The rise in violence can be directly traced back to the rise in permissiveness, and its suppression of 'spare the rod and spoil the child'. Simply seek out the past correlations, and you will have your 'cause and effect'. Parental responsibility to teach self-discipline (or any discipline at all) has fallen by the wayside, and with it comes their failure to teach the child that action and choices have consequences...bad actions and choices bring bad consequences. Without this, the maturation process is derailed, and you eventually end up with Peter Pans (adult children). Childlike adults that firmly believe tantrums will fulfill their every want, personal responsibility is for suckers, absolutely nothing is ever their fault, and their every mistake or failing can be blamed on someone else.