Unit 324 | Lesson 1

Lesson 1: Your Place in the Community (10th Grade)
Handout 3

Sample Surveys

Results of Nationwide Undercover Survey Released
Marketing Violent Entertainment to Children and Industry Self-Regulation

The Federal Trade Commission released its 2003 nationwide undercover survey of stores and theaters, or “mystery shopper” study. The survey was conducted to collect data on the extent to which retailers prevent children from purchasing entertainment products that have been rated or labeled by entertainment industry self-regulatory associations or entertainment producers as potentially inappropriate for children. Commission staff, through a contractor, recruited 13 to 16-year-olds unaccompanied by a parent to attempt to purchase movie tickets, movies on DVD, music recordings, and electronic games at 899 theaters and stores in 39 states. The Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention at the Department of Justice funded the survey. The 2003 survey shows that 69 percent of the teenage shoppers were able to buy M-rated games; 83 percent were able to buy explicit-labeled recordings; and 36 percent were successful in purchasing tickets for admission to an R-rated film at movie theaters (see Table 1 below). For the first time, the Commission also surveyed DVD retailers, where 81% of the teen shoppers were successful in purchasing R-rated movies on DVD.

Table 1: Intersurvey Comparison

Was the shopper able to buy the product or admission ticket? (Percent “Yes”)

Entertainment Product Type
2000 Survey Results
2001 Survey Results
2003 Survey Results

Movie Theater Ticket 46% 48% 36%*

Movie on DVD n/a n/a 81%

Music Recording 85% 90% 83%*

Electronic Game 85% 78% 69%*

* Denotes a statistically significant difference from the 2001 survey. Data for comparison were not available for DVD retailers.

Youth and Underage Drinking: An Overview
Highlights from SAMHSA’s National Household Survey on Drug Abuse

All youth, ages 12-17:

7.2 million drank at least once in the past year
2.7 million drank about once a month or more in the past year
1 million drank at least once a week or more in the past year
Girls were as likely as boys their age to drink alcohol
Hispanic youth were as likely as white non-Hispanic youth to be current drinkers
Black non-Hispanic youth were the least likely of the racial/ethnic groups to be current drinkers
66 percent thought drinking 4 or 5 alcoholic drinks nearly every day was a great risk
47 percent thought drinking 4 or 5 alcoholic drinks once or twice a week was a great risk

All youth, ages 12-17:

13 percent had at least one serious problem related to drinking in the past year
6 percent had built up tolerance to the effects of alcohol
3 percent reported psychological problems related to their drinking
1 percent reported health problems related to their drinking

Youth, ages 12-17, who drank any alcohol in the past year:

39 percent had at least one serious problem related to drinking in the past year
18 percent had built up tolerance to the effects of alcohol
8 percent reported psychological problems related to their drinking
4 percent reported health problems related to their drinking

Youth, ages 12-17, who drank heavily (5 or more drinks on 5 or more occasions in the past month):

77 percent had at least one serious problem related to drinking in the past year
63 percent had built up tolerance to the effects of alcohol
20 percent reported psychological problems related to their drinking
12 percent reported health problems related to their drinking

U.S. department of Health and Human Services accessed August 2005 from http://www.health.org/govpubs/rpo990/

New Jersey Student Health Survey

The survey was administered to 1,399 students in 26 public high schools in New Jersey. Students were presented with 92 multiple choice items covering seven broad areas of teen behavior: safety behaviors; violence; use of tobacco; use of alcohol and drugs; sexual behaviors; dietary behaviors; and physical activity.

Among the survey findings in the spring of 2003:

Approximately one quarter (24%) of students engaged in binge drinking (5 or more drinks in a row) during the prior 30 days.
One in five (19%) students used marijuana in the prior 30 days and 4% used cocaine.
Ten percent of students had experienced sexual contact against their will at some time in their lives.
Ten percent of students watched five or more hours of television on an average school day.
One in five students are either at-risk for being overweight (12%) or are clearly overweight/obese (9%) based upon their self-reported height and weight for their age and gender.

New Jersey Department of Education: Summary of the New Jersey Student Health Survey accessed August 2005 from http://www.state.nj.us/njded/students/yrbs/2003/njshs.pdf

Handouts: 1 | 2 | 3 |

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Entertainment Product Type	2000 Survey Results	2001 Survey Results	2003 Survey Results
Movie Theater Ticket	46%	48%	36%*
Movie on DVD	n/a	n/a	81%
Music Recording	85%	90%	83%*
Electronic Game	85%	78%	69%*