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Notes -
I'm no social scientist but I'd point out that this was the era of so-called latchkey kids which is a phenomenon that has largely disappeared since then but used to be the norm among GenX teenagers. This surely appears to contradict the thesis of some researchers that "the steady historical contraction of children's and teenagers' freedom to roam, play, and explore independently without adult supervision contributed to rising alienation and mental health strain" (according to Google AI). Admittedly I'm at a bit of a loss regarding this but I also assume that the environment where latchkey kids were forced to learn autonomy was also a stressful one.
I'm also guessing that lead poisoning and illegal drug proliferation also played a role.
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