Unhappy kids make fragile college students

Last week I had two discussions --- one with a psychologist, the other with a disability services professional ---in which we agreed that the students arriving on our campuses are increasingly fragile both psychologically and emotionally.  If true--- and I'm convinced that it is --- why?

A segment on this morning's "Today Show" may give a strong clue:

The show reported on a study of kids' happiness levels in 30 countries.  The happiest children were found in the Netherlands and Germany.  Yes, Germany. Factors that contribute to this happiness include:

• Solid family structures
• Lots of outdoors activities
• Especially plenty of bike riding
• Emphasis in pre-school on socialization, not reading and math
• Shorter pre-school days than in the US (pre-school isn't seen as a surrogate nanny)

The U.S. came in at # 26.  Should we be concerned about this result?  Obviously, I think so or I wouldn't be writing this post.  There are plenty of causes for concern.  But let me focus here on the impact this may be having on higher education.  

We talk a lot about high school students lack of preparedness for core college courses, especially math.  We don't speak much of their lack of emotional and psychological preparedness.  But this inhibits their prospects for success even more than any academic shortfalls.  The latter can be handled by intensive tutoring and the like.  Fixing a damaged psyche is a lot more problematic.  

This is not a new phenomenon.  I wrote about it  a decade ago.  If anything, the problem has grown more acute in the past ten years.