Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, January 19, 1992 TAG: 9201160189
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: 5 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JOE KENNEDY STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
CHOOSING RELIABLE ROLE MODEL IS KEY
A role model, Virginia Tech psychology professor Russell Jones says, is "an individual whose behavior or attitudes, viewpoints and perceptions are imitated by others."In childhood, parents often serve as the models. In adolescence, the focus shifts to peers.
At all times, certain people, such as sports heroes, are given a fame and prominence that youngsters notice and want to emulate.
But there are problems with that. One is that the media seldom tell the whole story - for example, of how hard it is to reach the top and cope with the pressures while there.
Another, Jones says, is that the likelihood of any youngster reaching the same heights of wealth and achievement as, say, Michael Jordan, is small.
"Realistically, very few have the ability of Charles Barkley or Michael Jordan or Mark Rypien," says Courtland Lee, associate professor and director of counselor education at the University of Virginia.
"If anyone chooses to emulate that behavior," Jones says, "they need to be . . . able to deal with any negative consequences of not being able to reach the same level of success."
Role models may be good or bad. Their influence may be positive or negative.
Young people are more likely to imitate models they can identify with. A child who loves basketball may focus on Magic Johnson or Michael Jordan. An aspiring rap artist may concentrate on someone like Ice Cube or Ice T. A heavy-metal fan may choose the troubled Axl Rose of Guns 'n Roses.
Much emphasis is placed these days on the need for positive male role models in the black community, but everyone can benefit from the good examples of others, Jones and Lee say. Similarly, everyone can be a positive influence on associates, young and old.
Lee says it would be best for young people to pattern their lives after others who are reliable, consistent and hardworking.
"That's a much more important role model than an athlete or entertainer," he says.
Parents are obvious models. But they must do more than merely co-exist with their children - they must take an active interest in their lives and spend high-quality time with them.
Jones has several suggestions for parents who want their children to develop in a healthy way.
"They can carefully monitor what they allow their children to watch" on TV, he says. "They can also serve as moderators and mediators of viewed information - screeners of information.
"They can also discuss with their children the relative advantages and disadvantages of a particular behavior, lifestyle, pattern of functioning and allow the child . . . for him or herself to determine what the relative merits might be.
Parents also can help the child "engage in consequence thinking - to think through the possible consequences of a particular set of behaviors or lifestyle."
Even in the best of circumstances, children can be hard to reach. Youth, after all, is a time of short-term thinking and immediate gratification. Lee sometimes encounters skepticism and hostility when he delivers his message of hard work and black pride.
Some youngsters say, "You've sold out," and "I'd rather be like the flashy guy with the big car" that may have been obtained by questionable means.
"Their logic is very, very solid," Lee says. "The flaw is that their life expectancy is not too long."
Children who don't receive reinforcement and encouragement are more likely to display hopelessness or helplessness, which is often accompanied by destructive behavior.
"Children need to be placed in environments where reinforcement can be obtained," Jones says. Parents can guide them at home, teachers and coaches can do it in school.
"I also think there's a place for the church in the community in raising up a standard of godliness which children of all ages can aspire to," Jones says.