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What Youth Like About Local AreaMany youth acknowledged through the survey that the local area has qualities youth enjoy. The beautiful, natural setting of the Upper Peninsula has long been advertised as an outdoor enthusiast’s paradise. While it is well known that teenagers spend a great deal of time creating their own identity and establishing their independence, youth acknowledged that one of the best things about the local area is their family is here. Further, young people are viewing the Upper Peninsula as a great place to raise a family. In looking at this data broken out by grade, there are three areas with differences between 8th, 10th, and 12th grade students. First, 12th grade students were more likely than both 10th and 8th grade students to choose “beautiful area” as one of the characteristics they like most about the region. Secondly, 12th graders were more likely than 10th and 8th graders to choose the “quiet and peaceful characteristic.” Third, 8th grade students were much more likely than 10th and 12th grade students to select “many things to do” as a characteristic they enjoy about the region. There were no notable differences by gender. The chart below illustrates the type of things youth dislike about the local area. Young people did not perceive there is enough for them to do. Economic development was identified as a major issue for the area; young people are telling us they see too few opportunities for jobs that will pay them an acceptable wage. Twelfth grader students (61%) were more likely than 8th grade students (48%) to indicate there isn’t enough to do. Twelfth grade students were more likely than both 10th and 8th grade students to indicate there are too few job opportunities and it is hard to make enough money. Overall, females (67%) indicated at a higher rate than males (47%) that there is not enough to do in the area. Males (14%) were more likely than females (7%) to indicate they like everything about the local area.
Copyright©2003 by the Great Lakes Center for Youth Development except where noted
Contact Judy Watson-Olson or Karen Thompson at (906)228-8919 with questions/comments Some information on this site is produced by other sources, see bibliography for source This page was last updated on Tuesday, January 06th, 2009  |
