'Lord of the Flies syndrome' affects British youth.

A study of youth behaviour carried out by British think tank the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) shows that a lack of interaction with adults is affecting British teens' development of adequate social skills. The study found that British teenagers were less likely to share meals with their parents than any of their European counterparts and were the most likely to spend a lot of time hanging out with their friends. In an analysis of antisocial behaviour among teenagers (such as drug and alcohol abuse, crime, sexual activity and disease, and sel-fharm), British teenagers consistently rated among the worst in Europe. IPPR research fellow Julia Margo said that European cultures provide more opportunities for people from different age groups to socialise together, giving European teenagers more opportunities to learn social skills from adults. 'Our solution is just to build youth centres where teenagers can hang around with each other doing nothing and learning their social norms from each other in a Lord of the Flies syndrome,' she said ( West Australian, 24/10/06, p.34; Weekend Australian, 4/11/06, p.17).