. (2 vols.), Frankfurt: Suhrkamp. Finkelhor, D. (1979). Sexually victimized children. New York: Free Press. Finkelhor, D. & Rüssel, D. Ε. H. (1984). Woman as perpetrators. In D. Finkelhor (Ed.), Child sexual abuse (pp. 171-187). New York: Free Press. Finkelhor, D. (Ed.).(1984). Child sexual abuse. New theory and research. New York: Free Press. Finkelhor, D. (1986). Abuses: A review of the research. In D. Finkelhor (Ed.), A sourcebook on child sexual abuse (pp. 119-142). Newbury Park, CA: Sage. Fümiss, T. H. (1991). The multi-professional handbook of child sexual abuse. Integrated management, therapy, and legal intervention. London: Sage. Gomes-Schwartz, B., Horowitz, J. M., & Cardarelli, A. P. (1990). Child sexual abuse: The initial effects. Newbury Park, CA: Sage Hageman-White, C. (1992). Bestandsanalyse des Helferinnensystems im Bereich Gewalt gegen Frauen und Mädchen in Niedersachsen. (Gutachten für das niedersächsische Frauenministerium). Hannover. Harris, T., Brown, G. W., & Bifolco, A. (1986). Loss of parent in childhood and adult psychiatric disorder: The role of lack of adequate parental care. Psychological Medicine, 16,441-459. Heitmeyer, W. & Olk, Th. (Eds.).(1990). Individualisierung von Jugend. Weinheim: Juventa. Herman, J. L. (1991). Father-daughter incest. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. Honig, M.-S. (1992). Verhäuslichte Gewalt. Frankfurt: Suhrkamp. Kaufman, J., Peck, A. L., & Tagiuri, C. K. (1954). The family constellation and overt incestuous relations between father and daughter. American Journal of Ortho-psychiatry, 24,266-279. Kavemann, B. & Lohstöter, J. (1985. Plädaoyer fur das Recht von Mädchen auf sexuell Selbstbestimmung. In Β. Kavemann (Ed.), Sexualität: Unterdrückung statt Entfaltung (pp. 9-94). Opladen: Leske + Budrich. Kinzl, J., Schett, P., Wanko, K„ & Biebl, W. (1992). Langzeitfolgen sexueller Mißbrauchserfahrungen bei einer nichtklinischen Gruppe. Psychologie der Medizin, 5(4), 13-17. Kinzl, J. & Biebl, W. (1992). Sexueller Mißbrauch in der Kindheit und Jugend: Prävalenzraten und Risikofaktoren, (unpublishedpaper) Innsbruck. Kutchinsky, B. (1991). Sexueller Mißbrauch von Kindern. Verbreitung, Phänomenologie und Prävention. Zeitschrift für Sexualforschung, 4, 35-44. Lempp, R. (1989a). Sexueller Mißbrauch. Kinder- und Jugendpsychiatrie, 5,590. Lempp, R. (1989b). Mißhandlung und sexueller Mißbrauch. In C. Eggers, R Lempp, G. Nissen, & P. Strunk (Eds.), Kinder- und Jugendpsychiatrie (pp. 587-593). Berlin: Springer. Madonna, P. G., Van Scoyh, S. & Jones, D. P. H. (1991). Family interactions within incest and nonincest families. American Journal of Psychiatry, 148, 46-49. Mitzlaff, E. (1989). Prävention: Gespräche mit Eltern. Pro Familia Magazin, 17(2), 81-87. Neubauer, G. (1990). Jugendphase und Sexualität. Eine empirische Überprüfung eines sozialisationstheoretischen Modells. Stuttgart: Enke.

Sexual Abuse

ill

Neubauer, G., Emmerich, I., & Achterwinter, D. (1993). Gefährdungslagen in "verinselten" Lebensräumen: Sexueller Mißbrauch. In Zentrum fur Kindheits- und Jugendforschung (Ed.), Wandlungen der Kindheit (pp. 163-181). Opladen: Leske + Budrich. Offe, H„ Offe, S., & Wetzeis, P. (1992). Zum Umgang des Verdachts des sexuellen Kindesmißbrauch. Neue Praxis, 240-256. Ostendorf, H. (1986). Strafrechtliche Sozialkontrolle gegenüber dem sexuellen Mißbrauch von Kindern im sozialen Nahraum in der Bundesrepublik Deutschland. In D. Lünebach et al. (Eds ), Sexueller Mißbrauch von Kindern in Familien (pp. 148-161). Köln: Heymann. Paricer, G. (1983). Parental >affectionless control< as an antecedent of adult depression. Archives of General Psychiatry, 20, 956-960. Rennefeld, B. (1993). Institutionelle Hilfen fur Opfer von sexuellem Mißbrauch. Ansätze und Arbeitsformen in den USA. Bielefeld: Böllert. Renvoize, J. (1982). Incest: A family pattern. London: Routledge & Kegan Paul. Risin, L. I. & Me Ñamara, J. R. (1989). Validation of child sexual abuse. The Psychologist 's Journal of Clinical Psychology, 45,175-184. Rüssel, D. E. H. (1986). The secret trauma. Incest in lives of girls and woman. New York: Basic Books. Rutschky, K. (1992). Erregte Aufklärung - Kindesmißhandlung. Fakten und Fiktionen. Hamburg: Klein. Schneider, H. J. (1987). Kriminologie. München: Beck. Watkins, B. & Bentovim, A. (1992). The sexual abuse of male children and adolescents. A review of current research. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 33,197-248. Zeiher, H. & Zeiher, H. J. (1991). Wie Kinderalltag zustande kommt. In Ch. Berg (Ed.), Kinderwelten (pp. 243-269). Frankfurt: Suhrkamp. Zeiher, H. (1988). Verselbständigte Zeit - selbständigere Kinder? Neue Sammlung, 28 (1), 75-92.

Part 4 Individualization and Education

Educational Perspectives and Psychosocial Problems of East German Adolescents Christian Palentien, Käte Pollmer, and Klaus Hurrelmann

1. Introduction By the autumn of 1990, the political unification of Germany had been accomplished: The political change {Wende) that began in the German Democratic Republic (GDR) one year earlier, accompanied by numerous demonstrations and the opening of the borders to Czechoslovakia and Hungary, came to an end. Already in 1989, it had become apparent that this ending was only the beginning of a lengthy process: To this day, the restructuring that had begun in the previous East German states continues to be highly dynamic. Social, cultural, and economic differences that have their origins in a 40-year period of different histories of the two German states are being overcome rather slowly. In this paper, we examine how East German adolescents cope with the changed conditions in their lives caused by the political unification of the two German states. What are the opportunities for adolescents who are faced with a completely new cultural and social system? How do they cope with the educational and occupational opportunities in a situation of insecurity and unemployment? How do the adolescents themselves evaluate the opportunities and conditions that are offered to them for the future arrangement of their lives where further education and professional careers are concerned? Our answers to these questions are based on representative samples in two surveys that were carried out in 1990 and 1992 by the Research Center "Prevention and Intervention in Childhood and Adolescence" at Bielefeld University.

2. The Study The first survey was carried out in November/December 1990, immediately after the completion of German unification, among 3,700 adolescents between the ages of 15 and 18. In some selected regions of East Germany, special regard was given to a representative distribution of the various types of education and training

182

Ch. Palentien, Κ. Pollmer, and K.

Hurrelmann

pursued by the adolescents. This survey was repeated in November/December 1992 among a cohort of 3,400 adolescents. The composition of this group was the same as in 1990with regard to age and region. Some additional questions were added in the 1992 questionnaires. Schools were sampled randomly in each survey. Within schools, another random sampling was carried out among classes in a large city (Dresden), a middle sized city (Chemnitz), and a rural area (Landkreis Leipzig). The selection of areas is an approximate representation of settlement and population structures in the biggest federal state of East Germany, the state of Saxony. Due to the fact that the sample surveys and means of inquiry at both times of evaluation were identical, the resulting design is a quasilongitudinal one. The 2-year period for which our survey allows comparisons enables us to examine the dynamics in the development of adolescents in the relevant age groups during the process of unification: The participants in the 1992 survey had experienced the new conditions of life over a considerably longer span of time. Adolescents interviewed in 1990 were affected much more directly and recently by political unification. Thus, they were more critical in evaluating their present experiences and tended to measure them in relative terms. These comparisons in relation to the situation in the former GDR were much less relevant for the respondents in 1992. It would be a mistake, however, to assume that the circumstances of their lives have changed positively in the course of the general restructuring since German unification. We may assume that young peoples' hopes for a quick economic boom are reduced in the present situation in comparison to those interviewed in 1990. Even the politicians who were then optimistically announcing favorable prognoses admit their errors today. Increasing unemployment figures and imminent cuts in social spending are clear indicators that the promised Aufschwung Ost (Economic Boom East) has been deferred. Our study enables us to evaluate impressions and assessments of the relevant age groups in the year of unification (1990) and in the "year of normalization" (1992) in a kind of time-lapse process. The questionnaire and survey method of the 1990 investigation in the East German state of Saxony was the same as a representative survey conducted in North Rhine-Westphalia, in order to permit a comparison between East German and West German adolescents during this time period. In the following section, we examine the educational and vocational situation of adolescents. Then we present data on the adolescents' psychological well-being. In our conclusion, we discuss the general findings.

East German Adolescents

183

3. The Assement of Educational and Vocational Training Since the political change, adolescents in East Germany are experiencing the bright as well as the dark sides of a highly industrialized and competitive society. They are faced with these aspects mostly through the already existing trend toward higher education and through the ensuing demands for individual motivation of abilities and advancement. The restructuring of the educational system in Saxony, after vehement debate, was implemented finally at the beginning of 1992. Saxony was the last state in which this restructuring took place: The educational system, which had formerly been an integrated system for all students until Grade 10, was now divided from the 5th grade on, so that there would be a choice between a relatively unattractive Realschule track (Inter-mediate School), leading to "blue-collar" jobs and technical occupations, and a Gymnasium track (Grammar School), leading to college and university education and the highly attractive "white-collar" and professional jobs. For the first time, parents and their children in Saxony were faced with an early decision about the type of further education that they would undertake after elementary school. After 4 years of elementary school (usually at the age of 10), students now had to leave their original peer group and choose between different levels of secondary education. The implementation of the educational system in the state of Saxony follows the model of the West German states. All signs point to an increasing similarity of educational structures in the previous West German states and the previous East German states. Parents in Eastern Germany realize that the initial course for the professional positions and social status of future adult roles is set at a very early point, that is, through educational tracking after elementary school level. Educational Participation As early as 1990, it was obvious that a restructuring of the educational system in Saxony was imminent and that admission to Gymnasien (grammar schools) would be made easier compared with the very restrictive GDR tradition. At this point, conceptions for a new school system were discussed very intensively: Parents and their children had already been informed about the new possibilities, though they did not yet know exactly what to expect in their cities and communi-ties. There was a rapidly growing awareness that the Abitur, the German school-learning certificate providing university and college entrance qualifications, was gaining considerable importance as a starting point for the achievement of future social status. For instance, in 1990, 17% of the respondents in elementary school (Grades 3 and 4) in Saxony wanted to attain an Abitur. In the spring of 1991, a comparative survey among students in elementary school in Leipzig showed that already 43% hoped to attain an Abitur (Pollmer & Hurrelmann, 1992).

184

Ch. Palentien, Κ. Pollmer, and K. Hurrelmann

The changes in educational participation that were emerging already in 1990 and 1991 had developed fully in 1992: The number of Gymnasium students (5th graders) in Saxony has stabilized at 35% to 40%, depending on the area. Thus, proportions of transition to the most highly valued of form of secondary schools (i.e., Gymnasium) are now on equal levels in Saxony and West Germany. In the East German states of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Thüringen, Brandenburg, and Sachsen-Anhalt, where the school system had been brought in line with West German structures as early as 1990, figures on students progressing to Gymnasien ranged at about 30%, compared to 37% in the eastern part of Berlin (Rolff, 1992). In all of these states, a further increase in these numbers is emerging in 1992/1993. Thus, Saxony, with its 35 to 40%, ranks quite highly in the number of transitions to the higher levels of school education. In all East German states, then, Gymnasien prove to be a very attractive choice among school forms. Parents and youngsters view them as a guarantee for an educational track that is highly valued in society; the background to this belief is that the Abitur is estimated very highly - both by employers and by the economic world. Furthermore, the Gymnasium symbolizes the "Western" type of education. Thus, it may be assumed that this mentality plays a role in the high estimation of this educational track. Only some of the adolescents who aim to complete Abitur also intend to use it as a "ticket" to a university education. Thirty-six percent of Gymnasium students in Saxony plan to continue with university studies immediately after leaving school, 9% plan to continue with studies at a polytechnic, and 24% want to start vocational training. Again, these numbers emphasize the high "prestige" value of the Abitur as a kind of qualification that opens the way to numerous options for further training as well as to a wide range of professions without having to make a definite choice immediately after leaving school. Changes in School Climate The effects of the restructuring of the educational and vocational system in the previous East German states did not just become visible on a structural level. In many places, curricular and legal reforms, changes with regard to content, and changes in personnel have led to changes within school life and continue to do so. In order to examine these changes, we gave the students a list of various issues related to teaching. We asked them which of the changes given on the list had actually occurred. The 1990 survey (one year after the Wende) had shown already that the majority of students in Eastern Germany had the impression that educational demands were higher than in the previous year. Fifty-four percent of the students thought that grade allocation by teachers was more rigid. Students agreed that they

185

East German Adolescents

definitely had to work harder than the year before. School certainly was not a source of contentment or pleasure, rather, the contrary was the case. Additional findings from 1992 confirm the 1990 statements on practically every point. Similarly, the adolescents in 1992 felt very strongly the change toward an educational system based upon higher competitive standards with its demands on individual achievement. Future Perspectives of Educational Tracks The higher educational demands faced by the students do not impart the subjective certainty of successful graduation. In their answers to the question "To what extent are you certain/uncertain to achieve the diploma/qualification you are aiming for?" the respondents said they were fairly certain they would finish school successfully. Table 1:

Certainty of Achieving Desired School-Learning Certificates in 1990 and 1992 (Percentage of Adolescents)

1990

1992

Absolutely Certain (1)

13

8

Fairly Certain (2)

42

50

Uncertain (3)

37

36

Fairly Certain (4)

7

5

Totally uncertain (5)

2

1

M

2.43

2.40

η

1,917

1,943

Possible answers

Table 1 shows that, in spite of the considerable changes in educational and training structures that occurred during this time, the subjective feeling of certainty about the educational track has not changed among East German adolescents since 1990. It is possible that the surprisingly high level of confidence, which quite surpasses that of their West German peers, still reflects the years of experience that students had with the grading methods in the former GDR. Reasons for failing at school were never ascribed solely to the students' individual behavior, their abilities, or their motivation. It was judged equally as a possible failing and a sign of the teachers' lack of competence. To a large extent, poor marks were an absolute exception in the former GDR (Mansel et al., 1992, p. 53).

186

Ch. Palentien, Κ. Pollmer, and K. Hurrelmann

In 1990, about 10% of all adolescents in Saxony reported that they had been faced with a risk of having to repeat the previous year of school. This answer was given by about 50% of the respondents in the North Rhine-Westphalia sample of our study. In fact, approximately one third of all students in the Western state of North Rhine-Westphalia had already repeated a year once. In Saxony, this figure is approximately only 2% of all students (Mansel et al., 1992, p. 54). As the two regions of Germany become more similar, these differences can be expected to diminish. Thus, we expect a convergence in the estimates of the likelihood of attaining desired diplomas. The Evaluation of the Educational/Vocational Situation Not only students in school but also adolescents engaged in vocational training were affected by the radical structural changes after 1989. For a long time, adolescents in the former GDR were introduced to specific jobs at a very early stage after finishing 10 years of school, depending on the planned requirements for the work force in regional industrial branches. So, the adolescents were not always aware of discrepancies between individual interests and vocational requirements. The political and economic changes as well as changes in society and the ensuing loss of stability caused by political unification can thus be seen as a reason for fundamental alterations in individual planning of future perspectives. Reasons for profound experiences of uncertainty also may be found here. In order to address this question, we asked the East German adolescents in vocational training, "How certain are you that you will achieve the type of career you have in mind?" (Possible answers: 1 [absolutely certain] to 4 [totally uncertain]). Table 2: Certainity of Achieving Desired Job in 1990 and 1992 (Percentage of Adolescents) 1990

1992

M

η

M

η

Male

4.66

322

4.43

285

Female

4.14

317

4.27

230

First year of training/apprenticeship

Second year of training/appenticeship Male

4.51

201

4.30

371

Female

4.07

298

4.10

258

East German Adolescents

187

According to Table 2, it is especially the male East German apprentices who are increasingly uncertain about their occupational future. As the subdivision of the survey population into first- and second-year apprentices indicates, this uncertainty increases as they approach the end of vocational training. This was the case in 1990 as well as in 1992. It may be assumed that the younger apprentices base their greater confidence on hopes, however vague these may be. TTiis is done, however, without a realistic assessment of the situation on the labor market and the young peoples' personal chances in it. The gender-specific distribution of the answers shows that the female apprentices are significantly more uncertain about their future than their male peers when asked to estimate the likelihood of fulfilling their career plans. Very likely, this reflects a realization that women face significant disadvantages in tight economic situations. Comparing the results of the Saxony survey with those of our survey in North Rhine-Westphalia, we find that there is a similar, although less significant difference. As in Saxony, it was also the female apprentices who were less confident about their occupational futures in 1990. Yet, on the whole, the firstand second-year apprentices in North Rhine-Westphalia were much more certain about the fulfillment of their occupational plans (male trainees m = 4,87, η = 388; female trainees m = 4,62, η = 447) than their counterparts in Saxony in the same year (Mansel et al., 1992, p. 65). In general, there has been a perceivable alignment of the new East German states with the "old" Federal Republic of Germany in terms of educational participation. We have to realize, however, that we are by no means faced with a simple reproduction process of the subjective assimilation of this structural alignment toward "Western" trends. Adolescents as well as adults are only gradually overcoming social, political, and economic differences that have their origins in an almost 40-year long period of different histories. This process has two implications: On the one hand, these biographical contexts can have positive effects on the above-mentioned subjective certainty of achieving certain certificates. On the other hand, this presents adolescents with difficult demands on their capability to adapt to and change within their new lifeworld. Evaluation of Occupational Perspectives Although the uncertainty about the general occupational aspirations of East German adolescents has increased in 1992 in comparison to 1990, the more recent data show a more positive picture of evaluations of actual job chances (Table 3).

188

Ch. Palentien, Κ. Pollmer, and K.

Hurrelmann

Table 3 : Degree of Subjective Certainty Regarding Their Occupational Future of Adolescents in Saxony

1990

1992

M

η

M

η

Male

5.55

333

5.62

286

Female

4.88

316

4.97

233

Male

5.25

202

5.32

373

Female

4.53

298

4.74

260

First year of training/apprenticeship

Second year of training/appenticeship

Question: "Do you think that the profession you are aiming at will grant you a secure future?" (Possible answers: 1 [No, I don't think so] to 7 [Yes, I'm absolutely certain]).

Table 3 shows that the 1992 responses were significantly more positive than those of 1990. Again, we find that the male respondents were optimistic about their occupational future. Beside this gender-specific similarity, there exists a second analogy to the general uncertainty regarding future occupations: Younger apprentices were more generally secure about their occupational perspectives than their older counterparts. On the whole, it can be concluded that the East German adolescents in 1992 were more uncertain than adolescents of their age group in 1990 where the estimation of a realization of their general occupational expectations was concerned. There is no such uncertainty, though, when adolescents evaluated their individual occupational perspectives: Respondents in 1992 were more convinced than those in 1990 to have chosen an occupation that would assure them of a secure future. We think that these results point to an assimilation process regarding the new starting position that the adolescents find themselves in. That is, the high-flying plans that the adolescents in 1990 thought to be able to convert into action—spurred by the enthusiasm that had been triggered by unification—have vanished or been reduced in 1992, while the "solid" plans have stabilized during this time.

East German Adolescents

189

4. Psychological and Social Uncertainty The individual possibilities of adolescents and their parents in the East German states have increased as a result of radical changes in education as well as in vocational training. Besides having the opportunity to choose individual vocational training, they also are concerned with the individual decision in favor of or against a specific educational track or occupation. . The structure of economic and social opportunities makes the kind of individualization we have described above more difficult. The adolescents come up against limiting material factors, for example, numerous markets in East Germany are managed solely from the West German states. As a consequence, there has been a loss of industrial centers and jobs in Eastern Germany. The establishment of new industries is proceeding rather hesitantly, and wages and salaries have not increased as much as expected. These processes of sociopolitical differentiation have led to the emergence of a so-called "two-thirds society" in Western Germany (i.e., a society in which one third of the population is branded as underprivileged in contrast to the two thirds who are well off). In Eastern Germany an alarming development toward deprivation affects a considerable part of society: 60% find themselves at the bottom of the social scale. East German adolescents are confronted with these problems indirectly through their parents and directly by the lack of vocational traning opportunities. There is a strong feeling of discrepancy between the demands for their own future way of life and its planning on the one side and the objectively existant opportunities to enforce these demands on the other side. This is clearly elucidated by the results of interviews with the apprentices from Saxony in which they were asked to estimate their individual and general occupational perspectives. Therefore, although there is more freedom due to the yet unknown amount of career and life options, there may also be new sources of strain during adolescence. Along with these new options, we have to notice the demands for an early development of individual action perspectives. Even a high qualification, however, will not guarantee a job or place in vocational training. Adolescents in Eastern Germany are confronted with these new constraints. They have a decisive influence on developments related to this life stage, for example, the breaking away from parental ties and dependency, becoming economically independent, and changing problems related to the formation of one's own family. Emotional Stress In order to be able to evaluate adolescents' subjective emotional stress arising from the numerous processes of change, we confronted the respondents in Eastern

190

Ch. Palentien, Κ. Pollmer, and K.

Hurrelmann

Germany with a list of different feelings. The adolescents were asked to evaluate how often they found themselves in various negative emotional states. Possible answers ranged from 1 (never) to 4 (frequently). A comparison of the 1990 and 1992 results indicates an increase in the overall reported feelings of stress. The mean values differ considerably: 1990: 1.40 negative feelings; 1992:1.81 negative feelings. Thus, the general emotional stress of the adolescents after the political unification of Germany has increased perceivably. We have labeled this stress Vereinigungsstreß (unification stress). The emotional stress of students in Saxony should be seen primarily in connection with heavy school performance pressures. This fact is documented by the following correlations (Table 4). We asked students about their subjective experience of strain at school: "How strongly do you feel strained by what is demanded of you at school/work?" Possible answers ranged on a scale from 0 (no strain) to 10 (very high strain).

Table 4: Comparison of Means of School Stress in 1990 and 1992 and Intercorrelations Between School Strain and Emotional Strain (Pearson's r) 1990

1992

5.28"*

6.07*"

.29***

.32"*

Experience of strain at school M Experience of strain at school and degree of emotional stress/strain Pearson's r "'p < .001.

Besides the reported extent of emotional and performance stressors, we wanted to find out if these results reflect a general trend. In order to do so, we have tried to determine predictors of a negative emotional self-image by way of regression analysis. In our 1990 and 1992 surveys, we asked the respondents from Eastern Germany to describe themselves by answering the following question: "How do you see yourself?" Respondents answered two sets of four questions each. One set of questions contained positive self-descriptions (e.g., "On the whole I am content with myself'), and the other set contained negative self-descriptions (e.g.,

191

East German Adolescents

"Sometimes I feel totally unimportant"). They had to give self-ratings on a scale ranging from 1 (absolutely right) to 4 (absolutely wrong). Our primary interest lay in the negative self-image in the context of strain. Thus, we summarized all possible answers into a sum index of negative self-evaluation. We calculated the frequency of negative answers to the positive self-image items and the frequency of positive answers to the negative self-evaluation items, so that we would be able to examine predictors of negative self-image by means of a multiple regression analysis (Table 5). In the analysis, variables of diverse dimensions serve as predictors. Table 5: Predictors of Adolescents' Negative Self-image in 1990 and 1992 (beta Coefficients and Multiple Regression Coefficients) Predictors variables

1990

1992

Personal hopes caused by reunification

.03*

.15***

Worries caused by reunification

.02

19***

Fear of continuing unemployment

.03* 49***

07***

Status attributed to success at school/jobs

12***

Level of contentment with success at school/job Multiple R

.02

.59

.34

>