Attitude of High School Students towards Life

What do High School Seniors think about life?

This is a very interesting dataset from Census and it is looking into it to get a glimpse into the minds of High school students. The last survey data available is for 2004 and the initial survey was done in 1972.

SOURCE :

Table 506.10. Percentage of 1972 high school seniors, 1992 high school seniors, and 2004 high school seniors who felt that certain life values were
“very important,” by sex: Selected years, 1972 through 2004

Different Aspects of Life

List of different aspects of life that were surveyed between female and male students

  • Being a leader in the community
  • Being successful in work
  • Correcting inequalities
  • Finding steady work
  • Giving my children better opportunities
  • Having a happy family life
  • Having children
  • Having leisure time
  • Having lots of money
  • Having strong friendships
  • Helping others in the community
  • Living close to parents or relatives
  • Moving from area

Comparing the survey data between male and female students shows some interesting facts

High School seniors who felt that certain life values were “Very Important”

In the above chart, (built using datavisualization tool) the values were averaged from 1972 through 2004 for both Female and Male students. I have also highlighted the differences between the percentages for both male and female students. In the case where higher female percent favor a certain aspect of life compared to the male percentages is pointed with red arrow and the blue arrow indicates where the male percentage is higher than the female percentages.

What is more important to Female Senior Students

  • Helping others in the community
  • Living close to parents or relatives
  • Having children
  • Having a happy family life
  • Correcting inequalities
  • Giving my children better opportunities

What is more important to Male Senior Students

  • Having strong friendships
  • Having lots of money
  • Having leisure time
  • Finding steady work
  • Being successful in work
  • Giving my children better opportunities

Giving my children better opportunities is the one thing that both male and female students want it almost equally.

2004 : Attitudes towards life

Interestingly, by 2004, no one is interested in “Being a leader in the community”

Comparison of values over the years