The public has long had worries about young people.

Even back when Public Agenda conducted its "Kids These Days" surveys in the 1990s, we found only

37 percent of Americans thought the children of the day would make the world a better place (and of course, the children of the 1990s are the college students of today). Similar findings have run across a number of Public Agenda studies.

Blaming parents is nothing new, either. Even parents blame parents, according to Public Agenda's "Easier Said Than Done" study. We found parents to be remarkably self-critical. Six in 10 rate their generation as "fair" or "poor" in raising children.

Relatively few parents believe they have been successful in teaching their kids the values they consider "absolutely essential" such as honesty, independence, self-control and politeness.

Yet three-quarters of parents also say it's harder to raise a child than it used to be and nearly half say their biggest challenge is protecting kids from negative social messages.

The news about teenagers was far from all bad. In "Kids These Days," solid majorities of teens told us they had warm relationships with their parents and other adults, strong faith in God and reliable friends.

Find out more about "Easier Said Than Done":

http://www.publicagenda.org/research/research_reports_details.cfm?list=15

Find out more about "Kids These Days":