UNICEF USA Youth Study Prepared For:
November 11, 2019
INTRODUCTION The aim in conducting the UNICEF USA Youth Study was to understand youth sentiments surrounding the current political process and involvement, as well as to gain insights into what is important to youth in regard to social issues. We are pleased to present the findings of the UNICEF USA Youth Study commissioned by UNICEF USA and hope that it will serve as the basis for communications for your media outreach as well as for your internal use purposes.
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KEY FINDINGS BY QUESTION Q5: Which of the following are you worried about in your life? Please select all that apply. A majority of children (90%) – defined as Americans age 8-17 – say they are worried about something in their life. Gun violence or other types of violence against children (46%), mistreatment/bullying (45%) and things that can hurt the environment (36%) are among the top worries. Other worries children have include: o Not having enough money – 36% o Terrorism – 30% o Online safety – 30% o Mental health issues – 22% o Living in an area where people who are different from each other don't get along or people who may not have been born in this country are not treated nicely – 20% o Not having access to quality education – 19% o Not being able to afford getting help when they are sick – 19% o Not being able to get healthy food or clean water where they live – 11%
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Children age 10 to 12 are more likely than those age 13-15 and 16 to 17 to say they are worried about mistreatment/bullying (53% vs 41% and 33%)
Children age 16-17 are more likely than those age 10-12 and 13-15 to say they are worried about things that can hurt the environment (45% vs 33% each)
Children age 10 to 12 are more likely than those age 16 to 17 to say they are worried about online safety (35% vs. 22%)
Children age 13 to 15 are more likely than those age 8 to 9 and 10 to 12 to be worried about mental health issues (31% vs. 14% and 17%)
Children age 13 to 15 are more likely than those age 10 to 12 to say they are worried about not having access to quality education (23% vs. 15%)
Children age 10 to 12 are more likely than children age 8 to 9 to say they are worried about not being able to get healthy food or clean water where they live (13% vs. 6%)
Q10: Which of the following issues about children do you think should be top priorities (i.e., things they should make sure to work on) for the next President of the United States? Please select all that apply. Three in five children (60%) think keeping children safe from guns and other ways people might try to hurt children should be a top priority for the next President of the United States. Over half say not tolerating bullying should be a top priority, followed by 56% who say making sure kids are able to get the care they need when they are sick should be a top priority for the next President of the United States. Other issues children think should be priorities include: o o o o o o o
Making sure children don't live in poverty – 53% Treating all people the same despite differences – 50% Making sure kids can get healthy food and clean water where they live – 49% Making sure kids are able to go to good schools – 48% Having ways to help kids deal with mental health issues – 46% Teaching kids about online safety – 42% Taking care of the environment – 40%
Children age 13-15 are more likely than those age 8 to 9 and 10-12 to say having ways to help kids deal with mental health issues should be a top priority for the next President of the United States (53% vs. 42% and 43%) Children age 10-12 are more likely than older children (age 16 to 17) to say teaching kids about online safety should be a top priority for the next President of the United States (48% vs. 34%)
Q15: Do you feel included in the political process in the U.S. (e.g., people who make the laws listen to what you/other kids have to say, give you the chance to ask them questions, ask your opinions about things that affect you or other kids, make decisions on how to vote/what laws to make based on how they will impact kids)? Only one-third of children (33%) say they feel included in the political process in the U.S. Nearly half of children (48%) say they do not feel included, while 19% say they are not sure.
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Boys are more likely than girls to say they feel included in the political process in the U.S. (37% vs. 30%)
Girls are more likely than boys to say they do not feel included in the political process in the U.S. (53% vs. 43%)
Q20: Do you want to be included in the political process in the U.S. (e.g., people who make the laws listen to what you/other kids have to say, give you the chance to ask them questions, ask your opinions about things that affect you or other kids, make decisions on how to vote/what laws to make based on how they will impact kids) A majority of children (70%) say they want to be included in the political process, while just over 1 in 10 say they do not (12%). Almost 1 in 5 children (18%) say they are not sure if they want to be included in the political process.
Teens (age 13-17) are more likely than Tweens (age 8-12) to say they do not want to be included in the political process in the U.S. (15% vs. 10%)
Q25: Do you think kids could help make America better if lawmakers (i.e., people who make the laws) worked more closely with children and young people (e.g., to ask them what is important to them, to get their opinions on new laws that would impact kids, ask them what things they’d like to see changed)? About 4 in 5 children (81%) say they think kids could help make America better if lawmakers worked more closely with children and young people. Roughly 1 in 10 children (7%) say they do not think kids could help make America better if lawmakers worked more closely with children and young people, while 12% are not sure.
Children age 13 to 15 are more likely than those age 10 to 12 to say they are not sure if kids could help make America better if lawmakers worked more closely with children and young people (16% vs. 10%)
Q30 Do you think the people who are running for President of the United States should invite young people to ask them questions at presidential debates (i.e., where the different people who are running for president get together and answer questions)? A majority of children (83%) say they think the people who are running for President of the United States should invite young people to ask them questions at presidential debates. Nearly 1 in 10 children (8%) say they don’t think the people who are running for President of the United States should invite young people to ask them questions at presidential debates, and 10% are not sure.
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Q35 Do you feel that people running for President of the United States listen to what people your age have to say about issues that are important to them (e.g., education, environment, safety)? Just over 2 in 5 children (43%) say they feel that people running for President of the United States listen to what people their age have to say about issues that are important to them. 41% say they do not feel that people running for President of the United States listen to what people their age have to say about issues that are important to them, and 16% say they are not sure.
Q40 Do you feel that people running for President of the United States think about things that impact kids (e.g., school changes, laws that help keep kids safe) when deciding what they want to focus on if they get elected? Only about 2 in 5 children (44%) say they feel that people running for President of the United States think about things that impact kids when deciding what they want to focus on if they get elected. Over one-third (35%) say they do not feel that people running for President of the United States think about things that impact kids when deciding what they want to focus on if they get elected, and 20% say they are not sure.
Q45 Do you feel adults in your community (e.g., parents, teachers) will think about your needs and opinions when deciding how to vote in the 2020 presidential election? Only slightly more than half of children (51%) say they feel adults in their community will think about their needs and opinions when deciding how to vote in the 2020 presidential election. Nearly half of children (49%) say they do not feel or are not sure if adults in their community (e.g., parents, teachers) will think about their needs and opinions when deciding how to vote in the 2020 presidential election. 
Girls are more likely than boys to say they are unsure if adults in their community will think about their needs and opinions when deciding how to vote in the 2020 presidential election (30% vs. 22%)
Q50 Do you feel that people in charge of making decisions locally (e.g., mayors, governors, members of congress) think about issues that impact kids (e.g., school changes, laws that help keep kids safe) when making their decisions? Nearly half of children (46%) say they feel that people in charge of making decisions locally think about issues that impact kids when making their decisions. Almost one-third of children (31%) say they do not feel that people in charge of making decisions locally think about issues that impact kids when making their decisions and 22% say they are not sure. 6
Q55 Do you feel that the media (e.g., news programs, newspapers, magazines) takes kids thoughts and opinions into consideration, and thinks about issues that affect kids when they are writing/reporting stories? Only one-third of children (33%) say they feel that the media takes kids thoughts and opinions into consideration and thinks about issues that affect kids when they are writing/reporting stories. Nearly half of children (47%) say they do not feel that the media takes kids thoughts and opinions into consideration and thinks about issues that affect kids when they are writing/reporting stories, and 20% say they are not sure.
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FULL METHODOLOGY This survey was conducted online within the United States by The Harris Poll on behalf of UNICEF USA between October 29 – November 5, 2019 among 1,011 U.S. children ages 8-17. Results were weighted for age within gender, region, race/ethnicity, income, and education where necessary to align them with their actual proportions in the population. Propensity score weighting was also used to adjust for respondents’ propensity to be online. All sample surveys and polls, whether or not they use probability sampling, are subject to multiple sources of error which are most often not possible to quantify or estimate, including sampling error, coverage error, error associated with nonresponse, error associated with question wording and response options, and post-survey weighting and adjustments. Therefore, Harris Poll avoids the words “margin of error” as they are misleading. All that can be calculated are different possible sampling errors with different probabilities for pure, unweighted, random samples with 100% response rates. These are only theoretical because no published polls come close to this ideal. Respondents for this survey were selected from among those who have agreed to participate in online surveys. The data have been weighted to reflect the composition of the adult population. Because the sample is based on those who agreed to participate in our panel, no estimates of theoretical sampling error can be calculated.
About The Harris Poll The Harris Poll is one of the longest running surveys in the U.S. tracking public opinion, motivations and social sentiment since 1963 that is now part of Harris Insights & Analytics, a global consulting and market research firm that delivers social intelligence for transformational times. We work with clients in three primary areas; building twenty-first-century corporate reputation, crafting brand strategy and performance tracking, and earning organic media through public relations research. Our mission is to provide insights and advisory to help leaders make the best decisions possible. To learn more, please visit www.theharrispoll.com
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