British youngsters have a reputation for heavy drinking
On every indicator of bad behaviour - drugs, drink, violence, promiscuity - the UK was at or near the top, said the Institute for Public Policy Research.
The institute looked at the results of a number of studies of adolescents conducted in recent years.
The researchers believe the country's record can be explained by a collapse in family and community life in the UK.
Free time
Measured against German, French and Italian youngsters, British 15-year-olds are drunk more often and involved in more fights, and a higher proportion have had sex.
The institute says young Britons are marked out how they spend their free time.
They are not learning how to behave - how to get on in life - as they need to
Nick Pearce
IPPR
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In England, 45% of 15-year-old boys spend most evenings out with their friends, and in Scotland the figure is 59%.
In France just 17% of boys spend their time in the same way.
On the other hand, European teenagers tend to sit down for meals with their parents far more often.
Some 93% of Italian teenagers eat regularly with their families; in the UK just 64% of 15-year-olds do the same.
'Structured interaction'
Nick Pearce, from IPPR, said these figures pointed to an "increasing disconnect" between children and adults.
He said youngsters were learning how to behave from one another instead of from adults.
"Because they don't have that structured interaction with adults, it damages their life chances," he said.
"They are not learning how to behave - how to get on in life - as they need to."
The researchers concluded that the lack of adult interaction has left British teenagers increasingly vulnerable to failure.
Brand awareness
One study looked at by the IPPR suggested 38% of British 15-year-olds in 2003 had tried cannabis - compared with 7% in Sweden and 27% in Germany.
Another said that in 2003 British 15-year-olds were the third worst binge-drinkers in Europe - only Denmark and Ireland were worse.
Britons are also more immersed in consumerism than American youngsters, the research claimed.
This was indicated by their brand awareness and the amount of importance they attach to consumer goods and possessions.
The IPPR's report is due to be published next week.
Drinks, drugs, violence, promiscuity: British youth at the top or near the top of the bad youth list. And they frighten grown ups.

A report by the Institute of Public Policy Research, to be published next week, describes British youth as among the worst in Europe. The study compares teenage English and Scots with their counterparts in other European countries. 

Fewer British youths ate regularly with their family, and many more spent most evenings with their friends; they were drunk more often, got involved in fights and more had sex than other European youth.

More British adults than Continental adults would be reluctant to intervene should they see youths vandalising a bus shelter fearing a violent response.  Many adults were fearful of leaving home after dark and a large number were thinking of moving home because of youths "hanging about".

The demonisation of youth in the British media is said to have induced real fear in many adults.

Many more comparisons are made in this report. 

====Related reports====

A study comparing the behaviour of South of England youth in 2005 with that in 1985, concluded that youth now are better behaved than their predecessors. There were marked differences between boys and girls.

ASBOs (Anti-social behaviour orders) are civil actions that can be taken against those who are likely to cause alarm, harassment, or distress to others outside their family. Research by NACRO (National Association for the Care and Resettlement of Offenders) in 2002 concluded that they were a failure. The average ASBO costs more than £5,000 to enforce and takes over three months to obtain. Over one third of all ASBOs were breached within the first 9 months of issue. 

Another report published today by NACRO criticises some courts for using ASBOs inappropriately and too readily. ASBOs should be seen as the last resort for young offenders. There should be consultations with the local Youth Offending Team (YOT) and the reasons why other remedies were not suitable should be given. There were also indications that ASBOs are being used as weapons of racial discrimination, there being a disproportionate number of young black people being served with ASBOs. In some quarters, youths flaunt ASBOs as a badge of honour.