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Monday, November 20, 1995 Page:
Big Brothers-Big Sisters helps kids stay on track
Nothing works. Why bother. Everything stays the sameChances are you’ve
looked at various problems facing the United States, and muttered the same
thing.
But hold on. “Everything” does not stay the same. In fact, “everything” can
change dramatically for kids touched by some tried-and-true programs.
Maybe the answers are closer than we think:
Social science research shows the Big Brothers-Big Sisters program works,
the Philadelphia Inquirer reported last week.
Big Brothers-Big Sisters pairs volunteer adults with kids from
single-parent homes. Common sense would suggest the guidance helps; helping is
the whole point of the program, after all. But as every sociologist knows,
common-sense conclusions in social science often do not hold up.
This one does. “Compared with youths not in the program, youngsters ages 10
to 14 who were matched with a Big Brother or Big Sister for at least 12 to 18
months were less likely to use alcohol or engage in violence, had improved
school attendance and performance, and had improved relationships with family
and friends, according to a nationwide study of 959 boys and girls in eight
cities,” according to the newspaper.
“Compared with their peers, youngsters in the program were:
46 percent less likely to start using drugs.
27 percent less likely to drink.
52 percent less likely to skip a day of school.” And so on.
An independent, Philadelphia-based research outfit called Public/Private
Ventures ran the study. They looked at 487 kids who were matched with an
adult, and compared them with 472 who joined the program but got put on a
waiting list.
The study’s major flaw involves its timing. The researchers only tracked
the kids for 12 to 18 months. No one knows for sure if the positive results
last longer than that.
But we suspect they do. Kids who do well in tough environments usually have
a special relationship with at least one supportive and emotionally healthy
adult. That could be a parent, a coach, a bandleader, a teacher …
Or a Big Brother or Big Sister, for that matter. Big Brothers-Big Sisters
tries to harness that same force that helps kids achieve despite rough
surroundings. The organization with its selfless one-on-one volunteerism
always has impressed us, and now we know why.
By the way, the waiting list for Big Brothers and Big Sisters around the
country is 30,000 kids long.
Remember that the next time you channel-surf past the nightly news, saying
in disgust at the shoot-’em-up mayhem, “Nothing works.”