Whom would you expect to curse more, a banker's kid or the child of a mechanic? The results of a Sept. 2001 Gallup Youth Study* on the use of profanity by teenagers might surprise many people, and warm the hearts of grandmas all over the country. They also undercut some socio-economic myths and misconceptions regarding the use of profanity. The study found that children of blue-collar wage earners disapprove of profane language more than do the kids of white-collar workers.
For the survey, teens between the ages of 13 and 17 were asked, "What kind of work does the main wage earner in your immediate family do?" Responses were grouped according to jobs traditionally considered "blue-collar" and "white-collar" positions. Although almost one-fifth of teens between the ages of 13 and 17 report never using profane language, blue-collar wage earners' children are particularly careful. Twenty-four percent (24%) of blue- collar teens say they always avoid foul language. The offspring of white- collar workers are less likely to resist the temptation -- only 14% say they never swear.
Further, blue-collar kids are much more likely than white-collar kids are to expect to face consequences after using a bad word. Fifty percent (50%) of the children of blue- collar wage earners think parents should punish children for cursing at home, and 43% think the schools should punish foul-mouthed students. White- collar kids would be considerably more lenient -- 34% think such offenders should be punished at home and 30% say they ought to be punished at school.
Despite the disparity between blue- collar and white-collar kids' use of profanity and expectations of punishment, they agree on one point -- a strong majority of both groups -- 80% or more -- think their parents should not curse around their families.
*Based on telephone interviews with 454 teenagers, aged 13-17, conducted June-Sept. 2001. For results based on this sample, one can say with 95% confidence that the margin of sampling error is ±5%.