Dialogue With The Future

The author undertook this study in 2000-2001 to investigate adolescent problems and to identify the parameters of TV shows that could effectively address them in Egypt. The study was sponsored by Unicef and was published in various languages and formats.

INTRODUCTION

This report describes the findings of a study conducted on adolescents in three Egyptian Governorates. The .study was commissioned by UNICEF and implemented by the Center for Development Communication (CDC). The main objectives of the study are to identify salient issues, problems and challenges facing adolescents, and develop guidelines for producing a television program, which targets this age group.

The current study is particularly important because it is the first one to be carried out on Egyptian adolescents using a qualitative research methodology (focus group discussions), on a sample that represents Upper Egypt, the Delta, and Metropolitan Cairo.  The study is also unique in adopting a communication perspective, as it focuses on different aspects of human interaction between adolescents and “significant others” such as their peers, siblings, friends, parents, and teachers.  Special emphasis was also placed on the relationships that adolescents have with mass media, particularly television.   The study investigated the details of their opinions of television programs that target adolescents, and explored their views regarding components of an “ideal” television program that would be attractive to them.

UNICEF has taken the lead in initiating and developing this study.  Most senior management and program officers contributed ample advice and guidance during various phases of implementation.

As this is an exploratory study, it is hoped that complementary studies will follow in order to fill gaps in our current knowledge of the subject-matter. Three areas of additional investigation have been identified as worthy of follow• up studies using the quantitative methodology that was utilized in this study. First, there is a need to apply the study to older youth; especially those between 18 and 22 (college-age), since this group of youth have a different set of problems and challenges.   Second, rural youth and school drop outs as well as working youth do require a separate study to identify their particular problems.

Third, it is vital to undertake a similar study on grown-ups, especially parents and teachers, in order to see the other side of the coin.  The picture painted in this report is based on the opinions of one side, adolescents.   In order to have a complete picture, opinions of the grown ups need to be investigated as well.  ·

Finally, I would like to express my gratitude to all colleagues, researchers, experts, and assistants who have collaborated in the process to undertake this study.   I wish to thank Dr. Leila Bisharat for her guidance and Ms. Nagwa Farag for her initiative, advice, and support.  I am also indebted to various UNICEF colleagues for their valuable contributions.  A large number of researchers and assistants from CDC worked on this study, and I wish to thank them all..  

Farag Elkamel, March 2000

Study Objectives and Methodology

Objectives and Sample:

The main objective of this study is to identify problems, opinion, and ambition of Egyptian adolescents, who represent an important segment of society.  The practical objective is to utilize findings in planning  and producing  a new television  program, which targets this age group. Television and audience research studies have concluded that existing programs target children under the age of ten or youth above teenage.  No programs  are presently targeting adolescents.

The  study  has utilized  a qualitative research methodology known  as Focus Group Discussions (FGDs), suitable for research on sensitive issues such as the ones covered by this study.  The sample consisted of 24 groups (6-8 persons each) divided equally between males and females. The groups were also divided equally between junior adolescents (12-15) year old)  and older adolescents  (16-18).   The 24 groups were further divided into three subgroups, where one-third was taken from Upper Egypt (Menya), another from the Delta (Dakahlia) and the final third from metropolitan Cairo area, including Cairo and Giza. (Please see detailed breakdown in Annex  1.)

The methodology  of the study required female researchers to moderate discussions with female  groups, and male researchers  to moderate  similar discussion  with male groups. There was no exception  to this rule.  All of the ,group discussions  took place inside the homes  of selected participants, with the exception  of two groups that took place in the meeting room of a social club.

Methodology:

This study was conducted  after an approval was received from the Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics (CAPMAS).

The FGD methodology utilized in this study is mostly used for investigating opinions, attitudes, behaviors,  and deep-rooted  behavioral motives. FGDs are being more widely used in social research, especially in the context of social development programs that use communication asa tool for attitude and behavior change.

FGDs are conducted in small sessions with 6-8 participants, and are moderated by a well-trained moderator.  The moderator  is responsible  for keeping the discussion focused on the main issues outlined in the moderator’s guide.  He/she also encourages all participants to engage in the discussions,  and prevents  attempts  by a minority  of the participants .to dominate the discussions.

FGDs  are different  from individual interviews in at least two ways:   first, FGDs are typically done with a group of participants,  while individual interviews involve only one respondent at a time.  Second,  the FGD moderator uses a “moderator’s guide” which contains an outline of key issues around which the discussion takes place, while individual interviews typically use a structured questionnaire to be strictly adhered to, word for word, by the interviewer.  In addition, the final outcome of FGDs consists of qualitative insights with regard  to ongoing  trends,  ideas, or behaviors,  rather  than specific percentage or definite statistical relationships  as obtained by field surveys.

A typical FGD lasts from 90 to 120 minutes.  It is usually moderated by an experienced researcher with background in psychology, anthropology, or sociology.  A good moderator is one who lets the group have an internal and frank discussion among themselves,  with minimum interference.  The moderator should be able to tolerate any opinions expressed, and encourage everyone to speak his own mind.

The assistant moderator records the sessions on tapes for the purpose of transcribing and analyzing discussions at a later  time.   These  transcripts as well as  observations and comments taken down the moderator  are heavily relied on in compiling the study report.

The Moderator’s Guide

Executive Summary

INTRODUCTION:

This study was conducted  between November  1999 and February  2000, with the main objective of determining the interests and particular issues of concern to youth. The study, together with its findings, is intended as a guide for designing television programs that would focus on youth issues, keep them involved and attract their attention. Using a qualitative research method (Focus Group Discussions), 24 groups of youth, each consisting of 6-8 persons were involved in the study. They represent different parts of the country equally divided among Cairo, Menya, and Dakahlia. Half the groups consisted of female participants  and the other half males. The groups were also divided equally between  two age groups: junior teenagers  (12-15) and older ones (16-18). The moderator’s guide addressed  nine main issues, which were identified in several meetings and brainstorming sessions with various Unicef professionals.

MAIN  FINDINGS:

1.    The  study  found that  youth  have invented / adopted  a vocabulary of secret “youth language”, consisting of expressions which they use in their daily conversations, without grown-ups knowing what  they  mean.  Some  of these  expressions have  to do with descriptions of boys or girls who are well dressed, lazy, friendly, beautiful, sexy, or spaced out. Some other expressions  deal with situations where youth are to tolerate, let go, or simply ignore something. Most of these expressions  are used in reference  to parents or teachers’ rigid attitudes, instructions,  or behaviors towards youth.

2.   Girls and boys do not get the same treatment from parents. Boys are given more latitude in their relationships with peers,  and friends  of the opposite sex, while girls are not allowed to have any relationships with boys, and even their relationships with girl friends are closely monitored. Telephone conversations  are also censored for girls, but not for boys. The situation is worse for girls who are younger than their brothers,  and will be worst if the family has only one son. Many privileges which boys get, such as staying out late or going places with their friends are not allowed to girls.  Girls also complain that their own brothers,  who may be younger than themselves, also try to control them in different ways. The real tragedy in this regard is that many girls, but luckily not the majority, have adopted  a similar attitude towards themselves,  and expressed  the view that girls should not expect to get the same rights as boys. This could be the result of a long socialization process, or simply, despair.

3. Both girls and boys in the sample prefer to have their friends from their own sex. They both express an attitude of distrust in friendships with persons from the opposite sex. On the other hand,  girls and boys in this age group  find ways to develop  other kinds of relationships with the opposite  sex. Some of these “romances” start between  them as young teenagers, either at school or other settings such as private tutoring classes, relatives, or neighbors. These relationships between girls and boys are quite discouraged by parents; ostensibly for fear that they would interfere with their studying. Girls complain that even their mothers do not accept such relationships,  which drive girls to talk about boys only with her close friends.

4. Teenagers have a number of other burning issues, which they dare not discuss with their parents. Among these issues are their fears of failure at school, lack of family resources to afford private tutoring, and surroundings that are not conducive to concentration and studying. Their younger siblings are making too much noise, and even their parents watch television in the same room while they try to concentrate. Their parents are always unwilling  to discuss  any of these issues,  and often tell them that they themselves  had much more difficult situations when they were young.

5. The most annoying source of stress for these kids, however, is the school teachers, who have absolutely  no time to discuss  any of their problems.  They even have no time to explain the lessons. Most of them are too tired because they had been working late the previous night giving private lessons. The language they use with kids is quite foul, and a lot of the participants reported that their teachers beat and insult them in class.  Teachers are reported to act a little better  towards  kids  who pay  them  for private  tutoring.

6. The relationships  these kids have with their parents are no better, either.  Most of them are not even on speaking terms with their parents,  especially the father. Conversations that  take  place  between them  &  their parents  cannot  be  described as a  two-way communication.  They are rather one-sided instructions,  threats, and shouting. Parents give them no time to explain,  but often ridicule  their opinions.   Sometimes youth are lucky if there is another grown up in the family who they can talk to, such as an uncle, a grandparent, or an older brother. But the experience of most of the kids is that parents are simply unable to communicate  effectively with them or understand their points of view.  They simply do not even listen..

7. When most of the boys reached puberty, they had new.experiences, which their parents never prepared  them for. Very few kids mentioned  that they had had any information on such developments from their fathers. The only information they ever had was derived from their science classes. When they actually  experienced these new developments, they talked to their friends, and many of them got a lot of bad advice in the process. Girls are a little better prepared, as many of them have mentioned that a parent had talked to them ahead of time.

8. Within this group, there is acute lack of information on good nutrition. While girls have reasonable knowledge of nutrition, most boys identify malnutrition as eating polluted food! Their diet consists mainly of junk food during the school day, and most of them take no breakfast at all.

9. All focus groups in the three areas of the country reported use of drugs with “some” of their peers.  They reported that cigarette smoking was only the tip of the iceberg, as most of the kids who were cigarette-smokers also took drugs with it, especially “Bango”. There were also wide reports about the use of certain kinds of tablets, obtained from pharmacies. Some of these tablets  are intended  as medicines  for various  diseases,  but these kids would take an overdose  to get “high”.  Some are reported  to even sell these tablets to their peers, sometimes in the classroom.  While the impression we had from the groups was that only a minority of kids indulged themselves in such behaviors, the groups also emphasized that a lot of pressure  was being exerted  on other kids to imitate  and join them.

10.   Since the study is intended as a guide for the design of a model television programs for youth, the groups were asked to discuss their television viewing attitudes and behaviors. Almost all of them reported watching only entertainment-type materials, such as movies, television series, and video clips. They never watch news or other “serious”  programs, and consider those to be intended for grown-ups. With regards to youth programs, they indicated that there were no such programs for their age group. Existing programs either target small children, or older youth, who are in their twenties.  The groups felt that there was a kind of vacuum with respect to programs that address teenagers like themselves.

11. The groups were asked to identify the parameters  of a “good” television program which teenagers would find interesting and worthy of their attention. They discussed the idea with enthusiasm, and indicated that such a program  would  have  to be very straight forward,  and address  real issues  that  face youth. They  listed about 25 such issues, including: respecting the opinions of youth, how to make good friends, better relationships between  kids  and parents,  problems  of emotional relations  between girls  and boys, equality between  the sexes, real stories on youth problems,  style, and sports.  In terms of format, they prefer a combination of a dramatic situation followed by frank discussions with youth and perhaps experts.  They stressed, however, the need to have the program hosted by youth or some of their favorite actors or singers. Groups from the Delta and Upper Egypt reminded us that there were other youth in Egypt, in addition to the polished Cairene ones they always host on television.

Findings  and Analysis

Introduction

The  remainder of this  report contains the  detailed findings  of the  study  and the recommendations inferred from these findings.  It is important,  however, to indicate  the following observations before presenting  these detailed findings:

1. Findings of the study contain opinions, already expressed by participants themselves without any modifications by the principal investigator.  All opinions expressed are, therefore, those of the participants themselves,  and may or may not agree with those of the author. The inclusion of any opinion in the findings section should, therefore, be understood  as a measure of “accuracy”  in presenting  group discussions,  not necessarily  a reflection of our own opinions.
2. The report includes verbal quotations of opinions as stated by participants themselves. While some of these quotes may include “slang” or rather crude expressions, it was deemed important  to include them as a guide to develop the planned  television  program,  as these expressions reflect the true  spirit and  vocabulary of the target  audience.
3. While we may refer to the study participants  as “boys”, “girls”, or “adolescents” in this report, it is essential  to point out that all of these participants (12-18 years old) refer to themselves  as “youth”.  Regardless  of academic  or programmatic classifications, it is this expression  “youth”  which must be used in the planned television  program  targeting this segment of the population.
4. The reader will also notice that we never refer to these participants  as “children”, despite the fact that, age-wise, some definitions of children would consider them as such. This is intentional,  since we have found out that this group bitterly complains that grown• ups view them children, which they totally disagree with. To call them children would be a  continuation  of  the  failure  to  communicate effectively  with  this  age  group.
5. Research ethics require that we should not disclose the names of any research subjects in connection with  the results.  We therefore used  only  initials  of a person’s  name  in connection with their quotations or specific opinions.

1. Youth Language

The study identified a large number  of expressions  that are used by girls and boys to refer to specific meanings. Those expressions serve as symbols or”codes” which are understood  only by youth themselves. Adults generally do not understand  the meanings  of most of these codes.  Both boys and girls use these words.  However, few expressions  are used only by boys, especially when they talk about girls.

Expressions, which are used by boys alone, can be classified into two categories:  the first has to do with flirting with a particular  girl or making specific references to her. For example, the word “machine”  is used by boys to refer to a pretty or a sexy girl.  The second category contains  swear and obscene words boys use among themselves, and may say it loudly even while walking in the street.  Girls would never say those words loudly, but may discretely repeat some of them among themselves,  where no one else could hear.   One girl from Mansoura explained,  “We are not like boys.  They can say obscene  words even while they are walking  in the street.   They have more freedom to do such things.  But we are different.  They have their habits and we have ours.  We also have limits, which we cannot exceed.  If we talk loudly in the street or repeat the words they say, boys will think badly of us.”

Before we list the most common  “youth expressions”, the following  observations are worthy of stating:

• Obscene and swear words were left out of this report.  Those are the expressions often used in fights with the intention to insult or humiliate the other person.  At any rate, we found that such words were not found to be different from those used by adults.
• This document  does not claim to have documented  all the expressions  used by youth. On the other hand, it may be reasonable to assume that it does contain the majority of the most commonly used expressions by this age group.
• Girls and boys from different regions in the country mentioned  expressions, which are included  here.  Generally speaking,  these expressions  were used in all regions,  with very minor exceptions,  which will be indicated later.
• Fresh; Style, “Eshta”, “Tahn”, “Rewesh”, “Kabbar”. These expressions  are so common that they are used interchangeably.   For example,  when asked to define “Rewesh”,  one subject said, “style”, and when he was asked to define “style”, he said; “fresh”.

Some  of the Most Common Expressions Among Adolescents

2. GENDER EQUALITY

Almost all boys agree that girls are treated differently from boys with respect to at least two issues: freedom to go out, and kind of parental punishment.  Boys are generally allowed to stay out late and to go out more frequently.   Girls are not.   Male participants justify this  differential treatment as “protection”  for girls from boys’ harassment.   One boy from Giza explained, “If something happens to a girl, people will say that her father failed to bring her up properly.  There is no problem  if the boy comes home late. If it was a girl, she would have a problem with her reputation.”  In fact, this is one of a very few number  of situations where a girl can be physically punished  by her parents. Generally, however boys are much more subject to physical punishment than girls.  Our discussions with boys revealed that most of them are physically punished by parents.

In addition to the belief that boys have the ability to withstand physical punishment more than girls, one of the boys justified this differential treatment in terms of what he called “higher aspirations” that parents have for boys.  Boys can be physically punished if they do not study their lessons, but girls may only be blamed verbally.  A boy from Cairo (16 years) explained, “The girl will eventually marry someone, even if she does not get any education, but a boy won’t.”  Another boy (14 years) added, “parents always set higher standards for boys.  Even if a girl does not study she will eventually  get a medium level diploma and stay home (until she gets married).   But a boy has to do better in order to be able to have a home and raise a family.” On the other hand, several boys indicated that parental attitudes  and treatment  varied  according  to their social and cultural levels,  and that boys and girls were treated equally in families with higher socioeconomic  status.

From girls’ perspectives, however, parents are much more restrictive with them than they are with boys.  One girl from Menya said, “The saying goes like this: break one of her ribs and the girl will grow 24 more instead.”  However, nobody says, for example, break one leg and the boy will grow two legs instead.”   Girls also state that parents always get boys what they want, but do not do the same for girls.  “For example,  if the boy wants a new pair of pants and the girl wants a new skirt, parents  will buy only the boy’s pants.”   Another  girl explained,  “parents always say that girls will” eventually leave home when they get married.” Another  added,  “When  the girl marries,  she will become a member of someone else’s fainily.”  One of the girls commented  on the above, “Why this backwardness? Yve want people to have a more developed thinking.”  Her friend (S) added, “What they are doing is wrong.  Why did they have us?  To torture us?” A girl from Cairo (H) said, “The girl is blamed and yelled at for just about anything she does.  Boys are not.” However,  (D), also from Cairo, has a different experience.   She said, “On the contrary.   I believe that boys are treated more roughly  so that they toughen  up.”   But (M) insisted that boys  enjoy more rights  than girls,  “For example, this happened to me.  My mother said that my brother would take double the daily allowance I get.  She should not have said that to me.  She should not have hurt my feelings, especially considering that he is my younger brother.”  Finally, (S) added, “There are boys who are very spoiled by parents.  For example, any extras in food, money, or clothes are automatically given to these boys.”

This differential treatment is more intense when the family has only one boy, especially if he is the older one.  One 13 years old girl from Cairo said, “When there are two girls and one boy, the two sisters will be close to each other.  In return, parents will spoil the boy and give him more things in order to compensate him.  My mother does not understand it when I tell her that she treats my brother better than she treats me.”

A troubling phenomenon, however, is that a large number of girls have come to accept this differential treatment as normal, to the extent that they themselves intend to eventually follow the same pattern with their own children.  A 12 year-old girl from Menya said, “My brother may beat me because he teaches me what is right and what is wrong. I would not get angry or hit him back.”  Her friend (M) added, “Parents do not mind if a younger brother beats his older sister, but they would blame her if she does the same to him . ”  A girl from Mansoura (K) stated, “If I have a boy I would try to make him feel that he is a man, but a girl is different.  A boy should be treated more firmly, and a girl more kindly. Boys and girls should not be treated equally.”                        

It is obvious that many girls have developed an inferiority complex  because  of  many  years  of socialization  and differential treatment between them and boys. They do not even aspire to being treated equally with boys. In fact, they only wish that families would grant them “some”  of the rights, which boys have, even on a limited basis.  

Girls from Menya expressed these statements, “They should be strict with us because we are girls, but they should not be too strict” “We may go out, but do not stay late, otherwise they would not allow us to go out at all” “We should have some partial freedom.” It is obvious that media programs,  which target youth,  must aim at overcoming this complex.

In addition to parents, older brothers also have a lot of control over  what their sisters may or may not do.  Even if the girl has received her father’s permission to go out, her brother may prevent her from leaving home.  The  father   would  not  say  anything  when  he  comes  back.

On one hand, some boys insist that there is a reasonable degree of equality between girls and boys. They also claim that inequality  works both ways.   Sometimes it is girls that are maltreated, and sometimes it is boys.  For example, while girls are not allowed to stay out late, they get treated better than boys at school and in transportation. Teachers treat  girls nicer than boys, and minibuses  stop for girls wherever they want, but would not do the same for boys.  In fact, some boys claim that girls sometimes enjoy more rights,  and that boys are unfairly treated both at school  and in the street.

Boys also believe that parents buy more clothes and other things for girls.  They also say that girls are more spoiled.   Some of the boys also commented that even media discriminate against males. They say that while television  has special programs  for women, it does not have similar programs for men.

On the other hand, most boys admit that they enjoy more freedom than girls, with respect to their relationships  with the other sex, going out, and staying out late.  A 16 year-old boy (R) from Menya stated, “I talk with girls and I have relations with them, and I can even say that I am in love with a particular girl.  But I would not accept it at all if my sister does the same.   I would beat her up” Another boy added, “People talk about girls. They can have a reputation, but it does not matter when it is a boy.”

Boys say that the status and treatment of boys and girls are influenced by a number  of factors, including the number of boys and girls in a family, and the order in which they were born.  Girls are treated better if they were older than their brothers.  A girl is also treated well if she is the only girl.

Many girls in the sample accuse their brothers of treating them badly and controlling their behaviors and the ways they wear their clothes. Brothers are sometimes more controlling than parents themselves. Most girls obey their brothers’  orders, unless such orders are given in a rude manner.  In this case, a girl may refuse to obey.

Girls in Menya overwhelmingly believe  that there is no equality  between  girls and boys.   They stated that boys’ wishes are always granted by parents.  Furthermore, it is the boy who asks his sister to change her behavior, not the other way around.  One girl (S) from Cairo explained, “For example, if I. ask my brother to do something he would not, but if he asks me I will.”  Another girl (A) from Menya added, “If my brother asks me not to wear a particular  pair of pants I will stop wearing it, even if he was my younger brother.”   She added, “However, there are girls who are tougher  than boys.”

Most girls in the Cairo focus group discussions  make the assertion that parents 8:9 hot treat their sons and daughters equally.  A 14 -year-old girl (R) said, “A boy has more rights than a girl.  He can go out, but we cannot  He can come back late at night, but a girl cannot. Her colleague  (A) added, “There is no equality at all in my house.  There is discrimination.”                                                     ·

There are some girls with different  opinions, however.  A 14-years-old girl from Cairo stated, “I do not see any discrimination.  There is equality.”  She explained  the reasons  for discrimination between  boys and girls saying,  “A girl’s reputation  is very important. She is  always checked  out before someone accepts her as his fiancee.   But no one checks a guy out or asks if he has had any relationship with a girl before.”

The feeling of inequality  is intensified as the girl gets older and observes  that greater rights are given to her brother, while she is deprived of the same rights.  An example is use of the telephone. As stated by (A) from Cairo, “Parents let the boy talk on the telephone for as long as he wants.  They do not even ask him whom he was talking to. But with girls, it is different.  They always want to know who is calling  or whom I called, and usually  ask before I am allowed  to use the phone.”  Another girl (D) added, “A boy is free to talk to girls on the telephone,  but girls are not.  I believe it is no big deal if a girl talks  with a boy on the telephone,  but parents  do not understand this.” All in all, the dominant  opinion  among both girls and boys is that parents  do not treat both sexes equally, and that girls are not allowed to go out at night, while boys are.

The preceding analysis has shown that girls enjoy fewer rights than boys. In addition to the foregoing, focus groups also mentioned other rights, such as choosing the faculty to join.  Parents may interfere to prevent their daughter from joining  a particular faculty if it was too far from home or in another governorate,  even if it was the one of her choice.   On the other hand, girls are simply not allowed in police or military faculties.  In addition, girls also discussed the right to work, and concluded that society itself did not encourage  women to join certain professions, such as law.   “Anyone who has a legal case goes to a male lawyer, not to a female one.”   In Mansoura,  focus group discussions  mentioned  that some parents    stopped sending their daughters  to school after third grade.  Others mentioned that a girl is often requested to accept marrying  the man who is preferred by her family, on the basis of his wealth or other material possessions. They stated that boys are not forced to marry a person of their parents’ choosing, however.

Finally, it is worth noting that the study has identified some disagreements in opinions stated by boys in the Menya focus group discussions.  

While some of them insisted that girls already enjoy the same rights as boys, others still believe that girls “Should not have the same rights”, as stated, for example, by (M) in Menya.  When his colleague  (R) asked him, “Why  would not a girl have  these rights”,  he answered,  “Because she may misuse it.”  Another boy in the group explained, “People may say that her family are letting her loose.”  However, (R) added, “They always exaggerate  any mistake if it is made by a girl.”

3. Relationships Between Boys  and Girls

The relationships between  boys  and girls tend to be mostly innocent during the early adolescent phase  (12-14). Friendships between the two sexes do exist in the context of collaboration  in school activities.  It seems, however, that any relationship  outside the school-is strongly discouraged. As illustrated by (K) from Giza, “it is possible for a boy and a girl to be friends,  but this is not welcomed  because  the girl’s father looks at such a relationship  differently.”  His colleague  (A) added, “If you walk in public with a girl, who is just a friend, people in the street would  shout at you, do not you have a sister?  They look at it quite differently.”

Indeed, both boys and girls agree that there could be no friendship between boys and girls.  Boys believe that girls cannot keep a boy’s secret the way a male friend can, and girls say that it i impossible  to talk to a male friend about the subjects they talk about with their female friends. 

Girls also add that a girl cannot walk with a male friend in-the street or visit him at home as a friend.   Some girls also add that they tend  to be more  rational and more mature  than  boys  of their age. By the middle of the adolescence phase, peer group pressure  encourages both boys and girls to develop relationships with the opposite sex, ranging from friendships to romantic love.  As expressed by one boy from Mansoura, ”Friendship between a boy and a girl is a normal thing nowadays. Any girl who does not want to have a male friend is called ‘old fashion’  However, it is my opinion that  a girl  should  not have  such relations with boys  or even talk to them  on the telephone.”

In some cases, the relationships between boys and girls develop into more serious ones. These vary between long-term relations or short-term infatuations. Sometimes,  other male friends  of a boy  advice  him  to take certain  pills  which  give  him  courage with a girl.

Boys generally .believe that girls hold the reins in any relationship  with boys.  They stress that the extent to which it can go is basically  up to the girl.  Boys also agree that a girl who allows a boy to have a “physical” relationship with her is not really “respected” by him. Eventually he would leave her because he believes that the fact that she can have such a relationship with him means that she has had similar relationships  with other boys.  He would never think of marrying her.

Relationships between boys and girls can start in different ways.  Sometimes  a boy sends a letter to a girl either through one of her friends, or he may even insert it in her briefcase or drawer.  Some boys use the telephone to develop a relationship with a girl. However, most girls are closely monitored with respect to their use of the telephone, with a few exceptions.  One girl from Mansoura mentioned that her mother allows her to have a ten-minute telephone conversation only once a week with a boy who “admires”  her.

One Cairene girl (D) believes that “romantic relationships  may start between girls and boys at the age of 14, and may develop into engagements  during secondary school.” Her colleague (M) added, “I think a girl starts to fall in love with a boy during the last year in preparatory school.”  Another girl added, “We do this even though it may be wrong.  We just continue to do it. If we think hard we will realize that it is wrong, but we can’t stop.”

In addition, boys and girls meet each other in the context of family relatives, neighbors, social clubs or private tutoring session. When boys and girls reach a later phase in adolescence (15-17), it becomes more likely  that they can meet in clubs  or even in the street  or other public places. Girls from Mansoura  said that there was a particular street in the city where a girl and a boy meet, and that other boys and girls respect existing relationships  between couples.  Other boys would not bother a girl if it is known that she is attached to another boy.  Most girls, however, do not tell their parents, including the mother, about these relationships.

They fear that the mother would ask for more details, or pressure  the girl to turn the relationship into an official engagement.   Girls,  on the other hand prefer to wait until the right time comes.  The definition of the right time is when the boy himself  is ready to propose to her and come with his family to meet hers.

Some girls in the group stated that they had the abilities to distinguish  between  boys who were serious, and those who just want to fool around.  One of the tests which a girl puts a boy through is to claim to him that one of her neighbors  saw them walking together in the street.   The girl knows that the boy is not serious  about her if he does not care about that.   If he is serious, he would care and may even  ask her not to meet again  in the  street  in order  not to  expose  her to a similarly  embarrassing  situation in the future.

Girls in Menya also said that they knew of girls who had relationships with boys, and that some of these relationships  have developed into “consensual”  marriages.  They also said that many boys wait outside the school to meet their girl friends, and that anyone can see them walking together in the street outside the school.  Some of these girls are veiled, they said.  However, Menya girls indicated that it was difficult for a boy and a girl to meet in a public place, for fear of what the father or brother might do if they found out.

4. ADOLESCENTS PROBLEMS, AMBITIONS, AND OPINIONS

The status of a boy among his peers is determined by several factors.  fo lower-middle background kids, a leader is a boy who is physically strong and can beat others up. Other boys get under his protection  and treat him as their leader.   Other leaders may be determined  on the basis how a boy is dressed up or his ability to treat other boys to food and drinks at his expense.  A leader may also be one who beats up another boy because he dared to harass bis girl.

Boys who are on top of their classes or who have especially  good manners  are usually admired, but such traits do not qualify them to be the leaders of their peers.  However, such characteristics give the boy a preferred status among girls, as they admire a boy who has a good sense of humor,  good manners, sense of responsibility  and is doing well at school.

As for the status of a girl among her peers, the determining  factors are ability to give good advice, strong personality, and rational thinking, in addition to doing well at school.  Some girls particularly stressed the importance  of keeping a secret as an essential trait.

On one hand,  some of the issues which boys mentioned as being of central  importance to them include the following:

(a) Studying: Many kids have problems in this respect, because they have no private space at home where they can concentrate on studying.  Quite often, there are too many brothers and sisters, and the place is too noisy.  The pressure is further increased when the boy’s complaints  are not listened to.  In fact, parents often tell him that they themselves grew up   in much more difficult circumstances, and that they had to study their lessons in a room lit by a “Kerosene” lamp, and without any private tutoring.  Such discussions usually conclude with the father yelling at his son.

(b) Romance: Parents are against any relationship  that their daughters or sons may have at this age.  They often tell them that they are still too young for this, and request them to stop talking about these “trivial” matters.  Some kids state that this affects their concentration, as they daydream or cannot stop thinking of the person they love.

(c) Money Problems: Most boys and girls wish to have private tutoring in all subjects, because  every teacher tells them that his course is “essential”.   However, they can only afford to have private tutoring  in some of these subjects, because  of limited family resources.   This puts increased pressure on them, as they fear to fail or get  low scores.

(d) School Problems: Most kids have problems  with teachers.  This will be discussed in more detail in the following  section.  In Menya, some of the boys also mentioned fighting, gangs and religious fanaticism as problems which they constantly face and cannot find solutions for.

(e) Lack of Parent Understanding: Parents are against any relationship that their daughters or sons may have at this age.  They  often tell them that they are still· too young for this,  and request them to stop talking about these “trivial” matters.  Some kids state that this affects their concentration,  as  they daydream  or  cannot  stop thinking  of  the  person  they love.

On the other hand,  girls mentioned that the most important issue,  which boys think about all the time, is girls.  As for themselves, girls state the following issues as important for them:

(a) Clothes  and makeup  and the desire  to attract.the attention  of others.   This-triggers parents’ resentment  and instructions  to focus on studyirig ‘ihstead of wasting time in front of the mirror.

(b) Harassment  by boys in the street and on the telephone.

(c) Parents’ objection to having too many friends or talking too much on the telephone.

(d) Parents’ reluctance to listen to them or discuss their problems.  Discussions  with them always end with parents telling them that they supply them with food and shelter, and that they should not be asking for anything more.

(e) Parents’ refusal to allow girls to go on trips or to go out with their girl friends.

When asked about their idols, the following names were mentioned by boys and girls: Dr. Ahmed Zoweil, Dr. Magdi Yaacoub, Dr. Mostafa Mahmoud,  Shiekh Shaarawi, Hossam Hassan and Ahmed Shobier.  Some boys also mentioned relatives such as an uncle or an older brother, particularly if such a person has made particular achievements in their lives, studies, or work.  .Some girls also mentioned an uncle or an aunt.  Very few boys and girls mentioned a father or a mother. However, girls mentioned a mother more often than boys mentioned  a father.   With regard  to relatives  referred  to by kids as being their idols, they were generally mentioned because they were successful, good listeners, or were able to relate to and talk with them.

RELATIONSHIP WITH TEACHERS

According to what boys and girls mentioned in the focus group discussions, their relationships  with their teachers  are generally negative and abnormal.  They state that teachers only care about money and private tutoring.  During classes, teachers talk about anything   except the lessons themselves .. On  the other  hand,  the relationships with teachers are much better if the boy or girl pays them for private tutoring lessons. In this case teachers become nicer, and they may even exchange cigarettes with some boys.  

Some teachers would say to the students in the classroom,  “This lesson can be  . explained again in detail, but it may never be explained again at all.”  The teacher would then write down the names  of those who agree to take private tutoring lessons with him.  He makes the rest pf the students feel that they are likely  to fail their exams.  One boy stated it as follows, “If there are fifty teachers  in the school, you will find only one who discusses  the lessons with the students. 

The rest of them simply  say, “I will explain  the lesson. If you understand, it is well and good. If you do not,  come  and take private  lessons  with me.”  Another boy added, “There are teachers who do not even talk.  They only take attendance, write  something on the board,  and that is it.   If anyone talked  to the teacher,  he  beats   him   up  or takes   him  to  the  headmaster.”

The study reveals, without any doubt, that many teachers beat their students  and use obscene  words to insult them.  This is more likely to be the case with boys than girls.

Some boys believe that the relationships  with teachers have deteriorated after abolishing the system of “continuous  assessment”,  and relying only on the scores of the final exams. This situation has led to an attitude of carelessness about teachers among  the students, which  forces  teachers  to become  more aggressive  in beating up and insulting their students.   One of the boys, however, expresses a different opinion,  “Not all of them, though.  We have a math teacher who always talks to us about the importance of having good manners, but no body listens to him.” Sometimes the students themselves are the ones who cause tension in the relationship with teachers.   One boy  explained,  “We had a good teacher  once, but the students would not give him a chance.   They would bang on their desks every time he tried to talk.”

Another main reason for this tense relationship  with teachers is the short duration of each class and the lengthy curricula,  which put both students and teachers under intense pressure..  Social workers, it seems, are not helping  at all.  One boy puts it like this, “If you go into the student  affairs office, you  will  hear  an  employee asking  her colleague, “Are  you  through with  peeling potatoes?”

The experiences  of girls with their teachers are just as bitter.  They are also subject to physical abuse and verbal insults  by teachers,  who are also seen by these girls to be unfair.   “For example,  if two girls had a fight, the teacher would punish both of them, regardless of who is at fault.”  Furthermore, girls who have  relatives  in the school,  and those  who take private lessons  with  teachers  are not punished like others.  One girl from Menya got so emotional during the focus group discussion when the subject of teachers was brought up. She stood up and said to other participants  in the group, “Just wait. Nobody  talks about teachers,  let me talk on your behalf.” She then looked  at the moderator saying,   ”Frankly  speaking,  l do not know how to say it.  They should be buried  alive, they look at us and treat us as dirt.”  Another  girl added, “They should be more respectful.” A third one said, “It is the language they use.   They tell us that we are no more  than a pile of garbage.”   A fourth one added, “There  are teachers  who say words that a girl should not have to hear.   I cannot even repeat them.”  A girl from Cairo (M) stated, “We have a teacher who treats us as married women.  May God rid us of him.”  Her friend (H) added,  “He stares really bad at us.  We even avoid class participation because we fear that he might say bad words or dirty jokes which make us cry.”  A girl from Mansoura said, “Teachers  are just sitting there drinking  coffee  and tea all day long.   They either talk to each other or about each other.”  Another girl from Mansoura added, “In private lessons, the teacher explains in great details.   But in the classroom,  he only talks about himself. He keeps telling  us that he was in Saudi Arabia,  where he had an air-conditioned car.  We all failed the first monthly  exam because we had  not taken  private lessons with  him.   After we  started taking  lessons, we  all passed.”

The accumulation of all of these problems  and negative experiences  has led to having absolute loss of trust in teachers.  When a teacher asks students to discuss their problems with her, no one tells her anything.  As one girl from Cairo puts it, “I do not trust her enough to discuss my personal problems · with her.  How do I know that she would not discuss what I told her with her husband and her kids”? One of her colleagues  in the group added, “One should not tell teachers anything of a private nature. It is better to talk with a friend or an elder sister, because they would not go around telling everyone else what I told them.”

The study found no real presence  of counseling in schools.  The atmosphere is not conducive of any successful  counseling, even if qualified counselors were available.   It is quite obvious  that social workers have no significant role.  Not one single boy or girl in the sample mentioned that a social worker had even once intervened to solve  a problem which boys  and girls encountered at school.

Finally, the study found no evidence of coordination between the school and students’ families.  As a matter of fact, most of the study sample mentioned that they had stopped telling their parents about problems, they face at school.  This is because parents either have no time to discuss such problems with them, or tend to automatically  put the blame on them.

5. PUBERTY AND GROWTH

(a)    Puberty:

The most useful source of information on  puberty for boys was found to be science class. It provided them with information on changes that occur to adolescents, such as changes in the voice, growth of armpit hair and wet dreams. For most boys in the sample, such changes took place  between   the ages of 13 and 14.

It is quite interesting  that the vast majority  of boys in the sample declared that their fathers never talked to them about puberty,  either before or after it started.  Instead, most boys talked about these changes with their friends or colleagues, especially those who are a bit older than themselves. Most of these talks, however, concentrated on masturbation.   On the other hand, very few boys talked about the changes that are happening to them with an uncle or an older brother.

Discussions  of masturbation  tended  to take different  tones depending on whom a boy talked to.  Friends and colleagues tended generally to encourage its practice, and some even made fun of a boy if he had not tried it yet.  On the other hand, advice from relatives  and close friends tended to focus on the negative health effects of this practice, especially  if  the  boy  was  practicing  sports.

In general,  most boys  felt  good  about  these changes when they first occurred.  They felt that they  have become  “men”  and  are no longer “children.”     Some   of  them   even   started daydreaming about marriage and having children.

Girls  experienced mixed  feelings  when they got their first menstrual cycle .   These feelings ranged from fear to excitement and jubilation. They felt a bit scared at the first occurrence,  even if the mother, grandmother,  or father  foretold them about it.   On the other hand they were happy  and excited because  they felt that they  were no longer children.

After a while,  girls start to feel that they will lose the advantage of being children and the spontaneity of children’s world.  From now on, they have to think about things they have never before worried about,  such as the freedom  to wear what ever they wish and to go out freely.  It is worth noting  that most girls in the sample report that they got their first period  during the second or third preparatory school year (13-15 years old).

On the other hand, parents are more concerned  with changes that occur to the girl.  It is quite interesting that a number of girls (in Cairo and Mansoura particularly) reported that  they  had  talked  to their  fathers  about these “changes”  even before they talked to their mothers.   Some of them also reported that their fathers discussed such changes  with  them  before they  occurred.   The majority  of girls  however,  talked with their mothers either before or when the first period occurred.  In the meantime,  a few girls never talked to a family member about this, and only talked to a friend.   Finally, it is worth noting  that  parents  in Upper Egypt (Menya) were found to be less likely to have talked about puberty with their daughters than parents in Cairo or the Delta (Mansoura).

(b)   Growth:

Most kids in our sample reported  that they do not eat breakfast  at home before going to school.  This was true in all three regions covered by the study.  Some kids said that they took sandwiches to school; others stated that they would buy sandwiches or potato chips at school during the break.  Still, others reported that they do not eat anything until they return home from school.

The socioeconomic  status of the family does, however, seem to influence what kids eat in at least two ways.  More kids with higher socioeconomic status eat breakfast at home, or take more nutritious sandwiches or enough money to buy food.

It is quite alarming that the concept of “malnutrition” is almost totally unknown among boys.  The vast majority of boys in the study define malnutrition as eating exposed or contaminated food.  Girls, however, are more likely to know what malnutrition is, as the majority of girls in the study define it correctly.  It is possible that this knowledge  gap between boys and girls may be due, at least in part, to the fact that girls tend to spend much more time at home than boys of their age. The influence  of the mother  and the media, particularly television,  may be among the factors why girls have better knowledge.   Since they stay longer at home, they may be captive audience to educational  and health programs that contain information on nutrition.

Finally, the study has discovered that both boys and girls preferred  “street”  and junk food to eating at home.  They like the taste of such food and they often eat them when they go out with friends.

6. Relationship with Parents

Early adolescence  phase (12-14) is characterized by a mild tension  in relationship between  boys and their  parents.   Boys  in this age group  were  divided  into three categories:  those  who cannot communicate  with fathers, others who have a problem communicating  with their mothers, and those who cannot communicate with their parents in general.  The older group (15-18) is almost unanimously of the opinion that their parents lack the ability to understand their ideas, opinions or behaviors.  Boys state that parents only talk about one thing: studying. However, these kids also want to have fun, go out, and play.   Some of the boys in the study described their parents as still living in the “stone age” or “Jahelia”  (pre-Islamic era in the Arabian peninsula.) These kids told us, though, that they were being forced to have dual personalities, one in front of their parents,  where they act politely and responsibly, and the other outside their home.  One boy from Giza said: “My parents only know about me that I am decent and polite  but I know words and things, and I am totally different in the street.” Another boy added, “A father wants his son to follow his instructions and to obey him: pray, be polite, and responsible.”  The minute this boy leaves home, he is something else, totally different.   He may carry a knife, smoke, or be a member of an irresponsible group.

There is constant daily tension in the relationship between teenage boys and their fathers and mothers. Some of the immediate causes of friction include the constant insistence by the father that they should study their lessons, regardless  of whatever obstacles they may be facing.  Such obstacles include the unavailability of a private studying space, annoyance  caused by too many other siblings, especially younger ones, and loud sound of television when parents watch it nearby.  Friction also occurs when boys ask permission  to go to their friends in order to study with them.   Parents usually refuse to let them go, and may accuse them of making excuses to go out to play or smoke.

Another source of tension in relationship is parents’ negative attitudes towards their kids’ involvement in sports. 

Parents  often discourage such involvement; for fear that it leaves them  with less time than necessary for studying.  One of the  boys  in the  sample received an award in “Kung-Fu”, and wanted to hang the certificate he received on the wall. 

His father prevented him and even tried to tear the certificate, saying: “what is this. You might as well dissolve it in water and drink it up”.  When another boy bought a new pair of football shoes, his father blamed him: “You could have used this money for something more useful.  Football is not going to feed you or pay for the cost of your marriage.” 

Finally, boys mentioned that their parents’ ideas of which college they should aspire to join were often different from their own.  This causes tensions every time the subject is brought up.

For girls, the most important sources of tension with parents include the subject of relationships with boys, and appropriate clothes to wear.  Some girls see the disagreement over these subjects as a reflection of the generation gap with their parents, who want to raise them in the exact same way they were raised themselves.  Just like boys, girls also complain about parents’ obsession with the need to study all the time.  One girl says: “I don’t like it when someone tells me that I should study.  I prefer to do this on my own.”  Another one adds: “when my mothers insists and forces one to study, I hide a magazine under the book and pretend to be studying”.

Girls are most upset with the manner in which parents use threats and issue ultimatums.  One of the girls in the study sample says: “they are living in a different time and age”.  Another one adds: “they don’t understand us.  They don’t understand our way of thinking.  They try to force us to do things, instead of trying to become close to us”.   A fourth girl in the group states:  “they think that we are still children.  They never think that we too may have an idea how to solve a problem.  They need to understand that we grew up, and that we may be able to think of more simple and easier solutions.”  A 14 year-old girl tells the moderator in a great deal of confidence: “for your information, our ideas may even be better than theirs.  Because we think progressively.” 

Girls also disagree a lot with their parents  over the kind of clothes to wear or shoes to buy.  Parents often prefer shoes styles that girls dislike, and force their daughters to buy them. Girls are rebellious at the way their parents  “order”  them to do things,  and often think of ways to avoid doing things forced upon them.  A 13-years-old Cairene girl admitted, “I cannot stand vegetable  soup.  One time I wanted to visit my aunt, but my mother told me that I could not go before eating vegetable  soup.  I· finished my plate, then went to the bathroom and threw up.”                                                   

Many girls complained  that parents have no time for them, and that they give no care, or attention to them.  A 12-years-old girl from Menya said, “When I ask my father about something, he is usually too busy to discuss it.  He sometimes agrees that I do something without even thinking if it was good or bad.”  Typical answers which girls hate include “later”, “after a while”or” am busy now.”  One girl commented, “This means that they will forget about it.”

Girls also complained that parents  are always suspicious  of their relationships, even with their girl friends. If a mother finds out, for example, that her daughter is a friend with a girl who talks to boys, she asks her to discontinue  her relationship  with that girl friend, even if she has become attached to her.

Other issues that girls complained about include parents’  lack of understanding for their emotional  feelings, and their attempts to portray the boy-girl relationship in a negative way.  A secondary  school girl from .Mansoura stated, ” Mothers always ask why we are in a hurry. They always say, “Marriage is eventually  coming,  and you will get sick of it”.   She portrays marriage  as sickness.  Well, this is the kind of marriage they have.  But we see it differently.”  Girls from Menya said that whenever they tried to open this subject with their mothers,  a typical  answer  would be  “This subject is  closed”, “Forget   about  it”,   “What  is  this  trivia?”,  or  “We   do  not  have  time   for  this  stuff.”

It is worth noting that youth have developed their own ways to adapt to this lack of parental understanding and constant tension.  A situation of an “agreement to disagree” has developed between the two sides. Youth have to accept this situation mainly because  they are financially dependent  on their parents. A significant  gap  in understanding  and  effective  communication  grows  wider every  day.

However,  a real dangerous  consequence of this situation  is that this  generation is growing  in  an unhealthy  social environment,  that give them no space for free thinking.   Consequently, they often  use a number  of sneaky  ways to adapt to this environment,  including lying, hypocrisy,  and deception.   The reader  is certainly  aware of the potentially damaging  consequences  on the value system of the society,  and of this generation  in particular.

Finally, it is important  not to generalize  the findings  discussed  above to “all” youth in Egypt.Other teenagers have indicated that they had no problems communicating smoothly with their parents,  and that their parents exhibit  a great deal of understanding and emotional  support.   

However,  these were a minority in the sample.   There is a genuine  need,  therefore,  to include different  segments  and social  strata in follow-up  studies,  in order  to further investigate  this  sensitive  issue   of  inter-generation communication. Qualitative approaches, such as the one used in this study, have proved to be quite effective in uncovering what is taking place under the surface.  They are, therefore strongly  recommended  in   such  follow-up  studies.

7. RISKY BEHAVIORS

Smoking  is not a simple problem among youth.   It is the tip of an iceberg.  This tip seems to be covering up a huge mountain of potentially serious problems for the future of youth, and the well• being of the entire society.  For youth, smoking is not just a cigarette, as some people might think.  It is in fact the start of something more damaging.  One 16-years-old boy from Mansoura stated, “A cigarette without ‘Bango’ is like drinking plain water when you mean to drink tea.  Bango is for cigarettes is like a tea bag by for tea.” His colleague (H) added, “A lot of kids our age smoke.  To be considered a man, one has to carry a packet of cigarettes in his pocket. Smoking cigarettes then leads to other things, Bango, drugs, etc.”

Smoking among kids is not limited to the street cir other places where adults cannot see them.   In fact, it also takes place inside the school,  and sometimes in the classroom.  As stated by (M) from Giza,  “As soon as the teacher leaves the classroom, two or three kids light up cigarettes and smoke until the teacher comes back.  They also smoke Bango in the classroom.   But no pills.” One boy in the same focus group discussion has a different experience in his school, “Our school has very strict supervision.  If a student gets caught, he is expelled from school.”  However,  (M) answered him back, “I swear that yesterday I told the Arabic teacher, “Isn’t it wrong for you to smoke in the classroom in front of the kids?’  He answered me, “It is not your problem,” I said, “What do you mean it is not your problem?”  He said,  “Well, all kids are sons of O.” A boy from another school said,  “Some of our teachers smoke in the classroom.  And some kids exchange cigarettes with them.”  He added,  “Even the janitor sells cigarettes to students.  Boys typically tell him  “I need a cup of tea and a cigarette.” It is all because  the janitor  needs  money,  and kids  want to look (Rewesh).”  (see  section  1).

Kids start smoking during preparatory school.  A 14-years old kid told the moderator,  “I saw with my own eyes kids from my school go to the roof of the school and smoke there.  The neighbors saw it too and informed the headmaster, but he did absolutely nothing.”  Another preparatory school kid added, “And during exams, there are students who smoke freely because no one can say anything about it during exams.”

It may be useful to state here that smoking appears to be confined to a minority, not the majority of kids.  However, this minority has a bad influence on others, and they do encourage nonsmokers to join them.   One student stated, “They need money to buy cigarettes.  They may steel or even rob others by force in order to buy cigarettes and Bango, then they smoke in a group and invite us to join.”  A 13-years-old kid from Mansoura said,  “One of my friends told me that his family grew Bango. They put it in cigarettes and sell each.for two pounds.” His colleague (S)  added,  “My classmates offered me cigarettes.” From Giza, a 15 years old boy from a low-income family said, “In the school we load a cigarette with Bango, and we all share smoking.  Every kid gets a “kiss” from it.  That means everyone inhales and then passes it on to another kid.”

In addition to cigarettes and Bango, they also report wide use of pills, tablets and other “medicines”  which many kids take as drugs.  One kid stated “They ask their fathers for money for private lessons, then they go out and buy tablets.”  They mentioned different names of tablets and said that one kind was sold in the school  for a pound and a half.   One boy commented “It’s  all because  of lack of conscience.  A packet of these tablets normally costs five pounds.  But pharmacist sells it to these kids for thirty. The kids then sell each tablet for one pound.  He makes a profit of 70 pounds, because the packet has 100 tablets.”

The most widely spread kind is what they call “Cockroach  tablets” This is a kind of cough medicine, of which they take an overdose  to make them feel high.   As one kid said, “He would swallow  the entire  strip   of  tablets  and.  then   say,  “Look,   the   cockroach   is  moving   in  my  head.”

Another added, “Last year one kid in my school took three cockroach tablets and then tried to kill the headmaster in his office.  The police came and it was a big mess. “Other kids use liquid cough medicines as a drug, especially those containing  alcohol.”                                    ·

These risky behaviors  are not only harmful to those who are engaged in them, but to others as well. Kids who become drug addicts turn to crime, sooner or later, in order to come up with money to buy drugs.  A 15 year old boy explained, ”In the beginning one of them would come to you and say, “Take this pill, it will  make you feel great.”  After a while, you would have to buy.  Kids may steal money from home or deceive their fathers and spend private lessons money on drugs.”  He added, “there are kids who steel car tires and then sell them for whatever they can get in order to buy Bango a n d tablets. ”   Another  boy added,  “They  stand in front of my school and force students to empty their pockets, otherwise they beat them quite badly.”  A third boy said,  “One of my classmates  once took some of these tablets, then he hit one of our colleagues causing him  a wound  which required nine  stitches.”  Another boy  in  the  group commented, ” When one gets high after taking these tablets, he can rape a girl if one happens to pass by him.”

Another  common  youth behavior  which  some kids  considered  to be a negative one is playing video games. 

According to (H) from Menya, Kids take private lessons money from parents and spend it on video games. His colleague added, “These games lick their brains  away, meaning  that they make them unable to concentrate  on studying their lesson.”

A preparatory-school kid (M) from Mansoura sees that the main cause of these risky behaviors is that “kids  do not pay  any attention to advice  from  grown  ups.  They think that they have become grown  up themselves, and should not listen to anyone.  For example,  my cousin,  who is in secondary school, smokes.   Everyone tries  to convince him to quit, but he thinks  that nobody should tell him what  to do.”

The situation for girls in all three regions  of the study sample  is not much  different. The main risky behaviors mentioned by girls include  smoking  as well as drugs  (tablets, Bango, and hashish).   A 12 year-old  girl declared, “There  are girls around  here who smoke.”  Her  13 – year- old colleague added, “They  once did a body search  and found  drugs on girls at my school.”  In Mansoura, some girls were caught  taking intravenous drugs .

Some girls in Cairo and Menya mentioned that they knew of girls who watch X-rated videos and listen to porno cassette. Preparatory-school-age girls in Cairo stated that they knew of some of their colleagues who had sexual relations  with boys.  “This kind of thing is widespread in the school, and I also know girls in the club who do it.”

A secondary school student from Mansoura  added, “What is also becoming  common in the neighborhood is consensual marriage.   It is particularly widespread among university students who walk boldly  in the  street  as  couples.    If anyone makes a comment,  the  guy simply  said,  “She is  my  wife.”

Finally, it must be stated here that the above was not a complete list of risky behaviors among youth.  The current study must be considered as an exploratory one in this regard.  Follow up studies need to explore this issue in more detail. 

For example, more attention should be given to the issue of AIDS, since there are indications of practices, which may cause such a problem to spread more rapidly, especially in the absence of sufficient AIDS awareness and information on means of protection and prevention.

8.  Relationship WITH TELEVISION

The relationship between youth  and children with T. V. is somewhat seasonal.   They  watch  television for many hours a day during holidays,  especially  during summer, but much less during the school year. In general,  however, most of what they watch consists  of entertainment material,  particularly movies. Girls  also watch  television drama  series,  while boys  said that they only watch   them if they had sexy and pretty girls.  One boy named the television series “Night Talk” as an example.   It is also clear from what boys said in the group discussions that the same criteria  also applied to films.  Boys prefer movies that  contain nude  scenes,  hot romances and  sexual connotations.  This  applies  to both foreign and Egyptian movies.   In fact, one boy, said that he particularly liked Abdel  Halim  Hafez movies  because they always  have  a lot of “kissing” scenes.

The  other  kind  of films which  boys  like  are the “action” type.   They  also like movies  or television series that are based  on true stories.

A 13-years.-old boy from  Mansoura puts it this way,  “When  I watch  the heroic  and action  movies,  I feel like I wish I was the hero.  I want to be like him.   I want to be like Ahmed Abdel Aziz in “Alforsan” series, or Ahmed Mazhar in Saladin. I don’t like  a hero  who  is in love  with  a girl throughout the movie.”

It does  appear  that these  kids  are in need  for media  material with  heroic  and nationalistic themes, because they have  such predisposition that are unsatisfied. A preparatory- schoolboy from Mansoura said, “Everyone is deeply  affected  by the historic films  which  are shown on television, such as  ‘The Road  To Ilat’  or ‘I Still Have One Bullet In My  Pocket’.   One  always  wishes  to be like the hero  in these films and defend  his country.”

In addition,  a lot of these kids also like the heroes  in films,  which feature violence.  One boy from  a Giza preparatory school said, “I feel like I want to imitate the courageous hero  .”  His colleague  added, “I always  want to imitate  things  I see in films that have violence.”

In addition to films, and some television  series, boys also like variety programs.  Many of them named the  program “Songs and Wishes” as one  of their  most favorite programs.  They  also  like  sports programs,  especially   football  matches.    A  few   also  mentioned  educational   programs.

Another group  of programs comes  as a second choice  for many  boys.   These include “Science and Faith”,   “Talk  of the Town”  and “Funny And Strange Things.”  A 16 years-old  boy from a secondary school in Mansoura is fascinated with this last program.   He said, “This program reports  on things that we never  see in real life; amazing things, unbelievable things.  This means  that  the producers of this program are people  who have brains,  and produce new things for people  to see.” These  words reflect high preference by many kids for programs focusing  on achievement, heroic  acts, and science  fiction.

Most youth do not like programs that focus on religion or politics. They do not like the boring formats in which they are presented, and some of them believe that such programs are intended for grown ups, not youth.  The same applies to news bulletins, news programs,  and “talking heads” programs.   One boy from Giza stated, “Only older people watch those programs.  It is rare to find a young person who watches them.”

In general, youth do not believe that television programs honestly address issues of concern to youth. A secondary school student said, “It is all talk ;  like the economic resources are great, youth are good, etc.  Rarely do they tell the truth.”   One of these “rare” programs,  according to some, is a program called  “Talk of the Town.”  One boy said about it, “It is the only program  that tells the truth.   Like when they interviewed  a kid who had stabbed a little boy 26 times, and showed that it was because of drugs. They have true stories in the program.”   He continued,  “Not like these,  other programs which exaggerate everything,  the government is great, youth ate wonderful,  and public  opinion  is good, when it is not true.”  A preparatory  school student added, “There are channels which lie a little. They make up things when they really never happened.”  His colleague added, “The programs which television presents on youth are mostly fake, because we never see a kid who is convicted of a crime. The youth they have are always carefully selected and very polished.”

It is worth mentioning that this study has additional evidence for the influence of television on youth. A 14-years-old student stated,  “When I watch a movie by Van Dam I feel like I am the one who is doing the hitting.   It develops  violence  inside me.” Another boy said,  “Sometimes  I feel as if I am the  one  who  is  driving   the  car  or the  motorcycle.    Even  my  parents   know  that  about  me.”

Girls are quite similar to boys in their aversion for political, cultural, and “talking heads”  programs. They  are also similar in liking movies  and songs  (video clips).  However,  there are significant differences  between boys  and girls  with respect  to  the kind of themes  or content  they like in films  or television  series.  

While boys prefer “action”  and heroic stories, girls prefer romantic  and social dramas in films and in television series (which they like much  more  than  boys  do). 

A 13  years  old girl  said,  “I like television  series, which feature  social drama,  like the series “A Woman from the Time of Love.”  Her friend (S) added, is the best television series I ever saw.”   One reason for liking  this  particular series  is that  it addresses  the problems of young people.  Another girl in the group (D) explained, “This series is a very true reflection of the problems of boys  and girls face in real life.”

Girls also like television programs, which focus on youth problems, such as “A Dialogue with Grown• ups.”  This particular  programs,  however, is rather controversial.  While youth in our study like its content and the issues it raises, they do not like the way it is presented.  The program is least popular among the Upper Egypt sample.   One of the participants  in Menya focus group discussions  stated, “There is no movement in the program.  Everyone  is sitting down the whole time.”  Her friend (M) added, “We watch a little bit, but we cannot watch the whole program.”  A third girl added, “I do not watch it at all.  It is intended to tell us what is right and what is wrong, but we already know.”  In addition, most girls also stated that the program was too long.  One of the girls who liked this program, however, said this about it, “We like this program because it discusses  our problems.   They portray these problems accurately.  There are girls who appear in the program and talk about their problems. I often find these problems  to be identical  with mine.”

In general, however, youth are not very happy with youth programs aired on television. One girl (R) stated, “Television does not really care about kids our age.   It only cares about children and adults.” Another girl, who is from another govemorate  echoes a similar comment, “Television has programs for children and others for university youth. But nothing in-between.”  Finally, girls and boys agree that youth hosted in television programs  are either  perfect  or criminals.    One girl from Menya explained,  ”There are youth who are perfectly normal, but who also have problems and need to know what is right  and  what  is wrong.”   This  statement  seems  to summarize the main ingredients of a potentially  successful television program.  Such a program should reflect problems of average youth, their achievements  and mishaps, successes and failures,  strengths and weaknesses  in a format attractive to youth .The following section discusses this in more details.

9. CRITERIA FOR A SUCCESSFUL YOUTH PROGRAM

Both boys and girls are in almost total agreement on the main criteria for a successful television program.   Following are the essential parameters of such a program.

A. Content

The ideal program is one that addresses real problems and issues,  which  face youth  on a daily basis,  and presents ways  to solve,  overcome,  or deal  with  these  problems. The  program should  be very straightforward   and  open in selecting the topics and  in handing the relevant issues.

Some of the topics youth would find interesting and important include the following

1. Gender  equality
2. Relationships between parents  and kids
3. Parents  inability to communicate with their kids
4. The need to respect youth  opinions
5. Problems between boys and girls
6. Emotional problems
7. Health  problems of adolescents
8. Friendship and ways to select good friends
9. Private  tutoring lessons
10. Religion programs, on condition that they are presented in an attractive style
11. Causes  for crimes  committed by youth
12. Consensual marriage
13. Pressures on youth  and their future
14. Risky  youth behaviors such as smoking  and drug addiction·
15. True stories involving typical  youth
16. The generation gap
17. Problems of health  insurance in schools
18. The relationship between boys  arid girls and their parents  “and we will ask mothers  to match  between us”
19. Educating parents to use  discussion and dialogue with youth,  instead of just shouting and yelling
20. Love problems
21. Teaching  fathers good parental skills
22. Importance of trusting kids
23. Advice  for youth to help them  distinguish between right and wrong
24. Style
25. Sports,  especially football

B. Format

The groups presented three different ideas for the format of a youth program.  The first one suggested an open dialogue and discussion  with youth.  The second favors a television  series format, while the third opinion proposed a “video magazine”  format which utilizes a variety of sub-formats; including music and youth songs to attract the attention of youth.  One advocate of this format declared, “When the program uses only one format the audience falls asleep.”

All youth in the study, however, emphasize that such a program must be a true reflection of the feelings and ideas of youth, not just  another  dose of blame for them.”  One girl stated, “For example,  if the program features a psychoanalyst to discuss the problem of a girl who has a relationship with a boy, he should not just say that this relationship is wrong.  We need realistic and useful advice.  We need a positive dialogue.”

Youth also stressed the importance  of selecting young people as program hosts. They warned against using familiar television announcers, and suggested, instead, popular actors and actresses  who are liked by youth.  They proposed Ahmed El Sakka, Mona Zaki, Hussein Fahmy, Mostafa Fahmy, and Kareem Abdel Aziz.

Additional  indicators for the successful format include:

1. The stories presented should be real ones, and should reflect actual problems that face average youth.  (They mentioned  a. radio program called, “Night Confessions”  as one that uses such stories.)
2. A television series format should consist of independent episodes, not a soap opera.
3. The program duration should not exceed 30 minutes
4. Videotaping should not be confined to the studio.  Other proposed locations include schools, clubs, and public places
5. Youth from outside of Cairo must also be included.
6. The program must be simple and easy to follow.

C. PROPOSED NAME

Various participants proposed the following names for the program.

1. Youth confessions
2. For youth only
3. Youth life
4. Youth ideas
5. Among youth
6. Youth issues
7. The freedom program
8. Advice for youth
9. Youth talk
10. Youth
11. Youth freedom
12. Youth and the future
13. Youth ‏2000
14. Adolescence problems
15. Adolescence
16. Youth problems
17. Youth hobbies
18. Youth dreams
19. The world of youth
20. With youth
21. Style
22. Youth are us
23. Youth forever
24. All youth

RECOMMENDATIONS

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This study has yielded  significant results  with regard  to kinds of problems and challenges facing the adolescent segment  of the population, who are indeed the future of this country.  Most significant was  the  finding  that  these youth  have developed their  own  subculture,  complete  with its own communication symbols  and vocabulary. Adults  are not allowed to enter this “world”.

For example,  when  a parent  enters  their  kid’s room  while  he or she is on the phone with  a friend,  he/she  would  not hang up like youth  from previous generations used to do if they  were  “caught” in the middle  talking  about something ‘personal’.  Nowadays, a kid would simply say to his/her friend on the other end of the line,  “It is getting  too hot in the room:”   It is that  simple!  The friend  understands and “decodes” the message  to mean that they should change the subject for now, and the parent wonders why  his  or her  son  or daughter feels that  it  is too  hot when we  are  in the middle of winter! Of course,  many of the problems adolescents have  are typical  and are a natural part  of growing up.

But many of the problems found in this study go beyond  that, and can only be explained by the widespread lack of knowledge and skills  among  adults, both teachers and parents  of the principles of effective means  of communication with teenagers. Youth are in effect “withdrawing” from  the communication process with adults, as a result of repeated  unpleasant frustrations.  Their experiences have  been extremely negative; their opinions are  either not heard at  all  or  ridiculed.   Their communication with  adults is a one-way process; they  only  receive orders,  instructions, blame, insults, and abuse.  Consequently, these youth are “forced”  to develop their unique subculture.  Many of the expressions in their “vocabulary” which  we identified reflect their apathy  and unwillingness to continue  the dialogue with adults, who look at them  as children:, while they consider themselves as capable  of problem solving, just like adults, if not better!

The end result  of all this is considerable lack of essential information, life skills, and even worse, the absence  of a clear set of values for life. This is at least partly due to the fact that these kids have no confidence in adults  who were  supposed to be conveying these  fundamental “products”.  For example,  youth  in the study wonder about the hypocrisy of adults,  such as teachers who smoke  in classroom, or parents who tell them not to lie, but ask them to deny that they are home if an unwelcome caller asked to speak with them.

The situation is quite problematic.  Youth are in many ways confused and ill adjusted.  In short, they need help.  However, they aren’t getting such help from parents, teachers, or even current media programs.

It is highly recommended; therefore, that a number of priority interventions and genuine efforts need to be undertaken by a number of relevant institutions, in view of issues raised by youth is this study.  Following are the key priority efforts, which need to be implemented as quickly as possible.  These interventions are classified below according to the relevant institutions, which are more likely to take the lead with respect to the proposed interventions.  It is assumed, however, that these interventions will be implemented in an environment of cross-sectional coordination and collaboration among these institutions.

1. UNICEF

a.    Youth Television Program

Planning and development of a well-designed television program that targets this age group is highly recommended, considering the nature and poor quality of the relationships these kids have with grown• ups, especially parents  and teachers.   Such a program  is desperately  needed to provide youth with essential information and life skills, which they either lack, or have only a distorted  version which they  acquired  from  peers   who  have   the   same   or   worse   problems   themselves. The proposed program should also include segments that are intended to provide adults with effective means of communication  with adolescents.

A.   Special attention in the program must be paid to overcoming  the “inferiority  complex”  already planted in the hearts and minds of adolescent girls.

b.     Further research

Unicef is encouraged to take the lead in three research areas that complement and build upon findings of the current study:

1. A similar study with other segments of youth is required.  The study should focus on school dropouts, working adolescents,  and rural segments.
2. A second crucial study would use the same research methodology  (FGDs) to investigate parents and teachers’ perspectives  on issues that have been raised with adolescents in the current study.
3. A third study is strongly recommended  for monitoring and planning of television material intended for youth (as well as those targeted for women and children). The study has found that adolescents  are not watching those programs  ostensibly produced for them.  Such a study would al so be essential to evaluate the effectiveness  of the proposed new television program.

2. EGYPTIAN TELEVISION

Television has succeeded to be the number one mass medium  watched by youth, even though the vast majority of them watch it for entertainment purposes only.  A number of actions which the television authority is encouraged to undertake are proposed as follows:

a.   News, cultural,  political,  and religion programs need to become more attractive to viewers in general and to youth in particular. Such programs are almost totally ignored by youth.  Major revisions are  necessary  with regard  to  format,  treatment,  and  tones  of  these  programs.

b.   Youth programs need to be based on a better understanding of youth, their real issues, aspirations, and frustrations.   They must become  more credible in terms of content and attractive  in format.

c.   Youth and other programs on national television must make an effort to reflect the real issues, concern to all youth, not only these who live in certain parts of Cairo.

3. MINISTRY OF EDUCATION

Substantial efforts are needed to restore a proper relationship  between  students and their teachers. The following are few priority issues:

a.  Regulations regarding the unlawful use of physical or verbal abuse by teachers in schools must be enforced.  The current situation reported by kids in the study not must be allowed to continue.

b.  Very close supervision is required by the school, especially with regards to smoking and use of drugs in schools.  The initial step required is to effectively ban the teachers from smoking in classroom.

c.  The role of social workers in schools must be reactivated. Moreover, closer collaboration between them and parents is extremely necessary.

d.  The issue of private tutoring lessons has reached very acute proportions.  As it is causing too much agony, suffering and frustration among students and their families, it is hoped that an end to this acute dilemma will be soon in sight.

4. NGOs

It is obvious  that most parents  are in need for basic parental  skills.  Various relevant institutions including NGOs and the media must develop programs to help them acquire appropriate knowledge, attitudes,  and skills.  Special  emphasis  should be placed  on treating kids with respect  and dignity, importance  of listening  to and establishing  dialogue  with kids, the need to give time and attention to help solve their problems, establish a more democratic atmosphere, and caring supervision in order to help youth avoid risky behaviors

5. YOUTH INSTITUTIONS

Parents look at involvement of kids in sports as waste of time, despite the fact that sports could serve as positive  awareness for channeling  the energies    of kids, in addition to other numerous  benefits. Institutions  concerned  with youth need to intervene  on behalf of these kids, in order to change the distorted views and negative attitudes held by most parents. In collaboration with schools, sports and social clubs, youth centers, etc., the Youth Ministry seems to have a lot of work cut out for it. Suitable and practical programs to involve kids in sports, and engage the support and encouragement of parents are priority actions as corroborated by the study findings.

Annex-1   Sample distribution

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“Dialogue with the Future”: Pp-103-116 in: Sonja Hegasy, Elke Kaschl, eds. (2007): Changing Values among Youth. Examples from the Arab World and Germany.

https://www.academia.edu/27886899/Sonja_Hegasy_Elke_Kaschl_eds._2007_Changing_Values_among_Youth._Examples_from_the_Arab_World_and_Germany._Berlin_Klaus-Schwarz_Verlag