A r c h i v e d  I n f o r m a t i o n

Adolescents' Problem Behaviors

Since 1977 the number of problem behaviors among Japanese children and adolescents has risen steadily. According to Sengoku et al. (1987), the trend now is for juvenile delinquents to be younger, problem behaviors to be carried out in groups and to be of a more violent nature, and for more girls to engage in problem behaviors than in the past.

Nihon Seishonen Kenkyusho (1984) studied the prevalence of various forms of deviant behavior among a sample of junior high school students (table 7).

Table 7-Percentages of junior high school students engaging in deviant behaviors

Another survey by Nihon Seishonen Kenkyusho (1985) asked teachers whether there were students in their class who engaged in the behaviors listed in table 7. These percentages appear in table 8. Comparing the percentages in both tables, there are differences in the responses of students and teachers.

Table 8—Percentages of teachers who reported having students who engaged in certain problem behaviors

Bullying or Teasing

Although it occurs in almost every industrialized society, bullying and teasing, known in Japanese as ijime, appears to be of special concern in Japan. A Japanese government White Paper on Youth reported that, in 1990, approximately 32,500 incidents of ijime were reported in schools throughout Japan-more than half of these in junior high schools (Somucho Seishonen Taisaku Honbu 1991). If these cases involved the victimization of only one child, 0.2 percent of Japanese schoolchildren were bullied in 1990. Though comparable data are difficult to obtain, it may be assumed that rates of bullying in Western industrialized nations are considerably higher than those in Japan (Smith and Thompson 1991).

More specifically, Hisatomi and Sato (1986) found that 31 percent of third-graders, 25 percent of fourth-graders, 13 percent of fifth-graders, 10 percent of sixth-graders, 17 percent of seventh-graders, and 8 percent of eighth-graders are victims of ijime.

For many Japanese psychologists, one of the most troubling aspects of the ijime phenomenon is that students who participate in ijime tend not to feel guilty about the cruel acts in which they engage. Additionally, there are often many student onlookers who appear to do nothing to stop the ijime and prefer not to get involved. Confirmation of such a statement may be found in a study by the Nihon Seishonen Kenkyusho (1984) directed toward students (table 9). Moreover, Hisatomi and Sato (1986) report that 30 percent of Japanese junior high school students consider teasing as "fun and not wrong." Almost one-third of both males and females said that ijime should be ignored, which suggests an indifference on the part of Japanese students to this form of deviant behavior.

Table 9—Responses to Teasing: "When You See Someone Teasing, What Should You Do?"

Avoiding School

Along with ijime, avoiding school represents the most talked-about and frequently studied form of deviant behavior among Japanese children and adolescents. Despite the widespread public attention that such behavior receives, the incidence of students refusing to go to school is relatively small. For example, in 1992, 0.94 percent of junior high school students refused to go to school (Monbusho 1993).

Children identified as having the school-refusal syndrome want to go to school and know they must go, but just cannot make themselves go. The syndrome usually begins with various psychosomatic symptoms, such as headaches and stomachaches. It then progresses to open refusal to go to school, moodiness, and sometime verbal and physical abuse of parents. In the final stage, the children often sink into a state of apathy and remain secluded in their rooms. One interpretation of why it is difficult for these children to go to school is that they are thought to internalize the expectations of teachers, parents, or authoritative others, while suppressing their own desires and needs. Such children are normally obedient, diligent "good children" who have for many years followed the wishes of their parents and ignored their own feelings (Takeuchi 1991). Faced with some setback, usually related to academic achievement, these children suddenly rebel, choosing to avoid the pain and disappointment of failure by refusing to go to school.

Using Illegal Substances

Substance abuse among children in Japan primarily takes the form of sniffing paint thinner, known in Japanese as shinna. In 1992, 1,677 junior high school students were caught sniffing paint thinner, 46.3 percent of whom were female. Of the 2,166 high school students who were caught sniffing paint thinner, 39.5 percent were female (Keisatsucho 1993).

In the same year, only 14 junior high school students were found using other forms of drugs such as marijuana, cocaine, or heroin; 12 were female. Among high school students, 39 used some kind of illicit drug; 31 were female (Keisatsucho 1993).

Behaving Violently

Violent behavior in school includes disturbing classes, destroying equipment and facilities, and committing violence against teachers. The Sorifu Seishonen Taisaku Honbu (1982) conducted a study in which they asked secondary school students if they had ever had the desire to punch a teacher; 26.5 percent of the males and 20 percent of the females said they had. Also, 32.9 percent of males and 27.6 percent of females said they wanted to commit some kind of violence in school.

Approximately 12 percent of the public junior high schools and 14.2 percent of the public high schools reported incidents of school violence in 1992. Violence against teachers was reported in 3.9 percent of junior high schools and 3.4 percent of high schools. Additionally, 9.7 percent of junior high schools and 12.5 percent of high schools reported incidents of student fighting; destruction of school property was reported by 2.7 percent of junior high schools and 1.5 percent of high schools (Somucho Seishonen Taisaku Honbu 1993).

Police were called in to control school violence in 523 junior highs and 44 high schools. Of the incidents in junior high schools, 301 involved violence against teachers; in high schools, only 8 acts of violence were aimed at the teacher (Keisatsucho 1993).

Dropping Out of School

In 1991, 2.1 percent of all students dropped out of high school; 1.5 percent had been attending public day schools, 2.3 percent private day schools, 14.8 percent public night schools, and 10 percent private night schools (Shimizu 1993).

Because guidance counselors usually try to encourage junior high students to enter some type of high school, whether or not the match is appropriate, some high school students find themselves with little motivation to succeed. Encountering adjustment problems, they soon drop out. The reason the dropout rate is higher among night school students than among day school students is that night school students include not only those who are working at full-time jobs during the day but those who have already dropped out from day school programs (Shimizu 1993).

Additional Problems

Three other behavioral problems receive a great deal of attention in Japan: juvenile delinquency, domestic violence, and suicide.

Juvenile delinquency. In 1992, 684,060 children, usually under age 20, were caught by police for delinquent behavior. The most common offense was smoking (46.7 percent). Others (26.6 percent) were caught wandering at night, riding in motorcycle gangs (7.2 percent), drinking (4.4 percent), and associating with other delinquents (3.4 percent) (Keisatsucho 1993). Twelve elementary, 1,033 junior high, and 1,144 high school students were caught by police engaging in illegal sexual behavior in 1992 (Keisatsucho 1993).

Domestic violenceThe number of incidents of aggression against parents reported to police in 1992 was 757. Of these, 450 were directed against the mother (Keisatsucho 1993).

Suicide. According to the Keisatsucho [Police Department] (1993), 16 elementary school, 91 junior high school, and 135 high school students committed suicide in 1992.

Possible Reasons Underlying Problem Behaviors

Pressure from Different Sources in Daily Life

Junior high school students exhibit more problem behaviors than any other segment of the school population. One reason may be that their developmental level, seen as a kind of limbo between childhood and adulthood, makes them more vulnerable to the stresses and pressures of the education system and the credentialistic society they are attempting to enter.

Japanese students live a school-oriented life and have fewer nonacademic roles or expectations than do American students. For example, a survey by Sengoku et al. (1987) found that more than half of Japanese junior high school students studied more than 1 hour a day. Of these same students, 73 percent reported never playing with friends, and 41 percent said they never did any chores. It is evident that Japanese students focus a great deal of attention on school. For Japanese students, the contents of conversations with parents usually revolve around school and grades (Sengoku et al. 1987), and their parents, teachers, and even the media put pressure on them to succeed. Various psychologists believe that the high value attached to school needs to be reduced and put into a broader perspective. Academic achievement, psychologists assert, should not be considered the only goal of an adolescent's life (Matsumoto 1985).

Social Organizations for Coping with Problem Behaviors

To deal with these growing behavioral problems among youth, Japan has developed a number of agencies and institutions both national and local. According to the Somucho Seishonen Taisaku Honbu (1993), the following organizations for coping with problem behaviors exist in Japan:

• Center for the Prevention of Delinquency (Seinen Hodo Senta). Administrators and volunteers work together to prevent delinquency. Guidance counselors talk to children on the streets, counsel troubled teens, and rid the neighborhood of negative influences (e.g., pornography shops). In 1992, there were 689 such centers throughout Japan, with 72,000 volunteer guidance counselors. Also, some communities have Mothers Centers (Haha no Kai) that perform the same role as the Center for the Prevention of Delinquency.

• Society for Prevention of Delinquency (Bohan Kyokai). This group is organized at the level of the police department in each community to prevent crime and violence and promote children's healthy development. There are 705,621 contact sites for this type of organization throughout Japan.

• Council for Contact Between School and Police (Gakko Keisatsu Renraku Kyogikai). Organized to prevent delinquency and school violence. 2,900 councils exist in Japan. About 90 percent of elementary, junior high, and high schools participate in this program.

• Police Operation for Guiding Youth. Police departments have a youth unit that dispatches male and female officers to popular youth hangouts, amusement centers, and parks where juvenile delinquency is likely to occur. When delinquents are found, they are given counseling based on the seriousness of their offense, family background, personality, peer relationships, and extent of parental discipline.

• Police Department's Section for Child Counseling. Police provide counseling to both children and parents. Troubled youths can call Youth Telephone Hot Lines at any time.

• Child and Adolescent Facility (Kyogoin). A detention facility for children under age 15.

• Adolescent Facility (Shonenin). A 1-year facility for delinquent adolescents between the ages of 15 and 20 for the purpose of detention and treatment. Does not house individuals who have committed serious crimes.

• Adolescent Prison (Shonen Keimusho). A detention facility for individuals up to age 26. Inmates include those who have committed serious crimes.

Summary

The inordinate emphasis in Japan on gaining a credential from a top-ranking university has led Japanese social scientists and educators to describe modern Japan as a credentialist society (gakureki shakai). In such a society, where academic achievement becomes a primary social and human value, it is no surprise that school occupies a central role in the lives of Japanese adolescents. The importance of school for Japanese adolescents can be seen in a number of ways. For example, the vast majority of Japanese students' time is devoted to schoolwork and school-related activities. In comparison, relatively little time is allocated to leisure activities such as reading, sports, and socializing with friends. Also, academic achievement is not only the main topic of conversation between mothers and children but is also the chief worry of Japanese mothers of junior high children.

Although admission to a prestigious university is Japanese students' ultimate goal, actual competition for college entrance begins in the last year of junior high school, and revolves around passing entrance examinations, first to high school and then to some form of postsecondary education. Because of the importance of the entrance examinations, teachers tend to teach to the examination, at the same time trying to cover the standard material required by the national curriculum. As a result, the knowledge taught in the schools seems to be fragmented, lacking cohesion, and sometimes overwhelming. About 50 percent of Japanese junior high students say that they would like the content of lessons to be easier. About 40 percent say that they would like the total number of lesson hours to be reduced. Forty percent of Japanese junior high school teachers also complain that there is too much content in the lessons. Data suggest, however, that students generally have a positive attitude toward studying for the entrance examination. Such an attitude among students may be seen as evidence of an acceptance of a system that students can do little to change.

A number of Japanese psychologists and educators have hypothesized that the limited view of the entire person, as reflected in a narrow focus on entrance examinations and academic achievement, may be causing stress among junior high and high school students, leading to maladjustment and problem behaviors. This situation is exacerbated by the waning of the father's presence and involvement in the home. There has been a trend for juvenile delinquents to be younger, problem behaviors to be carried out in groups and to be of a more violent nature, and for more girls to engage in problem behaviors than in the past.

Two of the most widespread and troubling behavioral problems among children in Japan are bullying other students and refusing to attend school. These are of particular concern because of their negative effect on students' ability to perform well academically.

To deal with the growing behavioral problems among youth, Japan has developed a number of agencies and institutions on both a national and a local level. These include centers for the prevention of juvenile delinquency, various organizations to improve communications between the community and the police, and institutions for housing more serious adolescent offenders.

-###-

[Secondary Education in the Life of Japanese Adolescents - Part 2]

[Secondary Education in the Life of Japanese Adolescents - References]