2004 Speeches

93rd Annual Meeting of Scout Association

October 16, 2004

Dr. Roy L. Austin
United States Ambassador

Good Afternoon! I am pleased and honored by your generous invitation to join in your celebration today. I hope that by the end of my address you will judge me to have deserved the confidence your invitation implies.

Organizations have goals. When the Boy Scouts organization was founded in England in 1907, it’s founder, Lord Baden-Powell, believed that its activities would create better citizens. The large membership of scouting associations throughout the world, over 50 million scouts in 250 countries, suggest that many people agree that Baden-Powell’s goal of creating better citizens is worth pursuing. Apparently, they also agree with him that outdoor activities will contribute toward the attainment of the goal.

Only four years after its founding, scouting reached Trinidad and Tobago. Therefore, you are proudly celebrating the 93rd year of the founding of the scout movement in this country. Congratulations on the longevity of the movement here!

I am certain that you can name many successful citizens who were members of your organization; and you may be correct if you take some credit for their accomplishments. So you may have good reason to celebrate. But conditions in T&T today do not allow you to display smug self-satisfaction. What are the conditions to which I refer? This past Monday’s daily newspapers gave some examples.

On the front pages, we learnt that: “Bandits murder drugstore owner;” “Tobago shootout leaves Trini dead.” On the inner pages: “Two beaten and robbed in South;” “Barrakpore man ingests poison after row with relatives.” “Two die in crash;” “Teen killed in Gran Couva crash.” So far, I have mentioned disturbing events only in Trinidad. But in the same local newspapers we read that a “Trini” was shot dead in Barbados; that over 150 foreigners have been kidnapped in Iraq with at least 28 having been killed; and two Chinese engineers have been kidnapped in Pakistan. Understandably, these frightening occurrences at home and abroad must leave many of you asking: “What is wrong with this world?”

Please do not ask that question without also asking what you can do to reduce the mayhem at least in this country. It is not just the government and your criminal justice system that must work to reduce murders, robberies, burglaries, illegal drug involvement, suicide, highway accidents, and the number of poorly performing students. Nor can you depend solely on non-governmental organizations such as the scouts. Every adult citizen and even younger citizens have a role to play. Let me tell you why you must all be involved by acquainting you with some of the literature on normative or conforming behavior, perhaps the best indicator of good citizenship. Later, I shall use the acquired knowledge to determine the likely effectiveness of scouting as a means of encouraging conventional behavior.

As may be expected of an organization with the goal of producing good citizens, among the Worldwide Principles of Scouting is respect for the laws of one’s country. Clearly, it stands to reason that if a person develops such respect he/she is unlikely to violate his/her country’s laws. I hasten to add, however, that research has shown that some youths do violate laws in which they claim to believe. In any event, a young person will not internalize a healthy respect for laws simply because he/she is told to do so during scout meetings. After all, members are unlikely to be attending scout meetings more than two afternoons per week. And even at scout meetings some members may be encouraging others to hold beliefs contrary to what the movement teaches. Also, one’s peers on the playground, school acquaintances and friends, and the media may all be sources of messages favorable to law violation.

Now, there is a theory of crime (differential association theory) which proposes that if a person is exposed to more definitions favorable to law violation than definitions unfavorable to law violation that person is likely to become a criminal. When you consider all of the possible sources of messages that may encourage lawbreaking, you should begin to understand how much effort members of any society must expend to socialize citizens to conformity.

However, societies have an advantage in the fight for the hearts and minds of their citizens. The earliest socializers of children are their natural or substitute parents, people who are likely to desire children who behave well. Some of you have certainly heard that if you “bring up a child in the way he should go,…. when he is old he will never depart from it.” I often heard my deeply religious primary school headmistress repeat these words. We have the opportunity, therefore, to help invalidate differential association theory. That is, if we inculcate moral beliefs in a child in the earliest years, he/she may remain within moral boundaries even with greater exposure later to messages that favor immoral behavior. But how do we succeed with this early socialization toward conformity?

Social control theory, the delinquency theory with the strongest empirical support, argues that internalization of norms and development of a conscience are aided by the attachment of the individual to others. There is much evidence that attachment to parents is especially good at protecting youths against involvement in delinquency.

A more recent version of social control theory called self-control theory provides advice on how children may be properly socialized, thereby developing strong self-control which protects against delinquency.

According to self-control theory, effective childrearing involves:
1. Close monitoring of a child’s behavior.
2. Recognizing inappropriate behavior when it occurs.
3. Punishment of inappropriate behavior.
Self-control theory also claims that affection for a child encourages supervision of his/her behavior, and increases the likelihood that inappropriate behavior will be observed and punished.

However, contrary to what you might expect, self-control theorists Gottfredson and Hirschi advocate sparing the rod. They do not believe that failure to administer corporal punishment will spoil the child. Instead, they argue that disapproval by people about whom we care is the most effective form of punishment.

While they do not believe in corporal punishment, self-control theorists warn against being too lenient. The caretaker who is too lenient does not show disapproval of inappropriate behavior; thereby failing to instill self control.

Are there institutions other than the family that are effective socializers of children? Some research evidence indicates that youths who like school and youths who are performing well in school are less likely to be delinquent than their counterparts with contrary characteristics. Why? Some persons have argued that youths with high self-control are more comfortable in an environment that imposes restraints than youths with low self-control. Schools have restrictive environments and are, therefore, unattractive to youths with low self-control. These are the same youths who feel burdened by all regulations and are likely to defy them. That is, low self-control explains the link between family relationship and delinquency as well as between school adjustment and delinquency.

Can the school build self-control in students who enter with low self-control? Can the school at least heighten or maintain the high self-control of those who enter with such? Or is the school simply organized in a way that is suitable for proper functioning of those who enter with high self-control? I am not aware that these questions have been convincingly answered.

Like parents, teachers tend to monitor behavior and show disapproval of undesirable behavior. Those teachers who are motivated by affection or other reasons to optimally supervise, observe, and suitably punish may be able to instill self-control. However the teacher’s influence may be limited by failure to get the child to care about him/her. Remember that even parental disapproval works when the child cares about the parent. Parents have an advantage in gaining the child’s love because they cater to the child’s needs from the earliest years. Also, high student/teacher ratios may make it more difficult for teachers than parents to monitor, recognize misbehavior, and punish when necessary.

My statement that disapproval is more effective than corporal punishment should not be interpreted to mean that corporal punishment is ineffective under all conditions. Some of my research indicates that different types of youths respond differently to different types of treatment. More specifically, reanalysis of three separate studies show that treatment in an authoritarian environment was more successful than in a less strict environment with lower Interpersonal Maturity Level(I-Level) delinquents. Higher I-Level delinquents showed contrary results. While my study provides no convincing evidence of the efficacy of corporal punishment, it may be reasonable to assume that carefully controlled corporal punishment, the kind administered by some of our parents, will be effective as one strategy in a strict environment. Still, I was fortunate to raise two well-behaved sons without depending on physical punishment of any kind.

The important lesson from my I-Level study is that, with respect to treating delinquents or just rearing children, one size does NOT fit all. Just as typhoid must be treated differently from malaria, different types of delinquents require different types of treatments to reduce their lawbreaking; and some youths may benefit from a child-rearing regime that will harm others. Unfortunately, it is not easy to reliably type youths in order to apply differential treatments. Therefore, caretakers usually choose socialization and correctional methods based primarily on the extent to which youths deviate from the conventional.

What conclusions can we derive from our analysis to determine the likely effectiveness of scouting in creating better citizens? Both the family and pre-tertiary education have more frequent and longer periods of contact with youths than scouting has. Therefore, we must wonder whether the relatively limited interaction between youths and socializers in scout troops can create better citizens.

Some social scientists believe that attachment of youths to others, adults or other young people, will protect against delinquency. Attachment has this effect because we are concerned about disappointing people to whom we are attached. When a young person believes that fellow members of his scout troop condemn lawbreaking, he may feel constrained to conform to avoid meeting with their disapproval.

Additionally, a youth’s membership in a scout troop that condemns lawbreaking exposes him to messages unfavorable to law violation. Thus, involvement in scouting can help to shift the balance of messages about crime towards encouraging law abiding behavior.

Furthermore, involvement with scouting can reduce opportunities to engage in illegal behavior. That is, there is less time to spend where responsible people are absent, especially if scouts spend time in other conventional activities. Even people who have a propensity to break the law are more likely to do so when suitable opportunities are present.

In conclusion, the likely effect of scouting on the creation of better citizens may be minimal; but there may be a desirable effect. Research experience tells me that this restricted positive effect makes scouting similar to many other socializing agencies we expect to encourage conventional behavior. When young people engage in scouting and multiple other conventional organizations and/or activities, the cumulative effects on youths’ behavior should significantly increase the likelihood of conformity. “Rekindling the Scout Spirit,” the theme of your annual general meeting, is therefore, a worthy goal; and scouting remains a safe, enjoyable and sometimes challenging activity that builds discipline and other leadership characteristics. I recommend scouting to this nation’s youths and their caretakers once scout leaders show care for their charges, closely monitor their behavior, and quickly recognize and punish misbehavior.

Finally, I wish that your members will keep their promise to be dutiful to God, and that he will bestow his richest blessings upon all of us.

Thank you!