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Issue Date: April 20, 2003
RESULTS: Teens & The Opposite Sex
Last fall, more than 37,000 students in grades 6-12 took USA WEEKEND's 16th annual teen survey in the magazine, at our Web site or through our survey partners "YM Magazine" and YouthNoise.com. These are highlights of the results of the exclusive, unscientific survey.
| 1. Which one quality first catches your attention in the opposite sex? |
| |
| |
Boys |
Girls |
| Looks |
58% |
40% |
| Personality |
27% |
36% |
| Athleticism |
1% |
2% |
| Confidence |
2% |
3% |
| Sense of humor |
9% |
16% |
| Intelligence |
2% |
2% |
| Popularity |
1% |
1% |
| 2. Which one quality of your sex do you think first catches the attention of the opposite sex? |
| |
| |
Boys |
Girls |
| Looks |
56% |
79% |
| Personality |
16% |
11% |
| Athleticism |
6% |
0% |
| Confidence |
3% |
3% |
| Sense of humor |
12% |
3% |
| Intelligence |
2% |
1% |
| Popularity |
5% |
3% |
| 3. Where do you seek advice most often about the opposite sex? |
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| |
Boys |
Girls |
| The Internet |
2% |
1% |
| Magazines |
1% |
6% |
| Radio call-in shows |
1% |
0% |
| Parents |
14% |
11% |
| Friends |
34% |
50% |
| Siblings |
4% |
3% |
| An opposite-sex friend |
20% |
16% |
| Teacher/school counselor |
1% |
0% |
| Mentor/youth minister |
0% |
0% |
| I don't seek advice |
23% |
13% |
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| 4. Do you think it's OK for girls in your grade to call guys? |
| |
| |
Boys |
Girls |
| Yes |
96% |
95% |
| No |
4% |
5% |
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| 5. Do you think it's OK for girls in your grade to ask guys out? |
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| |
Boys |
Girls |
| Yes |
90% |
80% |
| No |
10% |
20% |
| |
| 6. Is it possible to have a good friend of the opposite sex? |
| |
| |
Boys |
Girls |
| No, because one person always wants to be more than friends. |
6% |
3% |
| Yes, but only if you're part of a group. |
8% |
7% |
| Yes, even if it's one-on-one. |
86% |
90% |
| 7. Do you relate to your friends of the opposite sex the same way you relate to your same-sex friends? |
| |
| |
Boys |
Girls |
| Yes |
47% |
54% |
| No |
53% |
46% |
| |
| 8. Think of the most recent time a friend of the opposite sex started dating someone. Were you jealous? |
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| |
Boys |
Girls |
| Yes, because it meant we would hang out less together. |
9% |
18% |
| Yes, because I wanted to date him/her. |
21% |
17% |
| No, I was happy for him/her. |
44% |
45% |
| No, because it got rid of his/her crush on me. |
4% |
3% |
| It's never happened to me. |
22% |
17% |
| 9. Which one of these scenarios would you enjoy most for a Saturday night? |
| |
| |
Boys |
Girls |
| Hanging out with a friend or friends of the same sex. |
11% |
9% |
| Hanging out with a group of guys and girls. |
49% |
64% |
| Hanging out with a friend of the opposite sex. |
8% |
6% |
| Hanging out with someone of the opposite sex I'm romantically interested in. |
28% |
19% |
| Being alone. |
4% |
2% |
| 10. When you hear that a girl at school has had sex, do you think: |
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| |
Boys |
Girls |
| Better of her? |
8% |
0% |
| The same of her as before? |
54% |
46% |
| Less of her? |
38% |
54% |
| 11. When you hear that a guy at school has had sex, do you think: |
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| |
Boys |
Girls |
| Better of him? |
9% |
1% |
| The same of him as before? |
64% |
56% |
| Less of him? |
27% |
43% |
| 12. How concerned are you about the following? |
| |
Very Concerned |
Somewhat Concerned |
Not Very Concerned |
Not At All Concerned |
Very or Somewhat |
| Economy |
14% |
48% |
29% |
9% |
62% |
| War/Terrorism |
48% |
38% |
10% |
4% |
86% |
| Drugs |
34% |
31% |
22% |
13% |
65% |
| Acceptance By Others |
26% |
36% |
24% |
14% |
62% |
| Family |
63% |
24% |
8% |
5% |
87% |
| School |
52% |
32% |
11% |
5% |
84% |
| Violence |
35% |
36% |
20% |
9% |
71% |
| Money |
41% |
39% |
15% |
5% |
80% |
| Sexual Issues |
26% |
35% |
26% |
13% |
61% |
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| 13. Which celebrity relationship would you most like to have? |
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Boys |
Girls |
| Sarah Michelle Gellar and Freddie Prinze Jr. |
9% |
23% |
| Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston |
10% |
18% |
| Will and Jada Pinkett Smith |
10% |
14% |
| J.Lo and Ben Affleck |
13% |
6% |
| Gwen Stefani and Gavin Rossdale |
4% |
7% |
| None of the above |
54% |
32% |
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| 14. If you could get advice from a musician about the opposite sex, whom would you ask? |
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Boys |
Girls |
| J.Lo |
14% |
17% |
| Eminem |
15% |
9% |
| Britney Spears |
10% |
5% |
| Gwen Stefani |
4% |
9% |
| Pink |
3% |
7% |
| Justin Timberlake |
3% |
7% |
| Eve |
2% |
6% |
| Dave Matthews |
5% |
4% |
| None of the Above |
44% |
36% |
| 15. Would you date someone of a different race? |
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| |
Boys |
Girls |
| Yes |
75% |
75% |
| No, my parents would forbid it |
4% |
9% |
| No, because it adds too much complexity to the relationship |
13% |
10% |
| No, I'm against it |
8% |
6% |
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| 16. Would you date someone of a different religion? |
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| |
Boys |
Girls |
| Yes |
81% |
82% |
| No, my parents would forbid it |
2% |
1% |
| No, because it adds too much complexity to the relationship |
11% |
12% |
| No, I'm against it |
6% |
5% |
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| About the students who took the survey: |
Sex:
30% Male
70% Female
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Race:
75% White
7% Hispanic
4% Multiracial
9% Black
3% Asian
2% Other
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Grade:
6% 6th grade
12% 7th grade
18% 8th grade
17% 9th grade
17% 10th grade
16% 11th grade
14% 12th grade
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