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RP kids among the most
upbeat in region
Posted:0:21 AM (Manila Time) | June 24, 2001
By Stella O. Gonzales
Inquirer News Service
ABOUT two-thirds of Filipino youths may not be happy most of the time but they are among the most optimistic in the Asia-Pacific region, according to a study by the United Nations Children’s Fund.
The UN survey of 500 Filipinos aged 9-17 found that 43 percent of them were hopeful that they would enjoy a better life than their parents would.
The study commissioned by the Unicef office in East Asia and the Pacific, however, showed there were more youths from East Timor (57 percent) and China (48 percent) who were upbeat about their future.
The Philippine survey was part of a bigger survey of 10,000 youths in Australia, Cambodia, China, East Timor, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Laos, Macao, Malaysia, Burma, Papua New Guinea, South Korea, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.
Results of the survey, “Speaking Out! Voices of Children and Adolescents in East Asia and the Pacific,” were released last week.
The INQUIRER of the article published a disturbing finding from an earlier survey, that only 34 percent of Filipino respondents said they were happy “most of the time. Sixty-four percent said they were happy “only sometimes.”
Fifty-one percent of the youths surveyed in East Asia and the Pacific said they were happy most of the time.
The study indicated that the relative unhappiness of Filipino children and adolescents could be the result of their higher exposure to violence inside and outside the home compared to their regional counterparts.
Basic hygiene
Notwithstanding their tendency to be unhappy, Filipino youths have admirable traits.
For one, they are the most knowledgeable about basic hygiene in the region.
The UN study found that 73 percent of them knew a lot about basic hygiene compared to 70 percent of their counterparts in Australia.
Fifty-eight percent of Filipinos surveyed also said they knew “a lot” about the environment.
A significant number of them also looked up to their mothers and teachers as role models.
Asked to choose from of list of 12 possible answers, 30 percent of the Filipino respondents said they admired their mothers the most.
Seventeen percent picked actors and actresses, while only 14 percent chose their fathers.
The survey also showed that more Filipino youths had better relationships with their mothers than with their fathers.
Sixty-two percent of the respondents said they had a “very good” relationship with their mother while 55 percent said they had a “very good” relationship with their father.
From a regional perspective, only the youths in Thailand exceeded those in the Philippines in their admiration of mothers.
Thirty-five percent of Thai youths said they admired their mothers the most. Twenty-three percent, however, chose their fathers.
Mothers also topped the list of people admired most by the youths in Malaysia, Laos and Singapore.
In East Timor, Mongolia, Burma and South Korea, fathers were more admired than mothers were.
Parents, however, got lower scores in China, Macao, Hong Kong and Vietnam. Children and adolescents in these countries said they admired singers, actors or athletes more than their parents did.
Careers
Asked about their future career, 22 percent of the Filipino respondents said they wanted to be a teacher. Fourteen percent said they wanted to be an engineer; 12 percent, doctor; 7 percent, policeman; and 6 percent, nurse.
What do Filipino youths like to talk about with their friends?
Thirty-five percent of them said they liked to talk about teachers and lessons in school. Nineteen percent said they preferred to talk about the opposite sex; 12 percent, television games; 11 percent, television programs; and 8 percent, places they go to.
Sex, smoking
Regarding sex, 58 percent of the Filipino respondents said they knew “nothing” about the subject.
Fourteen percent said they knew “very little” about sex, 15 percent said they knew “some,” and 7 percent said “a lot.”
The UN study indicated there was cause for reason about smoking and drinking among Filipino youths.
Forty-two percent of the respondents said some of their friends had tried smoking and that 20 percent of their friends were hooked on cigarettes.
Thirty-five percent said some of their friends had tried drinking and that 13 percent were now into alcohol.
The Unicef regional office commissioned the survey to give young people the opportunity to air their views and concerns on their governments, families and the public.
Respondents came were from urban and rural areas and low, middle and high socioeconomic backgrounds. The survey employed face-to-face interviews with the respondents in their homes, but without the presence of parents or other third parties that might influence their answers.
The survey is considered the most comprehensive among young people in the region with a sampling error of plus or minus 1.2 percent.
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