Connotations of Morality'; The Views of Some Adults on the Standards and Behaviour of Adolescents

N ANALYS I S of the climate of opinion on the moral standards > of young people as revealed in recent official reports and con£ Xferences shows a good deal of confusion and uncertainty about the facts and the interpretation of the facts supposedly indicative of values current among adolescents today.l The recent correspondence in fhe Times (Sept./Oct. I96I) initiated by the Rev. Leslie Weatherhead included a spate of assertions and counter-assertions from clergymen, doctors, sociologists, teachers, parents and even a few of the young people themselves. A study of these underlines the importance of attempting to clarify the various standpoints taken up by adults in contemporary society since their pronouncements inevitably influence the current image of 'young people' no less than the widely publicised commercial stereotypes of the 'teenager'. To this end a questionnaire was sent to Juvenile Court Magistrates, Probation Officers and Youth Leaders in London. This constituted an invitation to express their views on the values and standards of young people in contemporary society. 2 The objectives of this exploratory phase were to elucidate the connotations of 'moral' and 'morality' among some responsible and influential groups of adults in direct contact with young people and to assess the main moral qualities they regard as important. A further aim was to obtain information on how young people's behaviour is seen through the eyes of some adults in positions of authority. The adults from whom the opinions were elicited fall into two categories-(I) those whose role is to administer the maintenance of law and order, to deal with offenders, and to handle the social problems of young people; (2) those who deal with young people in their leisure time, fulfilling a role which is primarily that of leader or benefactor. The respondents were not asked to give their names, only age, sex, and category being required. It is, 243

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