Teens 'crave' contact with parents: Study

There's a certain credibility to the results of a survey of 46,000 respondents! Boys & Girls Clubs of America has just unveiled its "Youth Report to America," "the largest national survey developed and administered by teens," BGCA's press release says. A number of news outlets highlighted what the 13-to-18-year-old respondents said about their relationship with their parents (of significance in the online-safety field), on p. 5 of the survey: "Today's youth maintain very close ties to their parents," BGCA says, with such findings as: 37% of respondents saying their relationship with their parents/guardians was most important to them ("interestingly, only 9% … listed their relationship with their counselor/advisor as most important). "Young people stated that their parents also help guide the choices that they make. Surprisingly, nearly half (45%) … feel that their parents most significantly influence their decisions, rather than their peers." BGCA quotes child psychiatrist and Harvard Medical School prof. Alvin F. Poussaint as saying that "youth value the opinions of their adult mentors, especially their parents' opinion. Our kids want to be heard." Here's coverage from TV stations in Waco, Texas and Sacramento, among several using variations of the headline: "Survey: Teens Fear War, Crave Parental Contact."