In honor of National Boys & Girls Club Week, BGCA conducted a survey of youth age 8-18 on character and citizenship. From the survey, we learn young people are concerned about good character and ethics. In this election year, while many candidates and pundits have downplayed the importance of character, our survey results show youth consider “good character and strong ethics” to be the top attribute of a U.S. President. 

The survey asked young people their opinions on important leadership qualities and we found:

• Youth consider “good character and strong ethics” to be the most important attribute of the U.S. President. 
• The majority (77%) of youth surveyed say “character” would matter if they could vote for President. 
• “Drugs and alcohol abuse” is the most important issue youth face that they want the government to address.

Survey Says:
Youth answered several questions including those below.

• What do you see at the most important attribute of the U.S. President?
• 33.8% - Good character and strong ethics
• 26.7% - Education
• 19.0% - Ability to inspire people
• 14.1% - A successful track record in government
• 6.4% - Experience in foreign policy
• Would a candidate’s character matter to you if you could vote for President?
• 76.9% - Yes
• 23.1% - No
• What is the most important issue facing youth you would like the government to address?
• 28.2% - Drugs/alcohol abuse
• 15.7% - Cost of college
• 13.5% - Teen pregnancy
• 12.2% - Crime/violence
• 11.4% - High school dropouts
• 8.3% - More youth jobs
• 6.9% - Peer pressure
• 3.7% - Poverty

Methodology: The online survey was conducted for National Boys & Girls Club Week 2012 (April 15-21) using SurveyMonkey.com.  2,252 youth participated in the survey.