Study Shows Teens’ Top Ten Causes.

America’s teens identify issues that affect them personally as their top concerns and they are ready to get involved to make a difference, a new study by the national youth leadership organization Do Something revealed. The survey, which was funded by a grant from the Levi Strauss Foundation, is one of the Levi’s brand and Do Something’s joint outreach efforts to inspire, fund and mobilize young people to take positive action in their communities.

The nationwide survey of 1,238 students in grades 7-12 found that drunk driving (72%), depression and teen suicide (66%), guns at school (66%), improving schools/education (64%), discrimination (64%), violence in school (63%), drugs (63%), self-esteem (61%), AIDS (58%), and abuse at home (57%) are teens’ top ten concerns, and two-thirds of teens (67%) plan to get involved during the next year with the issues that are important to them.

“Do Something is all about connecting with teens on their own terms,” said Andrew Shue, the Co-Founder of Do Something, a leading provider of youth-led leadership and citizenship initiatives in schools. “We ask young people what issues they care about and then give them the tools and support to bring their unique vision to life.”

“Teens are identifying issues that impact them personally as their top concerns,” said Adam Burns, Research Director at Teenage Research Unlimited (TRU), a market research firm specializing in teens. “Young people are dealing with these issues every day, and they are ready to do something to make a difference.”

The survey, conducted for Do Something by Harris Interactive in collaboration with TRU and made possible by a grant from the Levi Strauss Foundation, also researched young people’s perspectives on a wide range of topics surrounding community involvement:

Teens Believe They Can Make an Impact:

Nearly eight in ten teens (78%) believe people their age can create positive change in their communities, seven in ten teens (69%) believe they personally can make a positive change in their community, and more than six in ten teens (64%) believe people their age have good ideas about how to help the community.

Teens Identify Benefits and Obstacles of Community Involvement:

Most teens choose to get involved in the community because it makes them feel good (68%), it is fun (67%) and it is the right thing to do (65%). Those who do not plan to get involved in a cause blame lack of time (36%), laziness (36%) and not knowing what to do (33%).

Teens’ Cite Friends and School as Preferred Ways to Get Involved:

Teens’ preferred ways of taking action include getting involved with people their age (49%), volunteering with an existing group (46%), doing things online (45%) and being part of a student-led group at school (44%). A majority of teens (54%) said they would welcome a community service requirement at their school.

Teens’ Reveal Positive Effects of Community Involvement

The survey also found that teens who have participated in community service activities are more likely than those who have not to believe people their age can make a positive change in their community (89% vs. 69%), more likely to believe people their age can make an impact on the political system (48% vs. 34%), and are twice as likely to make mostly A’s in school (34% vs. 17%).

Teens Are Disconnected from the Political System

While half of teens (51%) say it is important for people their age to get involved in the political process, only one in four teens believes that elected officials care about the issues that affect people their age (27%) or that elected officials are making positive changes in their community (26%). Only one in twenty teens (5%) believes the best way to make a difference is to call, write or visit an elected official, and only one in fifty teens (2%) believes that getting involved in an election or political campaign is the best way to make a difference in their community.

“The political disengagement teens feel is in stark contrast to their interest and participation in community service,” said Dana Markow, Ph.D., Senior Research Manager of Youth Research at Harris Interactive. “Teens believe it is important to make a difference, but they don’t see the political process as the way to make necessary changes.”

“All too often, efforts to promote young people’s civic action have not fit the lives and values of today’s youth,” said Shue. “Do Something is helping teens see the connection between the issues they care about and the political process that can help them achieve their goals.”

Through funding from the Levi Strauss Foundation, Do Something is offering twenty-five $500 grants to help students create community projects to turn their ideas into action. Do Something has also launched a new website (www.dosomething.org) to help teens get informed, get connected, speak out and take action on these top ten causes.

“By partnering with Do Something to commission this research study, we were able to determine which issues are most important to young people,” said Kevin Carroll, Senior Manager, Levi Strauss Foundation. “Young people have spoken and we’re listening.”

For more information at http://www.dosomething.org