Jove
Visualize
Contact Us
JoVE
x logofacebook logolinkedin logoyoutube logo
ABOUT JoVE
OverviewLeadershipBlogJoVE Help Center
AUTHORS
Publishing ProcessEditorial BoardScope & PoliciesPeer ReviewFAQSubmit
LIBRARIANS
TestimonialsSubscriptionsAccessResourcesLibrary Advisory BoardFAQ
RESEARCH
JoVE JournalMethods CollectionsJoVE Encyclopedia of ExperimentsArchive
EDUCATION
JoVE CoreJoVE BusinessJoVE Science EducationJoVE Lab ManualFaculty Resource CenterFaculty Site
Terms & Conditions of Use
Privacy Policy
Policies

Related Experiment Videos

The breakdown of meaning and adolescent problem behavior.

Moshe Hazani1

  • 1Department of Criminology, Bar Ilan University, IL-52900 Ramat Gan, Israel. hazanim@mail.biu.ac.il

International Journal of Adolescent Medicine and Health
|September 11, 2003
PubMed
Summary

Societal symbol system collapse, or desymbolization, may drive adolescent problem behaviors like drug abuse and violence. This study links these issues to inner destructiveness and a lack of life meaning in youth.

Related Concept Videos

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by
Same author

Red carpet, white lilies: love of death in the poetry of the Jewish underground leader Avraham Stern.

Psychoanalytic reviewยท2002
See all related articles

Area of Science:

  • Psychology
  • Sociology
  • Cultural Studies

Background:

  • Adolescent problem behaviors are increasing in high-income nations.
  • Existing research often focuses on individual factors, overlooking societal influences.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate Robert Lifton's paradigm of symbolic immortality as an explanation for adolescent problem behaviors.
  • To explore the link between societal desymbolization and the rise of self-destructive impulses in adolescents.

Main Methods:

  • Qualitative interviews with 34 Jewish-Israeli adolescents exhibiting problem behaviors (sexual promiscuity, drug abuse, anorexia nervosa, violence).
  • Analysis of psychological states, including destructiveness, meaninglessness, and symbolic relationships.

Main Results:

Related Experiment Videos

  • Participants displayed inner-directed destructiveness and a sense of meaninglessness.
  • A lack of symbolic connection to transcendent values was observed across participants.
  • Violent adolescents showed underlying self-directed aggression, suggesting a deeper psychocultural issue.

Conclusions:

  • Societal desymbolization may lead to "divided selves" and externalized problem behaviors in adolescents.
  • The findings suggest affluent societies may be experiencing a psychocultural breakdown, contributing to epidemic youth problem behaviors.
  • Problem behaviors are hypothesized as external manifestations of underlying self-destructiveness.