White youths happier than others
 

By LARRY McSHANE and TREVOR TOMPSON, Associated Press Writers
Tue Aug 21, 7:38 AM ET



NEW YORK - From their relationships to their jobs to their money — even from they time they first roll out of bed — young white Americans are happier with life than their minority counterparts.

According to an extensive survey of 1,280 people ages 13-24 by The Associated Press and MTV, 72 percent of whites say they are happy with life in general, compared with 51 percent of Hispanics and 56 percent of blacks.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070821/...th_poll_race_4


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I would be interested in learning what the economic and social stats were of the sample size (which was only 1,280). Those can make a significant difference in the outcome. Interesting read, if nothing else.....

I am not too shocked by this. Though the categories seem vague and odd for a teen survey to me.

For instance:

"Sex: Sixty percent of white youths are happy with their sex lives, compared with 46 percent of minorities. Both groups are about equal on the sexual activity scale."

This part was interesting. How old were the participants.

It says they were 13-24 years old :confused: now what percentage of the sample was under 18 I don't know. I mean, I know some kids are "fast" nowadays but I don't know to many with sex lives (and if they have one its probably not that satisfying but I digress)

Its just something about white-skin-priviledge that makes folks happy about their lives....

Since MTV did this "research" does this mean that they are going stop showing kids who are getting BMW's and such on Sweet Sixteen knowing that 51-56% of their audience may/may not be able to afford that stuff because of their socio economic status? I would like to know how reliable their study is, especially since I have a bias about surveying people who are 13.

Theory/Question

It seems to me that if you're middle class or higher it's not socially acceptable to express unhappiness with your life. Even in a survey. I'd defintely be curious to see the socio-economic breakdown of the respondents.

Also, based on mainstream media, I'm led to wonder if it's more acceptable for minorities than whites to express unhappiness with their life. Anybody's thoughts on that?

When I wrote that I was not surprised, I meant that I was not surprised that a study would show that. I did and do wonder about the questions and if they were written in such a way to elicit a certain kind of response.


Example: Do you wish you had a BMW? (To which the answer might be yes, but that doesn't mean that I am unhappy about my Nissan).

I also agree that age and socio-economic class are factors here, which might speak to some of the disparity the survey documents.

Finally, contrary to what the media presents, there are a good deal of black and other minority folks out here that are happy with our lives, regardless of socio-economic status. I would ask the question of what the media has to gain in continuously representing our communities in negative terms.

may i just say, my father retired as a probation officer here in richmond last year. 75% of his clientele was rich, upper class white kids who were dealing, using drugs, stealing money from their parents, and driving their parents BMWs under the influence...they lived in the best neighborhoods, attended the best schools, a few were the children of affluent drs, lawyers, and judges. are these the "happier than black people" white people? if so they can have it.

the 25% left, blacks and hispanics, were older, shiftworking people who rarely had time off, raising 4 kids in an ok area, and not as well educated.

now the question should be asked: what really makes a person happy? having it all doesnt do it for most people. breaking even certainly has its downfalls. what makes me happy personally, is being comfortable. if you are the child of a neurosurgeon who has never had to do anything for themselves, im pretty sure you are happy on some level. having to work at 14 to provide for your siblings while your single parent works 2 jobs of their own? not so much. its about more than demographics. i think they asked the wrong people.

I will refrain from rolling my eyes and saying "duh." I will....



Operational definitions are key. :cool:

You said it right here. Some Suburban well-to-do White kids have more problems than a little bit these days, but mostly because they create them. To them having "things" might mean happiness even though deep down inside, they may be wishing their parents were home more often and had more time for them. But this may not equate with unhappiness in their minds because all of their basic needs and beyond are met.

On the flip side, some children in the Black community may have come to view not having so many material things as unhappiness because they now equate happiness with having "things." Think about how the media flaunts the haves and the have-nots in our faces all the time. So I think this survey may not be accurate at all because perception is everything.