The next generation of Britons is growing up as the worst behaved in Europe, according to a study by the Institute for Public Policy Research. British teens are the most likely to take drugs, binge drink, have sex and get into fights.

The report found that 38 percent of British teens admitted to trying cannabis. Over 25 percent said they got drunk on a regular basis. In Italy and France, the rates were 5 percent and 3 percent.

Almost 40 percent admitted to having under-age sex, nearly double the rate in France. Britain’s teen promiscuity epidemic is well-known, and abortion rates are at their highest ever in England and Wales.

The study also highlighted Britain’s problem with “homegrown terrorists” of a non-Islamic variety: 44 percent of British youth were involved in a physical fight in the past year, compared to 28 percent in Germany, 36 percent in France and 38 percent in Italy.

The Institute for Public Policy Research found that a major reason for Britain’s thug generation was the collapse of British family life. British youngsters spend more time with other teens than their counterparts, indicating that they learn how to live from other teens rather than from their parents.

Evidence also showed that British adults are afraid to control their drunk, high, fornicating and violent teens. The adults also lagged behind their European peers in confronting their teenagers about “antisocial” behavior.

Stepping into the parental leadership and authority vacuum is the British government, which is trying to raise the children itself. British members of Parliament are preparing to publish a plan intended to halt destructive teenage behavior. The blueprint calls for more funding for youth activities.

Last week, mps announced a $2.7 billion plan they hope will keep young Britons out of trouble by occupying more of their time with “out of hours” homework and clubs. The institute called for more extreme measures, including legislation extending the school day and requiring students to participate in martial arts and cadets groups.

Britain already has an “extended schools” program that keeps schools open 10 hours a day. The program turns schools into “one-stop shops” for education, health and social services, including counseling for children who are sexually active. One initiative has distributed contraceptives to girls as young as 11. The program is also intended to encourage mothers to work full time.

As Britain’s out-of-control future spirals into a whirlpool of fornication, alcohol, drugs and violence, families are afraid to rescue their teens from lives of emptiness and unhappiness, opting instead to let them have “freedom.” At the same time, the government’s attempts to help only encourage the further collapse of home life, the one sure hope for Britain’s next generation. For more information, read Isaiah chapter 3, “Is Teen Rudeness Built In?” and “Taking Time to Save Our Teens.”