Opinion

Poll: Youth In Sync With Adults

By Bootie Cosgrove-Mather

December 12, 2005 / 1:50 PM EST / CBS

On behalf of MTV, CBS News conducted a poll among more than 600 14- to 24-year-olds by telephone from November 11 to 15, 2005. These respondents were part of nationwide representative samples identified in households previously interviewed by CBS News Polls and from RDD samples.

Tap into the minds of young Americans, and you'll find many of the same concerns shared by their elders, from the war in Iraq to the economy at home. Just half of the 14- to 24-year-olds polled think the government was right in launching the war in Iraq, and most youth agree with adults in thinking it is going badly.

A majority of those polled:

Are troubled by the war in Iraq

Express concern about the direction of the country

Disapprove of the president's handling of the economy

Feel disconnected from the government generally

Don't think another terrorist attack is very likely soon

The War, The President

The war in Iraq has achieved greater prominence in the minds of young people over the past six months.

Just half of 14- to 24-year-olds now think it was the right thing to do, and a majority thinks it is going badly.

Younger people express more optimism than all Americans about staying the course in Iraq, but are similar to all adults in their views on whether the war has made the U.S. safer or not.

Still, views of President George W. Bush are as negative among this age group as they are among adults as a whole.

Education

Not surprisingly given their stage in life, personal concerns of young people center on education and jobs.

Most think their schools do a good job preparing students for college, but fewer say the same about how well their schools prepare them for jobs after high school.

Interest in using the internet as a means of improving job skills is widespread among those in this age group.

Education is young people's greatest personal concern.

When asked to choose their own most important issue from a list, education tops the list; followed by the issues of the economy and jobs as well as the combined issues of terrorism, national security and the war in Iraq .

Selected most often is education, 35 percent choose it.

The economy and jobs is picked by 14 percent.

Terrorism, national security or the war in Iraq are selected by 13 percent.

Education: room for improvement, especially on job preparedness and using the internet as a means.

While many young adults believe their high school prepares students for college or jobs, they still see room for improvement, especially on job preparedness. Interest in using the internet as a means of improving job skills is widespread among those in this age group.

More than two thirds of 14- to 24-year-olds thinks their high school properly prepares people for college, but fewer — 49 percent — think their school does a good job preparing people who don't go to college for jobs after high school.

Those under age 18 — most of whom are still in high school and have limited experience with the job market — are significantly more likely than those aged 18 to 24 to say their high school does a good job preparing people for college or the job market.

But even among this younger group, more say their high school does a good job preparing students for college than it does for jobs.

High School Properly Prepares Students:

For College
All
69%
Age 14-17
85%
Age 18-24
60%

For Jobs
All
49%
Age 14-17
62%
Age 18-24
41%

These findings are similar to an MTV Poll conducted in March of 2005, when 67 percent of those aged 14-24 said their high school prepared students for college, and 52 percent said it prepared students for a job.

Students who are either attending or have graduated from college do not feel very different from students with high school degrees or less education.

About seven in 10 in each group thinks their high school properly prepares students for college, and about half thinks their school properly prepares students for jobs.

Just more than half of young people report they learned a lot in high school, with younger teens most likely to say so.

Seventy-two percent of those aged 14 to 17 say they learned a lot,

Forty-two percent of 18- to 24-year-olds say the same thing.

Very few say they learned not much or nothing.

There is a great deal of interest among young people aged 14 to 24 in online courses of any kind, and interest is especially high in online courses that could help with jobs.

Forty-eight percent of 14- to 24-year-olds are very or somewhat interested in taking a class online if it counted toward a high school degree, and 60 percent are interested in taking an online class for college.

Nearly nine in ten are interested in taking a course online that would help them get a promotion or a better job, including 60 percent who report they are very interested.

Those aged 18 to 24 show greater interest in taking college courses online.

Interest In Taking Online Course

For high school credit
All
48%
Age 14-17
45%
Age 18-24
51%

For college credit
All
60%
Age 14-17
54%
Age 18-24
64%

To help with job or promotion
All
88%
Age 14-17
86%
Age 18-24
88%

The direction of the country seems negative to youth; they are still optimistic about the war in Iraq and the terror threat.

As do most American adults, most young people believe the country is on the wrong track.

The country is …

Heading in right direction
Young Americans Age 14 to 24, now
34%
All adults, CBS News/NY Times Poll, 12/2005
31%

On wrong track
Young Americans Age 14 to 24, now
60%
All adults, CBS News/NY Times Poll, 12/2005
60%

However, just more than half — 54 percent — think the national economy is in good shape, while 44 percent say it is in bad shape. Fifty percent of those aged 18 to 24 rate the economy positively, rising to 61 percent among those aged 14 to 17.

Just half think the war in Iraq was the right, and most think it is going badly, but young people are more willing than all adults are to keep U.S. troops in Iraq.

Young Americans aged 14 to 24 are divided over the Iraq war, as is the rest of the nation.

Was Iraq War The Right Thing To Do?

Yes, right thing
Young Americans age 14 to 24, Now
50%
All adults, CBS News/NY Times Poll, 12/2005
48%

No, U.S. should've stayed out
Young Americans age 14-24, now
44%
All adults, CBS News/NY Times Poll, 12/2005
48%

As with most Americans, the majority of younger Americans say the war is going either somewhat badly or very badly for the U.S. Young women are a bit more likely than young men to say this:

59 percent of young women say it is going somewhat or very badly, and 51 percent of young men agree.

Few Americans of any age group say the Iraq war is going very well.

That said, younger people aged 14 to 24 are still optimistic about the prospects for success in Iraq.

Seventy-five percent say they think the U.S. will ultimately succeed there. In July 2005, 64% of all Americans held the same positive outlook.

Additionally, a majority (54 percent) of young people say U.S. troops should stay in Iraq as long as it takes to ensure that nation's stability.

A lot of this sentiment is driven by the youngest people in the poll — 60 percent of respondents aged 14-17 say the U.S. should stay as long as it takes;

Fifty percent of those who are between the ages of 18 and 24 agree.

In a recent CBS News poll, 43 percent of all adults 18 and older said troops should stay in Iraq long as it takes.

As it is with most Americans, younger people's views of the war's impact on U.S. safety is mixed. They do not seem to feel that a terrorist attack is very likely.

More than one-third think the war has helped abate some of the terror threat to the nation; the same number of young people as adults think the war has had no impact at all. About one in five says it has actually made the U.S. less safe than it was before.

A majority of young Americans think another terrorist attack in the U.S. is not very likely soon.

In September of 2004, younger Americans ages 18 to 29 were more worried about a terror attack, with 59% believing another attack was very or somewhat likely.

Asked to pick from a list of possible reasons why they think President Bush went to war with Iraq, young Americans cite oil interests, the President's perceived desire to finish something his father started and protecting the U.S. from terrorism. These views are similar to the reasons volunteered by all Americans in the most recent CBS News/ New York Times Poll.

Young Americans are less likely to see President Bush's motivation as finding weapons of mass destruction, or freeing the Iraqis from a dictatorship.

What Is The Main Reason President Bush Went To War In Iraq?

Oil
26%
To finish what his dad started
25%
To protect United States from terrorism
22%
To protect U.S. from weapons of mass destruction
14%
To free the Iraqi people
10%

Like all Americans, young people give President Bush low marks and distrust the government in general

More than half of Americans aged 14 to 24 disapprove of the overall job George W. Bush is doing as president and they also give him low marks on his handling of specific issues. This group gives their lowest rating to the President on his handling of Iraq.

Thirty-eight percent of those ages 14 to 24 approve of the job Bush is doing as president; 53 percent disapprove.

These ratings are similar to those given the President by adults nationwide.

In the latest CBS News/New York Times poll, 40 percent of Americans overall approved of Bush's job as President, while 53 percent disapproved.

In the Fall of 2004, Americans ages 18 to 29 gave President Bush a 44 percent approval rating.

President Bush's Overall Job Rating

Approve
Young Americans ages 14 to 24, now
38%
All adult Americans, CBS News/NY Times Poll, 12/2005
40%

Disapprove
Young Americans ages 14 to 24, now
53%
All adult Americans, CBS News/NY Times Poll, 12/2005
53%

Forty-six percent of 14- to 24-year-olds approve of the president's handling of terrorism — his highest rating.

Thirty-three percent approve of his handling of the economy

Just 32 percent approve of Bush's handling of the war in Iraq.

President Bush's Job Approval Ratings — Issues

Terrorism
Young Americans ages 14 to 24
46%
All Adults, CBS News/NY Times Poll, 12/2005
48%

Economy
Young Americans ages 14 to 24
33%
All adults, CBS News/NY Times Poll, 12/2005
38%

War in Iraq
Young Americans ages 14 to 24
32%
All Adults, CBS News/NY Times Poll, 12/2005
36%

A majority of young Americans age 14 to 24 are distrustful of the government in Washington.

Nearly six in ten say they trust the government to do what is right only some of the time or never, while 40% trust the government all or most of the time.

Those younger than age 18 are more likely than those 18 to 24 to trust the government.

The most recent CBS News/New York Times Poll found all adults nationwide even more distrustful of the government. In that poll, 67 percent of Americans said they trusted the government only some of the time or never.

While more than half of young Americans ages 14 to 24 say the government cares at least a bit about people their age, 44 percent say Washington cares "little or not at all" about young people.

Appointments to the Supreme Court matter to young Americans

Fewer than half of those aged 14 to 24 say the issue of which judges sit on the U.S. Supreme Court is very important to them personally.

Sixty percent of 14- to 24-year-olds admit that the appointment of a new Supreme Court justice will have at least some impact on their lives, but just 13 percent say that impact will be great.

Forty percent think it will have little impact or no impact on them.

In a poll conducted in July 2005 by CBS News, nearly six in ten Americans overall said which judges sit on the high court was very important to them personally.

While this poll did not ask specifically about the issue of abortion, news discussions about its role as a factor in Supreme Court nominations may have had an impact: Sixty-six percent of young women ages 14 to 24 say the appointment of a new justice will impact their lives, compared to 53 percent of young men the same age.

METHODOLOGY

Interviews were conducted among 619 14 to 24 year olds by telephone from November 11-15, 2005. CBS News conducted the poll on behalf of MTV. These respondents were part of nationwide representative samples identified in households previously interviewed by CBS News Polls and from RDD samples.
Weighting

The sample is weighted to ensure that the distribution of interviews mirrors the distribution of the entire population of 14 to 24 year-olds across a variety of variables.

The weighting procedures are as follows:

1. Each respondent receives a weight inversely proportional to his or her probability of selection. This weight is calculated by taking the HOUSEHOLD weight from the original source survey times the proportion of all household members who are 14-17 or 18-24 years old, depending on how the respondent was selected. (For the original adult surveys, weighting factors included the number of telephone voice lines in a household and respondent demographic characteristics matched to Census data on region, age, education, gender, race, marital status and number of adults in the household.)

2. The weights were then adjusted to match Census Bureau estimates of 14 to 24 year-olds by sex, age, race, the presence of other 14-17 year olds (for respondents 18-24) or 18-24 year olds (for respondents 14-17) and education for respondents older than 17.

Margin of Error

The margin of error for this survey is plus or minus four percentage points for results based on the entire sample. That means that 95 times out of a hundred, the results are within four percentage points of what they would be if the entire universe of 14 to 24 year-olds were interviewed. The error for subgroups is larger.

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