From these reports it's easy to conclude that the vast majority of youth are misbehaving, especially those who live in troubled areas. In contrast, research on youth resilience indicates that about 80 percent of young people living in bad environments do fine, said James Garbarino, director of the Family Life Development Center at Cornell University and a leading authority on at-risk children and youth. Notwithstanding that most young people turn out fine, even those from bad environments, some resilience is not enough because the social environment is so toxic, says Garbarino.
Young males are especially vulnerable.
Garbarino offers five of them based on research. Trust in adults. Trust in adults comes in part from being in a social environment that is stable and predictable. Our culture has witnessed a profound decline of trust connected with the breakdown of adult authority, says Garbarino. Adults foster trust in the young through building positive relationships with them, being consistent in living by the values they teach, and enforcing reasonable limits and standards.