Girl Scouts ‘Beliefs and Values’ survey show that Teens and Tweens are more pro-life today !

Good Intentions The of Teens and Tweens Today (2009)

Good Intentions: The Beliefs and Values of Teens and Tweens Today (2009), a national study conducted by the Girl Scout Research Institute (GSRI) in partnership with Harris Interactive explores what youth today value and how they go about making decisions, based on research conducted with 3,263 3rd to 12th-graders from around the country.

Despite the fact that the Girl Scouts promote abortion the results of the survey indicated the proportion of 7th- to 12th-graders who agree that abortion is all right is lower today than it was in 1989. Fewer youth today (25%) than in 1989 (33%) believe that “abortion is all right if having a baby will change your life plans in a way you find hard to live with.”

Six in ten (60%) disagree that “abortion is all right, if having a baby will change your life plans”.

Fifteen percent do not know how they feel about the matter.

Boys are more likely than girls to agree that abortion is all right (29% compared to 20%), and as youth get older they are more likely to agree.

White (28%) and Asian (35%) youth in this age bracket are more likely than African Americans (15%) to agree with this as well.

The survey also found that youth are more accepting of gay relationships. Fifty-nine percent of teenagers agree with the statement, “Gay and lesbian relationships are OK, if that is a person’s choice.” Only 31 percent agreed in 1989. And when asked whether they would continue a friendship with a gay or lesbian friend, 48% said they would, compared to just 12% in 1989.

Compared to 20 years ago, youth today are more likely to say they intend to vote in the future (84 percent vs. 77 percent), as well as give to charity (76 percent vs. 63 percent). Some 79 percent say they will volunteer in their communities. And here’s some good news — youth exhibit a strong sense of community and global responsibility in their attitudes toward environmental stewardship. Fully 78% of 7th- to 12th-graders — girls and boys across all age groups — agree that everyone has a responsibility to take care of the environment.

Nearly two out of three young people (62 percent) surveyed in 2009, say they would not cheat on a test compared to about half in 1989. And only 18 percent say they believe smoking is acceptable if a person finds it enjoyable. In 1989, more than a quarter of those surveyed thought smoking was acceptable.

Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/mpark/detail??blogid=164&entry_id=52788#ixzz0YdzNfwVP

Full report here