July 1992 WHO SPECIAL SESSION 423

can help adolescent adjustment and development. At the beginning of adolescence, most parents still have considerable authority, but this will decrease as the children get older unless strong affective ties are maintained. Parental control can be exercised through assertion of power (actual or threatened physical punishment, deprivation of acquired rights and privileges, or promises of reward); commands or direct orders; withdrawal of love; and explanation or induction (giving reasons why changes in behav- ior are needed).

All this is supported by the example that parents themselves give. In general, the strength of control will depend on adolescent internalization of parental values, the legitimacy they attach to parental au- thority, and the timing of the control. An aptitude for discussion and negotiation is one of the essential ingredients for effective parenting and adolescent development.

Parents play an essential role as models to their children of desirable behaviors and values, but chil- dren also identify with other sources around them in order to better master their environment and ob- tain love and affection. To a young child, parents appear to control many goal states and are thus the main objects of identification, but as they grow older, young people start to look for role models in

Culture et Libertt

STEPHANE MOCKELS, FRANCE

After hearing some negative things, I should like to present our youth association. It all started when I was very young and 1 began to spend time in cafes with a few friends, at first only on the weekends, but then more and more during the week. We would spend hours together over a beer or perhaps a lem- onade. We had to do something-we were “wrecks” and fast becoming fossils. So we thought and thought and thought. We had to move. So we got a ball and began to play. The atmosphere was good. The proof was that 15 other young people joined us that very same week. But football didn’t interest everyone (especially the girls). So after a minimatch we organized in the village, the girls decided to be our “pompom girls.” For this, they needed cos-

the wider world and tend to prefer models more similar to themselves. Many studies also suggest that social development is facilitated by frequent in- teraction with persons who occupy a variety of roles and through participation in an ever-broadening role repertoire.

With the rapid changes in our world today, par- ents are often ill-Prepared to provide relevant role models for their children as they become adults. The diminished resources of the family and the extension of more superficial relationships beyond them, along with the increased influence of the mass media, have resulted in a dispersion in the transmission of values and a lessening of coherence in the socialization process.

References World Health Organization, WHO Study Group on Young People and Health for All by the Year 2000. WHO, 1984

World Health Organization, Regional Working Group on Health Needs of Adolescents. Manila, Phillippines: WHO, 1980.

World Health Organization, The Health of Youth Technical Discussions. Geneva: WHO, 1989.

Hess LC, Petersen AC. Narrowing the margins: Adolescent unemployment and the lark of social role. World Organiza- tion of the Scout Movement, 1991.

tumes, and one of the girls had a sewing machine and invited her friends to her house. There they set about making the traditional costumes for the pom- pom girls.

But, after that, we needed a room of our own, as we obviously couldn’t always expect parents to have about 20 young people in their house. We therefore asked the mayor of our village whether we could rent a room, preferably one that was not too expen- sive. I-Ie then gave us an old attic which we would have to fix up, but we c~tiXn”?, do ~~-~yiE1i1~~ without money. The mayor then gave us some money to buy the materials we needed for renovation, so thst we could fix up our room. We then had our room and we all had the keys. As time went on, other activities

424 WHO SPECIAL SESSlON JOURNAL OF ADOLESCENT HEALTH Vol. 13, No. 5

were started. In addition to eight sports activities available, workshops for communication and self- expression were also started, including a theatre club, a village newspaper, and dancing classes; and a few dances were organized. These activities were free for young people, but charged a price for others (e.g., 1000 copies of the newspaper were printed and sold for only 2 francs). These activities became the talk of the village and people called upon us to or- ganize parties and dances. We got the feeling that we were being useful.

As our association grew, however, it became nec- essary for us to comply with laws on associations. We therefore needed competent people for all the administrative and. legal aspects, and also to pro- mote our association. These people have now be- come permanent at Culture et Liberte. The only problem is that they have to be paid, and we there- fore ask all young people who are interested in any of the 21 or so activities for an annual subscription of 50 francs. We use the money we make from par-

ties, shows, the newspaper, and subscriptions to organize outings and weekends for our members in the country or by the sea. We have bought a tele- vision and a video camera for our meeting room.

Today, our association, Culture et Liberte, is known throughout France, and more than 5000 young people are members. We are now able to give them advice and to find sponsors to help them to get things moving in thd village or town where they live.

As we talked about our activities together, we came to realize that we were ignorant about our own health needs, in the broadest sense of the word. So we are now inviting health professionals almost every month to come and talk to us in our meeting room. The range of subjects covered is very wide, with anything from hypnosis to gynecology. The professionals we have invited to these minimeetings have never refused to come, and it must be said that the atmosphere is always very friendly.

Young Women’s Christian Association

LEILA CHINNADOEAI, INDIA

We are at the threshold of a new decade, a decade that is calling us to face new challenges. It should be a decade when young people’s contributions be- come a vital source for development, making them at all levels of action-oriented programs. At a con- gress of this kind, I am sure participants can jointly agree that the problems and health needs of youth, are not met fully in our respective regions. There- fore, here we are bound by one cord, of achieving the best health status for all youth.

How do we in the Young Women’s Christian As- sociation (YWCA) look at health? This issue is an integral part of the development, by which we mean acquisition to human dignity, to the quality of life, to peace a-Id justice and to the ability to grow.

The basis of our program is to work toward im- proving social and economic conditions and basic human rights for all people, and undertaking wel- fare and relief work in times of emergency. But how effective are our programs? Have we been able to give that dignity to our youth? Have we been sen-

sitive to their needs, in particuiar their health? Have we attracted their participation? Have we been able to raise a consciousness among them about the dan- gers of health hazards confronting youth and getting them to respond responsibly? We, at a national level, are today forced to relate and respond to reality: the need for family life education is becoming more crucial.

Other factors that strongly influence the bodies and minds of young people are the social, economic, and political factors. India is a very vast and diverse country, with deep-rooted ancient traditions and culture, which can be especially complex.

We are working against forces of years of un- questioned traditional practices, extremely harmful to the development of people. For example, you must be familiar with the concept of “dowry’‘-the bride is expected to carry along with her trousseau a horde of wealth in cash, gold, and property to the in-laws while arranging marriages. Depending on how well qualified the groom is, he can be very