Indicator 77: Perception of Youth as Community Assets

 

Why This Is Important

There is a common wisdom that adults view adolescents negatively. Such a negative
perception may influence adults to be less supportive of youth’s needs. Believing that
young people are assets to a community is one way a community keeps children at the
heart of decision-making.

 

Where We Stand

*For 2005, data is being collected differently for this indicator. For the years
2001 and 2004, this question was asked specifically to those with children in the
household under the age of 18. Those results are still presented in the chart with an
asterisk*. For 2005, the intention is to provide a more broad based measure that may
tell a story that calls attention to all parts of our communities. This year the question was
added to a bi-annual Tracking Survey © conducted by Critical Insights, a market research
firm in Portland, Maine. This survey targets a more broad population of adult residents in
Maine.

On this indicator, respondents are asked, “How much to you agree or disagree with the
following: Young people in my community are more of an asset to the community than a
burden.” For 2005, 86% of the respondents either “strongly agreed” or “agreed” with this
statement.

 

 

Data Sources and Context

As mentioned above, for 2005 this indicator has a different data source. These
respondents are not exclusively households with children ages 18 and younger. This
indicator was the result of a purchased item (question) that was part of the Tracking
Survey © conducted by Critical Insights one of their bi-annual survey efforts in November
2005. This public opinion survey had 601 respondents with only 30% of all respondents
having children ages 18 and younger in the household.