THE TIMES POLL : Teens Credit Parents for Morals but Tell of Peers’ Drug Use

Ventura County teen-agers overwhelmingly say their parents have taught them right from wrong. But when they describe the conduct of their peers, the picture is of widespread drug and alcohol use, and rampant anti-gay prejudice, according to a Times Poll.

Of the 460 youngsters age 12 through 17 surveyed by The Times, all say their parents have done a good or excellent job of teaching them what is moral and what is not.

A majority of the same adolescents, however, say at least half of the students in their schools regularly drink alcohol. More than one-third say at least half of their schoolmates regularly use illegal drugs. And 55% say kids their age have a good amount or great deal of prejudice against homosexuals.

The apparent inconsistency of the poll findings--that teen-agers all say they personally are taught to be moral but that their peers use drugs and alcohol frequently--follows a recognizable pattern, said Susan H. Pinkus, assistant director of the Los Angeles Times Poll.

People are often more critical when speaking generally than when commenting about things they know well firsthand, she said.

“It’s the same as when people give Congress very unfavorable ratings, yet when they are asked about their own representative, they give them very high ratings,” Pinkus said.

In interviews, however, poll respondents reinforced findings of teen-agers’ regular drug and alcohol use. They said those views are often formed by hallway conversations, secondhand comments and a general feeling for what is going on.

“I’d say [the poll findings] are pretty accurate,” said Nancy Gardner, a sophomore at Hueneme High School in Oxnard. “But I don’t see kids getting high at school. Most of them are smarter than that. It’s on weekends.”

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Some poll respondents have firsthand experience with the problems.

“I used drugs every day--mostly weed,” said a 16-year-old Camarillo High School student, who completed a 30-day rehabilitation program in September.

“My parents did a really good job of teaching me [right from wrong],” he said. “It’s just that I didn’t really care, because I was getting high and it got to be better than leading a normal life. You didn’t have to deal with anything; you’d just get high.”

The boy’s father, a retired Navy lieutenant commander, said he took his son to a hospital when he first found drugs on him in August.

“Because it’s more affluent out here, the drugs are more readily available,” the father said. “The drug problem out there is very serious.”

The Times Poll interviewed 1,224 parents in Ventura County as well as 460 of their children. The poll, conducted July 29 through Aug. 7, has a margin of sampling error of plus or minus three percentage points for parents and plus or minus five percentage points for children.

While the poll identified reasons for concern about teen-age values, it also found that parents and children alike think that Ventura County youngsters are given a solid moral foundation from which to make choices.

The simple fact that their children are growing up here gives them an ethical edge, say two of every five parents, including 48% in the east county and 34% in the west. Just 6% say living here makes their children’s morals weaker.

“I like Camarillo because it’s small,” said Lee Murray, a 35-year-old mother of three. “I came from Miami, and big cities like that are not a place to raise children. . . . In our neighborhood, if we hear a scream, all the parents are outside immediately. They’re concerned.”

And not only do children give their parents high marks for ethics instruction, about eight of 10 say they primarily learn their values from their parents. Other family members are mentioned as the primary influence by only 5%, and friends, teachers and religious leaders are cited even less often.

“My parents give me a good moral [base],” said Martin Gomez, 15, of Simi Valley. “They’re Catholic, and I’ve been brought up in the Catholic way to follow the Commandments. I don’t drink alcohol, I don’t do drugs and I don’t smoke. I’m definitely not one of the norm.”

Most poll respondents, however, apparently do not draw their values from formal religion. Fewer than half of parents and children go to church at least once a week, although 58% of Latino parents say their families attend at least weekly.

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By contrast, eight of every 10 parents see themselves as their children’s moral linchpins, although they give other parents in their community lower marks.

“We probably do a good job, just setting a good example in our daily lives,” Wanda Wheatcroft, 39, said of herself and husband Steve, a sheriff’s deputy.

“We’re pretty straightforward,” said the Simi Valley mother of two teen-agers. “We tell them they’re going to be introduced to a lot of things and they have to make choices. We say, ‘Make the right choice or suffer the consequences.’ ”

The Wheatcrofts’ son, Matthew, a Royal High School junior, said he takes his moral cues from his parents and feels no pressure from his friends to drink alcohol or use drugs.

In fact, about nine of 10 teen-agers say they feel little or no peer pressure to do things that they do not want to do. Of those who feel pressure, using drugs and alcohol were cited most often, but by only 17% and 8% of respondents, respectively.

“I don’t feel any peer pressure at all,” said Matthew, a member of his high school baseball team. “I’m friends with all the guys on the team. I don’t drink, and my friends don’t drink.”

But many of his classmates--probably less than half--do drink frequently, Matthew said.

“I hear them talking between classes,” he said. “They say, like they’re bragging, stuff like, ‘I got so high last night or I got so high this morning.’ ”

The poll also answered questions about how well local teen-agers accept those whose race or sexual orientation is different from their own.

In a predominantly white county that carried a racist brand after a 1992 jury in Simi Valley cleared Los Angeles police officers in the Rodney G. King beating, nine of 10 teen-agers say they have a friend of another race.

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Nearly eight of 10 youngsters say they also see little or no racial tension at their schools, although racial tension was cited twice as often by students in the more racially diverse west county than by those in the east.

“I don’t see any racial problems,” said Christina Chavez, a junior at Santa Clara High School in Oxnard. “It’s a variety here. Asian, black, white and Mexicans, and there’s no problem.”

The same cannot be said about teen-agers’ attitudes toward gays.

Anti-gay attitudes are prevalent even among junior high school students, the poll shows. Nearly half of youngsters 12 to 14 years old say gay bias is common among their peers. And three of five high school students see a great deal of prejudice among kids their age.

“I think some people at my school think different is wrong, and they make fun of that,” said Daniel Pena, an eighth-grader at Monte Vista Intermediate School in Camarillo. “They point out how they’re gay and say things like, ‘Stop looking at me.’ They say anything to make the person get mad.”

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Morality in Ventura County

A Los Angeles Times Poll found that parents and children alike think Ventura County youngsters are given a solid moral foundation from which to make choices. Local teen-agers credit their parents with teaching them right from wrong. But they also see widespread use of alcohol and drugs by their peers, and rampant anti-gay prejudice.

Parents

Q. How would you rate the way parents in your community teach their children about morals and values?

Excellent: 12%

Good: 55%

Poor: 6% Don’t know: 5%

Q. Where do you think children primarily learn about morals and values today?

Parents: 79%

Friends: 8%

Teachers: 3%

Q. Do you think growing up in Ventura County gives children a stronger moral and ethical base than growing up elsewhere?

Stronger: 39%

Weaker: 6%

Same: 46%

Q. How frequently do you and your children attend religious services?

Never: 19%

Several times / year or less: 14%

Several times / month or less: 20%

Once a week or more: 44%

Kids

Q. How would you rate the way your parents have taught you about values and what is right and wrong?

Excellent: 68%

Good: 32%

Q. Where do you primarily learn about values and what is right and wrong?

Parents: 82%

Other family: 5%

Friends: 3%

Q. How many students in your school would you say regularly drink beer, wine or liquor?

Most: 15%

More than half: 16%

Half: 23%

Less than half: 19%

Very few: 25%

Q. How many students in your school would you say regularly use illegal drugs?

Most: 10%

More than half: 7%

Half: 19%

Less than half: 22%

Very few: 37%

Q. How much racial tension is in your school?

Good amount: 20%

Not much: 78%

Q. Do you think there is a great deal of prejudice among kids your age toward gay people in general?

Good amount: 55%

Not much: 43%

How The Poll Was Conducted

The Los Angeles Times Poll contacted 4,848 adults living in Ventura County by telephone July 29 through Aug. 7. Interviews were conducted among 1,224 parents and 460 children between the ages of 12 and 17. Telephone numbers were chosen from a list of all exchanges in the county. Random-digit dialing techniques were used so that listed and unlisted numbers could be contacted. Interviews were conducted in both English and Spanish. The sample was weighted slightly to conform with census figures for sex, race, age and education. The margin of sampling error for parents is plus or minus 3 percentage points and for children, plus or minus 5 percentage points; for certain sub-groups the error margin may be somewhat higher. Poll results can also be affected by other factors such as question wording and the order in which questions are presented.

Some columns do not add up to 100% because of multiple responses or “not sure” and declined responses. Also, only the top answers are listed for some questions.