| Trust & Perceptions of
Freedom
Seventy-three percent of teen respondents
tell Gallup that, in general, teens have enough or more than
enough freedom in their lives (see "Freedom Rings for
Most U.S. Teens" in Related Items). Respondents who express
this are more likely than respondents who feel teens don't
receive enough freedom to say they, themselves, get the trust
they deserve from their parents. Eighty-three percent of teens
who say teens have the right amount or too much freedom say
they receive the appropriate amount of trust. In contrast,
only 48% of respondents who say that teens generally don't
have enough freedom say that their parents trust them enough.
"I think with all
the news propaganda, they see all teens as juvenile delinquents,"
says another young respondent, referring to his perception
of his parents' view of teenagers. These are, perhaps, words
of some wisdom from a teen who apparently feels he's more
trustworthy than his parents give him credit. It is true that
bad news travels fast and far, and the daily news is
proof of that.
Bottom Line
According to George Gallup Jr., who has
been studying high school teens since 1977, "American
teens report that by and large they are happy and excited
about the future, feel very close to their families, see college
in their future, say they are likely to marry, want to have
children, are satisfied with their personal lives, desire
to reach the top of their chosen careers, expect to live to
a ripe-old age, and want to experience spiritual growth in
their lives." It's no wonder their parents trust them.
*These results are based on mail and Web surveys
with a randomly selected national sample of 549 teenagers
in the Gallup Poll Panel of households, aged 13 to 17, conducted
April 15 to May 22, 2005. For results based on this sample,
one can say with 95% confidence that the maximum error attributable
to sampling and other random effects is ±5 percentage
points. In addition to sampling error, question wording and
practical difficulties in conducting surveys can introduce
error or bias into the findings of public opinion polls. |
