So says the Daily Mail and most other papers today, reporting on a new study from Bournemouth University. Except apparently (and this didn’t get reported) they’re not as bad as their parents (from the National Children’s Bureau media digest, not online):

Findings published in a new book, Breaking the cycle of educational alienation, claim that girls are now more badly behaved than boys when it comes to taking drugs, drinking alcohol and having underage sex. However, both are actually better behaved than their parents were 20 years ago.

Professor Colin Pritchard of Bournemouth University, said “The good news and, perhaps, unexpected is that the 2005 youngsters we studied have less problematic behaviour than those in the 1985 cohort and even with the problematic behaviour, drugs, drink and sex, this is still a minority activity”.

Prof Pritchard and Richard Williams, social inclusion coordinator for the university, repeated a survey along the south coast that was conducted in 1985 involving Year 10 and 11 secondary students. The results were used to contrast today’s behaviour with that of their parents 20 years ago.

Prof Pritchard said “One thing we found among teenagers of all backgrounds was that those who said they liked school were the least likely to binge drink, take drugs or otherwise engage in bad behaviour. That is a challenge to schools and parents to make sure pupils are interested”.