Teens and Distracted Driving - National Safety Council
Transcript of Teens and Distracted Driving - National Safety Council
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Teens and Distracted DrivingTexting, talking and other uses of the cell phone behind the wheel
November 16, 2009
Mary Madden, Senior Research SpecialistAmanda Lenhart, Senior Research Specialist
View Online:http://pewinternet.org/Reports/2009/Teens-and-Distracted-Driving.aspx
Pew Internet & American Life ProjectAn initiative of the Pew Research Center1615 L St., NW – Suite 700Washington, D.C. 20036202-419-4500 | pewinternet.org
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Overview
• 75%ofallAmericanteensages12-17ownacellphone,and66%usetheirphonestosendorreceivetextmessages.
• Olderteensaremorelikelythanyoungerteenstohavecellphonesandusetextmes-saging;82%ofteensages16-17haveacellphoneand76%ofthatcohortarecelltexters.
• Oneinthree(34%)textingteensages16-17saytheyhavetextedwhiledriving.Thattranslatesinto26%ofallAmericanteensages16-17.
• Half(52%)ofcell-owningteensages16-17saytheyhavetalkedonacellphonewhiledriving.Thattranslatesinto43%ofallAmericanteensages16-17.
• 48%ofallteensages12-17saytheyhavebeeninacarwhenthedriverwastexting.
• 40%saytheyhavebeeninacarwhenthedriverusedacellphoneinawaythatputthemselvesorothersindanger.
IntroductionAsearlyas2006,andwellbeforetextinghadbecomemainstreamintheU.S.,thePewResearchCenter’sInternet&AmericanLifeProjectreportedthatmorethanaquarterofadultcellphoneownersfelttheircellphonehadatsomepointcompromisedtheirdrivingability.Inthesurvey,28%admittedtheysometimesdidnotdriveassafelyastheyshouldwhileusingtheirmobiledevices.1
Overtime,cellphoneshavebecomeincreasinglyimportantfixturesinAmericans’livesandpublicconcernovertheirusewhiledrivinghasgrown.2Atthetimeofthe2006survey,just35%ofadultcellphoneownerssaidtheyusedthetextmessagingfeatureontheirphones.ByApril2009,theuseoftextmessagingbycellphoneownershadnearlydoubledto65%.3
SeveralstatesincludingCalifornia,ConnecticutandOregonhavealreadypassedlawstobanalltextingortalkingwithahandheldphonewhiledriving,andtheSenateisnowconsideringabill
1LeeRainieandScottKeeter,“Americansandtheircellphones,”PewInternet&AmericanLifeProject,April3,2006.Availableat:http://www.pewinternet.org/Reports/2006/Americans-and-their-cell-phones.aspx
2MarjorieConnelly,“ManyinU.S.WantTextingattheWheeltoBeIllegal,”The New York Times,November1,2009.Availableat:http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/02/technology/02textingside.html
3JohnHorrigan,“WirelessInternetUse,”PewInternet&AmericanLifeProject,July22,2009.Availableat:http://www.pewin-ternet.org/Reports/2009/12-Wireless-Internet-Use.aspxAdditionalnote:Boththe2006and2009surveysweredualframe,interviewingrespondentsvialandlinesandcellphones.
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thatwouldprovidefederalfundingtostatesthatenactsimilarlaws.4InSeptember2009U.S.TransportationSecretaryRayLaHoodconvenedpolicymakers,safetyadvocates,lawenforce-mentrepresentativesandacademicstoaddresstheriskoftext-messagingandother“distracteddriving”behavior.Attheconclusionofthesummit,SecretaryLaHoodannouncedanexecutiveorderfromPresidentObamathatforbidsfederalworkersfromtextingwhiledrivinggovernmentvehiclesortheirownvehicleswhileonthejob.5
The highest incidence of distracted driving occurs in the under-20 age group
AccordingtothelatestresearchfromtheNationalHighwayTrafficSafetyAdministration,in2008alone,therewere5,870fatalitiesandanestimated515,000peoplewereinjuredinpolice-reportedcrashesinwhichatleastoneformofdriverdistractionwasreported.Distractionsamongyoungdriversareofparticularconcern,asthehighestincidenceofdistracteddrivingoccursintheunder-20agegroup.6
NewresearchreleasedinJuly2009bytheVirginiaTechTransportationInstitute(VTTI)examinesavarietyoftasksthatdrawdrivers’eyesawayfromtheroadwayandsuggeststhattextmessag-ingonacellphoneisassociatedwiththehighestriskamongallcellphone-relatedtasksob-servedamongdrivers.7TheVTTIhasalsonotedthatteendriversaregenerallyatamuchhighercrashriskwhencomparedtootherdrivers,butthereisagapinunderstandingtowhatextentspecificbehaviorsandrelativelackofdrivingexperiencemaycontributetothiselevatedrisk.An18-monthstudyofnewly-licensedteendriversiscurrentlyunderwaytofurtherexaminethesefactors.8
ResearchconductedattheUniversityofUtah’sAppliedCognitionLaboratoryoverthepastdecadefurtherproblematizescellphoneuseinthecarandsuggeststhattalkingonacellphonewhiledrivingimpairsdrivingabilityinwaysthatconversingwithapersoninthecardoesnot.9Formoreinformationonthebodyofresearcharounddistracteddriving,pleaseseetheRe-sourcessectionattheendofthisreport.
4KimGeiger,“SupportinSenateforcellphonedrivingban,”Los Angeles Times,October14,2009.Availableat:http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-distracted-driving14-2009oct14,0,4546212.story
5MichaelDresser,“Don’ttextwhiledriving,ObamaordersU.S.workers,”The Baltimore Sun,October2,2009.Availableat:http://www.baltimoresun.com/features/commuting/bal-md.cm.text02oct02,0,6244619.story
6DebraAscone,TonjaLindsey,andCherianVarghese,“AnExaminationofDriverDistractionasRecordedinNHTSADatabases,”DataReportingandInformationDivision,NationalCenterforStatisticsandAnalysis,NHTSA,September2009.Availableat:http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/
7SherriBox,“NewdatafromVirginiaTechTransportationInstituteprovidesinsightintocellphoneuseanddrivingdistraction,”VTTI,July29,2009.Availableat:http://www.vtnews.vt.edu/story.php?relyear=2009&itemno=571
8VTTIIntheNews:http://www.vtti.vt.edu/news.html
9SeeStrayer,D.L.andJohnston,W.A.,(2001),Strayer,D.L.Drews,F.A.,andCrouch,D.J.(2003)andDrews,F.A.,Pasupathi,M.andStrayer,D.L.(2008)Thefindingsfromthesestudiesassertthattalkingonacellphonewhiledrivingresultsin“inattentionblindness,”slowerreactiontimesandotherimpairmentsofdrivingskillsthataresimilartodrivingwhileintoxicated.Forthesepapersandothers,seehttp://www.psych.utah.edu/AppliedCognitionLab/
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Teens who text and talk while drivingOverthesummerof2009,thePewResearchCenter’sInternet&AmericanLifeProjectcon-ductedasurveyof800teensages12-17askingabouttheirexperienceswithcellphoneuseincars.Alloftheteensinoursurveywereaskedabouttheirexperiencesaspassengers,andiftheywere16orolderandhaveacellphone,theywerealsoaskedabouttheirownactionsbehindthewheel.Additionally,theProjectandtheUniversityofMichiganconducted9focusgroupswithteensages12-18betweenJuneandOctober2009wherethetopicofdriv-ingandmobilephoneswasaddressed.
Fully75%ofallAmericanteensages12-17nowownacellphone,and66%usetheirphonestosendorreceivetextmessages.Olderteensaremorelikelythanyoungerteenstohavecellphonesandusetextmessag-ing;82%ofteensages16-17haveacellphoneand76%text.
Overall,34%ofteentextersages16-17saytheyhavetextedwhiledriving.Thattranslatesinto26%ofallAmericanteensages16-17.
Boysandgirlsareequallylikelytoreporttextingbe-hindthewheel;34%ofeachgroupsaytheyhaveusedtextmessagingwhiledriving.Atthesametime,textingatthewheelislesscommonthanhavingaconversationonthephonewhiledriving.Lookingatteensages16-17whohaveacellphone,52%saytheyhavetalkedonacellphonewhiledriving.Thattranslatesinto43%ofallAmericanteensages16-17.
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However,itisimportanttonotethatsomeoftheseteensmayusehands-freedevicesoraspeakerphonefunctionwiththeircellphones.Thissurveydidnotincludequestionstodiffer-entiatebetweenconversationswithhandheldphonesandthosethattookplacewiththeassis-tanceofahands-freedeviceorphonefeature.
Indeed,infocusgroupsandwrittensurveysconductedinpartnershipwiththeUniversityofMichigan,someteenstoldusthattheydrawalinebetweenconversationsandtexting,whileothersexpressedconcernoveranyactivitythattakesthedriver’seyesofftheroad.Onemiddleschool-agedgirlwrote:“I’mveryconcernedbecausetomeit’snottoosafetodriveandtextortalk(…)becauseyou’relookingdowninordertoreaditortextback.”
Likewise,onemiddleschool-agedboywrote:“Idoworryaboutitbecausewhatifyou’redrivingandnotpayingattentiontotheroadyoucanhitsomeoneormakethemhityou.”
One9th-10thgradeboysaid,“Peopletextingwor-riesmemorethanpeoplecallingpeople,becausetextingismoredistractingthantalkingonthephonebecauseyoucanpaymoreattentiontotheroadwhentalkingthantexting.”
Theteensinourfocusgroupswhosaidtheytextedwhiledrivingreportedavarietyofmotivationsfortheirbehavior,includingtheneedtoreporttheirwhereaboutstofriendsandparents,gettingdirectionsandflirtingwithsignificantothers.Teensalsotoldofavarietyofpracticestheyusetotrytoincreasesafetywhilestillmaintainingtheabilitytotextinthecar.Somefeltasthoughtheycouldsafelymanageaquickexchangeoftextswhilethecarwasstopped.Onehighschool-agedboysharedthathewouldtext“onlyat
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astopsignorlightbutifit’sacalltheyhavetowaitorI’llhandittomybrotherorwhoeverisnexttome.”
Otherstoldofholdingthephoneuptokeeptheireyessimultaneouslyontheroadandthephone.“Itrynotto,butataredlight,it’saloteasier”saidonehighschoolboy.“AndifIdotextwhileI’mdriving,Iusuallytrytokeepthephoneupnearthewindshield,soifsomeoneisbrak-inginfrontofmeorstopsshort,I’mnotgoingtobelookingdownandhitthem.”
Someteensexplainedothermethodsforhandlingcallsortextswhileontheroad“Mostofmyfriendsgivemetheirphonestotextforthemandreadtheirtexts,sothedriverdoesn’tdoitthemselves,”wroteoneolderhighschoolgirl.
One high-school aged boy said he thinks texting while driving is “fine,” adding, “I wear sunglasses
so the cops don’t see [my eyes looking down].”
Otherteensweremoreblaséabouttextinginthecar.Saidonehigh-schoolagedboy:“Ithinkit’sfine…AndIwearsunglassessothecopsdon’tsee[myeyeslookingdown].”Likewise,anoth-erhighschool-agedgirlwrotethatshetexts“allthetime,”andthat“everybodytextswhiletheydrive(…)likewhenI’mdrivingbymyselfI’llcallpeopleortextthem‘causeIgetbored.”Oneolderhighschool-agedboyexplainedthathelimitshistextingwhiledrivingonlyifhisparentsarearound:“I’mfinewithit,justnotwithmymomanddadinthecar.LikewhenI’mwithmybrother,Idoit.”
Teensdidmakeadistinctionbetweenreadingtextmessagesandsendingthem.“There’sadif-ference,Ithink,”saidoneolderhighschoolboy.“Becausejustreadingatextisn’tthatbad,it’sjustreadingandthenmovingon.Ifyou’retexting,it’sgoingtotakemoretimewhenyou’resup-posedtobedriving,andthat’swhenmostpeoplegetinaccidents.”
Theyalsomadeadistinctionbetweenplacingandansweringcallsonthephoneinthecarandsendingandreceivingtextmessages.“It’sdifferentbecausetextingyoumostlyhavetolookdown,”saidonemiddleschoolboy.“[While]callingyou’restillmostlyfocusedbutyoucouldgetintoconversationsandnotbeawareofwhat’sgoingonandstuff.”Anotherhighschoolboywrote:“Itdependsonwhatthedriverisdoing-textingorcalling.Ifhe’stexting,tomethat’sadangerousthing.Ifthedriverisusingthephonetochatwithpeople,Iamworried,butifheorsheusesthephone[in]anemergency,I’mnotworriedasmuch.”
Distracted drivers with teens as passengersAmongallteensages12-17,48%saytheyhavebeeninacarwhenthedriverwastexting.Theolderteensinoursamplereportedahigherincidenceofthisexperience;while32%ofteensages12-13saytheyhavebeenpassengersinacarwhilethedriverwastextingatthewheel,55%ofthoseages14-17reportthis.Lookingonlyatthosewhoareofdrivingage—16and17year-olds—theratejumpsto64%.
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Inaseparatequestion,teensages12-17wereaskediftheyhadbeeninacarwhenthedriverusedthecellphoneinawaythatputthemselvesorothersindanger.Fourintenteens(40%)saidtheyhadbeeninariskysituationlikethis.Youngerteensages12-13aregenerallylesslikelytosaytheyhavebeeninacarwithadriverwhousedacellphoneinadangerousway;34%reportthis,comparedwith42%ofthoseages14-17.Teensofdrivingage(16-17)arethemostlikelytoreportthisexperience;48%havebeenapassengerinacarwithadriverwhousedacellphoneinariskyway.
However,itisimportanttonotethatthesurveyquestionwordingdoesnotidentifytheageofthedistracteddriver.Theteenswhowereinterviewedinthephonesurveycouldbereportingexperiencesaspassengerswithadultdriversorotherteendrivers.Indeed,asnotedabove,inthefocusgroupsetting,manyteensrelayedaccountsoftheirparentsorotheradultrelativestextingandtalkingwhiledriving.Whilethiswascauseforconcernforsome,othersfeltthattheirparentsandotherswere“gooddrivers”whocouldmanagetheirphonessafely.
“[My dad] drives like he’s drunk. His phone is just like sitting right in front of his face, and he puts his knees on
the bottom of the steering wheel and tries to text.”
Whenaskedwhetherhehadanyconcernsaboutsafetywhenadriverusesthephone,onemiddleschool-agedboywrote:“Iamconcernedbecausewhenmymomdrivesshetalksonthephonealotsosheisstillalertbutshecangetkindofdangerous.”Another9th/10thgradeboysaid“Yeah[mydad]hedriveslikehe’sdrunk.Hisphoneisjustlikesittingrightinfrontofhisface,andheputshiskneesonthebottomofthesteeringwheelandtriestotext.”
Thefrequencyofteensreportingparentcellphoneusebehindthewheelinourfocusgroupswasstriking,andsuggestedthat,inmanycases,textingwhiledrivingisafamilyaffair.Whenonemiddleschool-agedboywasaskedhowoftenhewasinamovingvehiclewhenthedriversendsatextmessage,hereplied:“Allthetime.Mymom,sisterorbrotherwillsitbehindthewheelthewholetimeandjusttextaway.”Similarly,amiddleschoolgirltoldus:“Myunclewilldriveandtextwhileheisdriving–hewilltextnomatterwhereheis.”
“I don’t really get worried because everyone does it,” one middle school-aged girl wrote. “And when my mother
is texting and driving I don’t really make a big deal because we joke around with her about it”
Otherteenrespondentsreferredtotheirparents’useofthephonewhiledrivingaspartofalargersocietalnorm.Onemiddleschool-agedgirlwrote:“Idon’treallygetworriedbecauseeveryonedoesit.AndwhenmymotheristextinganddrivingIdon’treallymakeabigdealbe-causewejokearoundwithheraboutit(cuzshe’sacrazydriver)butwedon’ttakeitsoserious.”
Textingwasnottheonlycauseforconcernamongtheteenswhoparticipatedinourfocusgroups.WealsoheardaboutthedistractionsofdriverstryingtoaccessGlobalPositioningSys-
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tem(GPS)informationwhilecarswereinmotion.Andsometeenscitedotherapplicationsavail-ableonsmartphonesthattakethedriver’seyesofftheroad.“Mydad,hewasn’treallytexting,butwhenhedrives,hehasaGPSonhisBlackberry,sowhenhe’sdriving,helooksdownathisphone”saidonemiddleschoolboy,“…soit’slikethesame[as]beingdistractedfromtheroad.Mymomalwaysgetsonhimabouthowit’sunsafeandstuff.”
However,manyoftheteenswespokewithrelayedexperiencesaspassengersbeingdrivenbyotheryoungdrivers.Oneyounghighschoolgirlwroteabouthowoftenshe’sapassengerwithdriverswhotext:“EverytimeIleavetogosomewherewithmybrotherorsisterandmyfriends.Everytime!”Anotherhighschoolagegirlwrote:“Mysisterdoesitdespitemymother’swarn-ings,sodoesmybrotherandmyfriendsdespitemywarnings.”
Teen texters are more likely than non-texters to be a passenger of a distracted driver.Teensages12-17whousetextmessagingreportahigherincidenceofbeingpassengerswhenthedriveristextingorotherwiseusingthecellphoneinadangerousway.Amongallteentex-ters,58%saytheyhavebeeninacarwhilethedriverwastexting.Thatcompareswithjust28%ofnon-textingteens.Similarly,44%oftextingteenssaytheyhavebeeninacarwhenthedriverwasusingacellphoneinawaythatputthemselvesorothersindanger,while31%ofnon-tex-tingteenshavehadthisexperience.
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Oldertextingteensages16-17areevenmorelikelytobeinthecompanyofdriverswhousetheircellphoneswhileatthewheel.Fully73%oftextingteensages16-17havebeeninacarwhenthedriverwastexting.Half(52%)saytheyhavebeeninacarwhenthedriverusedacellphoneinadangerousway.
“I’ll snatch the phone out of your hands – don’t be driving in the car with me and doing that,” one high school boy said.
“I want to live until the end of this car ride.”
Teensinourfocusgroupshadavarietyofresponsestothesesituations–somewereadamantandangryaboutbeingendangered.Onehighschoolboywasaskedaboutridingwithdriverswhotext:“Notiftheyknowwhat’sgoodforthem.I’llsnatchthephoneoutofyourhands–don’tbedrivinginthecarwithmeanddoingthat…Iwanttoliveuntiltheendofthiscarride.”
Otherswerelessconcerned:“Itdoesn’treallybotherme,”wroteonehighschoolboy,“I’vemadeandreceivedcallsalmosteverytimeI’vedriven.”Anotherhighschoolboywrote:“Iworryaboutiftheycandoit.Iftheyknowwhatthey’redoingandlookingupeverysecond.Iusuallywatchtheroadwhenithappensandtellthemifthey’regoingofftheroadorsomething.Idon’treallycarethough.”
Resources for further information
Belowarelinkstoresearchgroupscitedinthisdocumentaswellasothersitesthatpresentmoreexhaustivelooksatrelevantresearchandresourcesondistracteddriving.
• TheNationalSafetyCouncilhasproducedarecentlistofrelevantresearchathttp://www.nsc.org/safety_road/Distracted_Driving/Pages/KeyResearch.aspx#cognitive.
• UniversityofUtah’sAppliedCognitionLaboratory’swebsitelistsalltheirrelevantre-searchsince2001.http://www.psych.utah.edu/AppliedCognitionLab/
• VirginiaTechTransportationInstitute’sCenterforAutomotiveSafetyResearchiscon-ductingasafetystudyofnewlylicensedteendrivers.http://www.vtti.vt.edu/casr.html
• Alistingofresources,rantsandresearcharounddistracteddrivingfromNPRandCarTalk:http://www.cartalk.com/content/features/Distraction/
• Clearinghouseforstate-basedlawsarounddistracteddrivingaswellaseducationandawarenessraisingmaterialsaroundtextinganddriving:http://txtresponsibly.org/
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Acknowledgements ThankstoRichLingofTelenorandScottCampbelloftheUniversityofMichigan,ourpartnersonthisprojectfortheirhardworkandinsights.Thanks,too,toHelenHo,ElliotPanek,NatPoorandKathrynZickuhrfortheirworkonthefocusgroupsandgraphicsinthisreport.
About the Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life ProjectThePewResearchCenter’sInternet&AmericanLifeProjectisoneofsevenprojectsthatmakeupthePewResearchCenter,anonpartisan,nonprofit“facttank”thatprovidesinformationontheissues,attitudesandtrendsshapingAmericaandtheworld.TheProjectproducesreportsexploringtheimpactoftheinternetonfamilies,communities,workandhome,dailylife,educa-tion,healthcare,andcivicandpoliticallife.TheProjectaimstobeanauthoritativesourceontheevolutionoftheinternetthroughsurveysthatexaminehowAmericansusetheinternetandhowtheiractivitiesaffecttheirlives.
ThePewInternetProjecttakesnopositionsonpolicyissuesrelatedtotheinternetorothercommunicationstechnologies.Itdoesnotendorsetechnologies,industrysectors,companies,nonprofitorganizations,orindividuals.
MethodologyThisreportisbasedonthefindingsofatelephonesurveyonteens’andparents’useofmobilephonesand9focusgroupsconductedin4U.S.citiesbetweenJuneandOctober2009withteensbetweentheagesof12and18.ThequantitativeresultsinthisreportarebasedondatafromtelephoneinterviewsconductedbyPrincetonSurveyResearchInternationalbetweenJune26andSeptember24,2009,amongasampleof800teensages12-17andaparentorguard-ian.Forresultsbasedonthetotalsample,onecansaywith95%confidencethattheerrorattributabletosamplingandotherrandomeffectsisplusorminus3.8percentagepointsforthecompletesetofweighteddata.Inadditiontosamplingerror,questionwordingandpracticaldifficultiesinconductingtelephonesurveysmayintroducesomeerrororbiasintothefindingsofopinionpolls.
Acombinationoflandlineandcellularrandomdigitdial(RDD)sampleswasusedtorepresentallteensandtheirparentsinthecontinentalUnitedStateswhohaveaccesstoeitheralandline
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orcellulartelephone.BothsampleswereprovidedbySurveySamplingInternational,LLC(SSI)accordingtoPSRAIspecifications.
Numbersforthelandlinesamplewereselectedwithprobabilitiesinproportiontotheirshareoflistedtelephonehouseholdsfromactiveblocks(areacode+exchange+two-digitblocknum-ber)thatcontainedthreeormoreresidentialdirectorylistings.Thecellularsamplewasnotlist-assisted,butwasdrawnthroughasystematicsamplingfromdedicatedwireless100-blocksandsharedservice100-blockswithnodirectory-listedlandlinenumbers.
InterviewswereconductedfromJune26toSeptember24,2009.Asmanyas7attemptsweremadetocontactandinterviewaparentateverysampledtelephonenumber.Aftertheparentinterview,anadditional7callsweremadetointerviewaneligibleteen.Samplewasreleasedforinterviewinginreplicates,whicharerepresentativesubsamplesofthelargersample.Usingreplicatestocontrolthereleaseofsampleensuresthatcompletecallproceduresarefollowedfortheentiresample.Callswerestaggeredovertimesofdayanddaysoftheweektomaximizethechanceofmakingcontactwithpotentialrespondents.Eachtelephonenumberreceivedatleastonedaytimecallinanattempttofindsomeoneathome.
Contactprocedureswereslightlydifferentforthelandlineandcellsamples.Forthelandlinesample,interviewersfirstdeterminedifthehouseholdhadany12to17year-oldresidents.Householdswithnoteenswerescreened-outasineligible.Ineligiblehouseholds,interviewersfirstconductedashortparentinterviewwitheitherthefather/maleguardianormother/femaleguardian.Theshortparentinterviewaskedsomebasichouseholddemographicquestionsaswellasquestionsaboutaparticularteeninthehousehold(selectedatrandomifmorethanoneteenlivedinthehouse.)
Forthecellphonesample,interviewsfirstmadesurethatrespondentswereinasafeplacetotalkandthattheywerespeakingwithanadult.Callsmadetominorswerescreened-outasin-eligible.Ifthepersonwasnotinasafeplacetotalkacallbackwasscheduled.Interviewersthenaskedifany12to17yearoldslivedintheirhousehold.Caseswherenoteenslivedinthehouse-holdwerescreened-outasineligible.Iftherewasanage-eligibleteeninthehousehold,theinterviewersaskedifthepersononthecellphonewasaparentofthechild.Thosewhowereparentswentontocompletetheparentinterview.Thoswhowerenotparentswerescreened-outasineligible.
Forbothsamples,aftertheparentinterviewwascompleteaninterviewwascompletedwiththetargetchild.Datawaskeptonlyifthechildinterviewwascompleted.
Weightingisgenerallyusedinsurveyanalysistocompensateforpatternsofnonresponsethatmightbiasresults.Theinterviewedsamplewasweightedtomatchnationalparametersforbothparentandchilddemographics.Theparentdemographicsusedforweightingwere:sex;age;education;race;Hispanicorigin;andregion(U.S.Censusdefinitions).Thechilddemographicsusedforweightingweregenderandage.TheseparameterscamefromaspecialanalysisoftheCensusBureau’s2008AnnualSocialandEconomicSupplement(ASEC)thatincludedallhouse-holdsinthecontinentalUnitedStates.
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WeightingwasaccomplishedusingSampleBalancing,aspecialiterativesampleweightingpro-gramthatsimultaneouslybalancesthedistributionsofallvariablesusingastatisticaltechniquecalledtheDemingAlgorithm.Weightsweretrimmedtopreventindividualinterviewsfromhavingtoomuchinfluenceonthefinalresults.Theuseoftheseweightsinstatisticalanalysisen-suresthatthedemographiccharacteristicsofthesamplecloselyapproximatethedemographiccharacteristicsofthenationalpopulation.Table1comparesweightedandunweightedsampledistributionstopopulationparameters.
Table 1: Sample Disposition
Parameter Unweighted WeightedCensusRegionNortheast 17.8 15.4 17.4Midwest 21.8 24.6 22.1South 36.7 36.8 36.9West 23.7 23.3 23.6
Parent'sSexMale 43.7 36.3 42.4Female 56.3 63.8 57.6
Parent'sAgeLT35 10.0 11.8 10.235-39 19.2 16.6 18.840-44 26.4 21.3 25.645-49 24.8 26.2 25.250-54 13.1 16.0 13.555+ 6.4 8.1 6.6
Parent'sEducationLessthanHSgrad. 13.1 7.5 11.6HSgrad. 34.9 27.6 35.1Somecollege 23.2 25.0 23.6Collegegrad. 28.8 39.9 29.8
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Parent'sRace/EthnicityWhite,notHispanic 63.6 69.5 65.2Black,notHispanic 11.9 14.8 12.3Hispanic 18.1 10.0 16.1Other,notHispanic 6.3 5.8 6.4
Kid'sSexMale 50.9 53.6 51.3Female 49.1 46.4 48.7
Kid'sAge12 16.7 14.3 16.113 16.7 17.0 16.814 16.7 15.6 16.615 16.7 17.8 16.816 16.7 16.3 16.717 16.7 19.1 17.0
Table2onthefollowingpagereportsthedispositionofallsampledcallbacktelephonenumberseverdialed.Theresponserateestimatesthefractionofalleligiblerespondentsinthesamplethatwereultimatelyinterviewed.AtPSRAIitiscalculatedbytakingtheproductofthreecompo-nentrates:10
• Contactrate–theproportionofworkingnumberswherearequestforinterviewwasmade11
• Cooperationrate–theproportionofcontactednumberswhereaconsentforinterviewwasatleastinitiallyobtained,versusthoserefused
• Completionrate–theproportionofinitiallycooperatingandeligibleinterviewsthatagreedtothechildinterviewandwerecompleted
Thustheresponserateforlandlinesamplewas14percentandtheresponserateforthecellsamplewas11percent.
10PSRAI’sdispositioncodesandreportingareconsistentwiththeAmericanAssociationforPublicOpinionResearchstandards.
11PSRAIassumesthat75percentofcasesthatresultinaconstantdispositionof“Noanswer”or“Busy”areactuallynotwork-ingnumbers.
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Table 2: Sample Disposition
Landline Cell
95863 39997 TTotalNumbersDialed
5185 619 OFNon-residential4147 29 OFComputer/Fax59 0 OFCellphone
39588 14290 OFOthernotworking6206 1145 UHAdditionalprojectednot
working40679 23915 Workingnumbers42.4% 59.8% WorkingRate
2069 382 UHNoAnswer/Busy7575 5176 UONCVoiceMail79 11 UONCOtherNon-Contact
30956 18346 Contactednumbers76.1% 76.7% ContactRate
2611 3092 UORCallback17958 8644 UORRefusal10387 6610 Cooperatingnumbers33.6% 36.0% CooperationRate
1232 837 IN1LanguageBarrier1717 IN1Child'scellphone
8142 3426 IN2Noteeninhousehold1013 630 Eligiblenumbers9.8% 9.5% EligibilityRate
260 212 RParentrefusedchildinterview209 162 RBreak-offchildorparent544 256 ICompletes53.7% 40.6% CompletionRate
13.7% 11.2% ResponseRate
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ThequalitativedatacomesfromfocusgroupsconductedbytheUniversityofMichiganandthePewInternet&AmericanLifeProject.Atotalof9focusgroupsconductedin4citiesbetweenJuneandOctober2009withteensbetweentheagesof12and18.Threeofthegroupswereco-edand6weresinglesex–3groupswitheachsex.Threeofthegroupswerewithmiddleschoolersand6werewithhighschool-agedstudents.Everyeffortwasmadetosecureadiversegroupofparticipants,withabalanceofteensfromdifferentracialandethnicbackgroundsandsocio-economiclevels.Allteenswhoparticipatedinthefocusgroupshadacellularphone.Par-ticipantswereofferedacashincentiveforparticipation.
Eachfocusgrouplastedapproximately90minutes,andincludedanindividuallyadministeredpaperquestionnairewithadditionalquestionsthatwascompletedduringthe90minuteses-sion.RecruitmentforthefocusgroupswasdonebyResolutionResearchLLCofDenver,Colo-rado.FocusgroupsweremoderatedbyAmandaLenhartofPewInternetandScottCampbelloftheUniversityofMichigan,usuallyinteamsoftwo,withoneleadmoderatorandonesecondarymoderator.UniversityofMichigangraduatestudentsalsoattendedthefocusgroups.
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Parent/Teen Cell Phone Survey 2009 Final Revised Topline 10/1/09
DataforJune26–September24,2009
PrincetonSurveyResearchAssociatesInternationalforthePewInternet&AmericanLifeProject
Sample:n=800parentsof12-17yearolds(555parentlandlineinterviewsand245parentcellphoneinterviews)
800teensages12-17
Interviewingdates:06.26.09–09.24.09
Marginoferrorisplusorminus4percentagepointsforresultsbasedontotalparents[n=800]Marginoferrorisplusorminus4percentagepointsforresultsbasedontotalteens[n=800]Marginoferrorisplusorminus4percentagepointsforresultsbasedonteeninternetusers[n=746]Marginoferrorisplusorminus4percentagepointsforresultsbasedonteencellphoneusers[n=625]Marginoferrorisplusorminus5percentagepointsforresultsbasedonteenswhotext[n=552]
K45 Have you ever experienced or done any of the following? (First,) have you ever [INSERT IN ORDER]?
YES NO DON’TKNOW REFUSED
a. Beeninacarwhenthedriverwastexting 48 52 * *b. Beeninacarwhenthedriverusedacellphoneina
waythatputthemselvesorothersindanger40 60 * *
Item C: Based on teens ages 16-17 who use their cell phone to text [N=222]c. Textedwhiledriving 34 66 0 0
Item D: Based on teen cell users ages 16-17 [N=242]d. Talkedonacellphonewhiledriving 52 48 0 0
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