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Reports and Publications :: The World According to Our Kids
Mirror or Mirage? Students Assess the Survey Results
The results of the survey strongly indicate that, like other participating communities, Arlington youth have too few assets. As Search has
phrased it, their development rests on a fragile foundation. But what do kids themselves say about the survey? Do the results mirror their own
experience or present a false picture of youth activities?
To help with these questions, the Partnership held a one-day retreat with a group of 7 middle school and 18 high school students to
review the results of the survey. During the retreat, we asked the students to address two questions. First, do the survey results seem reasonable
in light of their own experiences and impressions? Second, what do the survey results tell the community about its strengths and weakness?
These questions are answered below.
In the Ballpark? How Students View the Survey Data
The two groups of students reached somewhat different conclusions about how well the survey data portray the experience of Arlington
County youth. The high school students felt the data presented an overly-positive picture. These students perceived that the percentages for
many assets, such as restraint and caring neighborhood, were too high, and percentages for many risk behaviors, such as tobacco, alcohol use
and vandalism, were too low.
The middle school group reported mixed results. They felt that the estimates for some activities (including honesty, neighborhood
boundaries, and TV overexposure) were too high. Survey estimates for some other activities or behaviors, both positive and negative, were too
low (including abuse, alcohol use, cultural competence, and adult role models).
What can members of the community conclude from this groups take on the data? For two reasons, the actual rates for risky behaviors
are probably between the rate suggested by the surveys and the rate suggested by typical students.
- Even in anonymous surveys, some students will be reluctant to report illegal behavior. In that case, reported behavior will be less than the true rate,
consistent with the views of the retreat participants.
- Some research suggests that students typically overestimate the prevalence of risk behaviors among their peers (i.e. everybodys doing it, whatever it is).
So, while the survey estimates may be too low, the risk behaviors are probably less common than most kids think.
These considerations have at least two practical implications:
- The surveys estimates of risk behaviors, while our communitys best estimates, should be treated as lower-bound estimates; that is, the true
rates are at least as great as those indicated. If the percentage of youth who report behaviors such as drinking and driving or suicidal thoughts
is cause for even mild concern, we should take action to reduce the behavior.
- We need to educate students on what the surveys say about the behavior of their peers, encouraging them to recognize that they may be making false
assumptions about the behaviors of young people in the broader community.
Students Views of Strengths and Concerns
During the retreat, we also asked participants in each group to think about which assets represented real strengths of the community and which represented top concerns. No clear consensus emerged from this exercise. The facilitators (all high school students) felt strongly that more young people need to be involved in a lengthier process of discussion before a consensus will emerge.
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