Family Talks on Clinton Go From Morals to Politics, Poll Finds

Many American parents treat the Monica S. Lewinsky case as a chance to talk with their children about morals and values and find that it is leading to more family discussions of politics in general, a poll released Wednesday said.

But parents polled by the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press said almost half of teenagers are losing respect for politicians because of President Clinton’s troubles over his relationship with the former White House intern.

“My attitude toward any kind of event like this is that it becomes a source for discussion about what’s right and what’s wrong and personal responsibility,” said Michael Schulman, a psychologist from New York City who specializes in children and morality.

The option to discuss the case clearly is more popular with parents of teenagers than with parents of younger children.

Almost half of parents with younger children, ages 8 to 10, have not discussed the Clinton controversy with them, the poll found.

And when such conversations occur, they are initiated by the children 70% of the time, it said.

Parental political beliefs affected how much parents are talking with children about the president’s troubles.

Of parents who disapprove of the president, three-fourths have talked with their children about the controversy, compared with almost half of parents who approve of Clinton’s handling of his job.

The telephone survey of 597 parents taken Sept. 19-23 has a margin of error of plus or minus 5 percentage points, the center said.