write four questions

Attitudes About Teens

Isabella Vilaragut (6162827)

Karla Baldriche-Perez ( )

Gabriela Carbot (6239145)

Rosmery Carvajal Estiu ()

Samantha Goenaga (6189044)

Kimberly Hatlestad (6282911)

Janet Pina (6120908)

Jhonatan Robayo (6226955)

Alexa Wong (6143858)

Omotayo Ishola (6283003)

Table of Contents

Title page………………………………………………………………………………………. 1

Table of contents……………………………………………………………………………….. 2

Introduction……………………………………………………………………………………..

Methodology……………………………………………………………………………………

Demographics…………………………………………………………………………………..

Results…………………………………………………………………………………………... 7

Data & Interpretation…………………………………………………………………………..

Conclusion……………………………………………………………………………………..

Appendix…………………………………………………………………………………….....

References……………………………………………………………………………………..

Introduction

Should teenagers be focused solely on school, or should they spend their time working or volunteering? Do teenagers really party and use drugs as often as tv shows and movies suggest they do? A person’s teenage years tend to be a defining moment in their life. Discovering personal morals, values, interests, and social groups are all important aspects of a teenager’s cognitive development. As a teen, having newfound independence and still developing decision-making skills presents a unique challenge for how to spend your free-time. Parenting a teen, it can be hard to find a balance between a teen’s desire for independence and boundaries that keep them safe and making good choices. Making decisions is influenced by different factors. First, the autonomy that the teens have from parents when they are facing situations where they need to make a decision. Second, the neurological capabilities, the adolescent brain continues to develop until their 20’s, mainly the frontal cortex, the area responsible for judgment, insight, and reasoning. Third, their need for approval from friends and their thoughts about invincibility, those factors help to reduce impulse control. (Reid, 2012) Media is playing an important role in teen’s behavior and attitudes, it can have a positive or negative influence on teenagers. Adolescents exposed to news media or controversial news like climate change, it could have a positive influence, it encourages them to be more involved in the solution. Media can be a negative influence on adolescent behavior, like drink alcohol, smoke or drugs (Raisingchildren, 2019). With the media showing a skewed reality of the frequency of delinquent behavior among teens, our group was interested in how people actually view teenagers.

Methodology

10 students conducted surveys on participants about teen attitudes. Prior to completing the survey the participants received an explanation of the study and consent was given. Participants were asked to indicate their sex, marital status, and educational level, and occupation for the purpose of qualifying the demographic.

Each participant was asked to answer the following “yes” or “no” questions:

· Should adolescents spend more time in school?

· Should adolescents be required to do volunteer community service?

· Are most adolescents sexually active?

· Should adolescents NOT be given birth control to prevent pregnancies?

· Do most adolescents waste a lot of time?

· Are most adolescents careless drivers?

· Do adolescents account for most of the crime in the community?

· Do most adolescents not take advantage of their right to vote?

· Do many adolescents use drugs?

To administer the survey we used convenience sampling which involved distributing the survey to people in close contact to the contributors of the study. While using this method expedited the data collection process and allowed for a vast number of people to participate, it is important to note that convenience sampling limits the population diversity and can lead to lack of representation. The survey was distributed electronically through Google Forms to allow for greater participant accessibility.

Demographics

65 participants took our survey, all of our group members gave this survey to people we know. This survey was given about the way the participants view different aspects and attitudes of teenagers.

Figure 1- Sex of the participants

As shown in Figure 1, 72.3% of the participants were female. This means 47 of them were female while 18 of them were male, resulting in the remaining 27.7%. As shown in Figure 2, the majority of the participants were in the ages of 18-24, which was 73.4%. Followed by the age group of 25-34 with 14.1% and 35-44 with 7.8%, and the last group was 45 and older, with 4.7%.

Figure 2- Age of Participants

We also asked our participants about their education levels. These results came back a bit more even than the sex and age ones, here are our results.

Figure 3- Highest Education Level of Participants

The results show that 31 (47.7%) of the respondents are either currently in college or attended college, while 13 (20%) of the participants are currently in high school, graduated high school, or went to high school and never graduated. 12 (18.5%) of the participants have graduated from college, and 9 (13.8%) of the participants pursued graduate education.

Figure 4- Marital Status of Participants

According to Figure 4, 56 (86.1%) of our respondents are single or in a relationship, while 9 (13.8%) of the respondents are married. There were no widowed participants.

Figure 5- Occupation of Participants

As shown in Figure 5, all of our participants have many different occupations. There are some engineers, students, marketing jobs, unemployed people, etc. The most prevalent response we got were students. Around 20 (34%) of the respondents were students.

Results

Data & Interpretations

Upon gathering the data from the series of 10 questions in the survey, it allowed for analysing the participants’ attitudes and perceptions about teenagers. The results of their responses were as follows:

Question 1: Adolescents should spend more time in school.

Figure 5 - Pie chart showing responses for question 1

Out of the 65 total participants that completed the questionnaire, 40 recorded that adolescents should not spend more time in school (61.5%). While the remaining 25 participants believed that adolescents should spend more time in school (38.5%). These results showed that less than half of the participants believe adolescents should spend more time in school.

Question 2: Adolescents should have to work for their extra money.

Figure 6 - Pie chart showing responses for question 2

Out of the 65 total participants that completed the questionnaire, 51 recorded that adolescents should have to work for their extra money (78.5%). While the remaining 14 participants believed that adolescents should not have to work extra for their money (21.5%). These results showed that more than half of the participants believe adolescents should have to work for their extra money.

Question 3: Adolescents should be required to do volunteer community service.

Figure 7 - Pie chart showing responses for question 3

Out of the 65 total participants that completed the questionnaire, 45 recorded that adolescents should be required to do volunteer community service (69.2%). While the remaining 20 participants believed that adolescents should not be required to do volunteer community service (30.8%). These results showed that more than half of the participants believe adolescents should be required to do volunteer community service.

Question 4: Most adolescents are sexually active.

Figure 8 - Pie chart showing responses for question 4

Out of the 65 total participants that completed the questionnaire, 55 recorded that most adolescents are sexually active (84.6%). While the remaining 10 participants believed that most adolescents are not sexually active (15.4%). These results showed that a majority of the participants believe most adolescents are sexually active.

Question 5: Adolescents should NOT be given birth control to prevent pregnancies.

Figure 9 - Pie chart showing responses for question 5

Out of the 65 total participants that completed the questionnaire, 60 recorded that adolescents should be given birth control to prevent pregnancies (93.8%). While the remaining 5 participants believed that adolescents should NOT be given birth control to prevent pregnancies (6.2%). One person left their answer blank. These results showed that a very small minority of the participants believe adolescents should NOT be given birth control to prevent pregnancies.

Question 6: Most adolescents waste a lot of time.

Figure 10 - Pie chart showing responses to question 6

Out of the 65 total participants that completed the questionnaire, 19 recorded that adolescents do not waste a lot of time (29.2%). While the remaining 46 participants believed that adolescents do waste a lot of their time (70.8%). These results showed that less than half of the participants believe adolescents do not spend their time productively.

Question 7: Adolescents account for most of the crime in my community.

Figure 11 - Pie chart showing responses to question 7

From the 64 participants that answered this question in the survey, 62 of them did not agree that adolescents account for most of the crime in their community (96.9%). The remaining 2 participants agreed that they are responsible for most of the crime (3.1%). One participant did not record their answer for this question out of the 65 that initially filled out the survey. These results demonstrate that almost all of the participants do not believe that adolescents are responsible for most of the crime happening in their communities.

Question 8: Most adolescents are careless drivers.

Figure 12 - Pie chart showing responses to question 8

Out of the 65 total participants that completed the survey 40 of them believe that most adolescents are careless drivers (61.5%). While the remaining 25 did not think most take part in careless driving (38.5%). These results showcase that more than half of the participants think that adolescents are not as attentive when driving in comparison to other age groups.

Question 9: Most adolescents do not take advantage of their right to vote.

Figure 13 - Pie chart showing responses to question 9

From the 65 participants that participated in this survey 64 responses were recorded. One participant did not record their response for this question. 50 participants answered that most adolescents take advantage of their right to vote (78.1%) while the remaining 14 do not think they take advantage of this right (21.9%). These results show that more than half of the participants believe most adolescents exercise their right to vote.

Question 10: Many adolescents use drug

s.

Figure 14 - Pie chart showing responses to question 10

Out of the total 65 participants that recorded their responses for this survey, 52 of them agree that many adolescents use drugs (80.0%). The remaining 13 disagree that most adolescents engage in drug usage (20.0%). These results display that less than half of the participants do not think that adolescents partake in using drugs.

Conclusion/Analysis of Results

This study took into account the thoughts and opinions of 63 individuals in regards to a series of statements about teenagers. The aim of the study was to determine people’s overall attitudes towards teens by recording their responses to a questionnaire. The study recorded demographic information such as sex, age, marital status, education level, and occupation. In terms of demographic trends, our results showed that a majority of the participants were female, and belonged to the 18-24 age group. Education level showed that a majority of the population surveyed had some college education and most were single. Overall, the survey was intended to record people's attitudes about teens.

Based on the analysis of the data,

Appendix

Raw Data

Questions

References

· Reid, M.L. (2012). Fathers Shaping Child Development, 2nd ed. Dubuque, IA: Kendall

· Raisingchildren (2019), Media influence on teenagers: social media, movies, YouTube and apps, https://raisingchildren.net.au/pre-teens/entertainment-technology/media/media-influence-on-teens, Accessed March 20th 2021