UCLA School of Public Health | Press Release January 28, 2002

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UCLA Researchers Offer First Scientific Evidence Showing Sports Figures As Positive Influence in Lives of Teen Admirers

Date: January 28, 2002

Contact: Dan Page (email)
Phone: 310-794-2265

A new UCLA School of Public Health study offers the first scientific evidence that sports stars and other public figures exert a positive influence in the lives of teen admirers.

The study, published in the January edition of Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, reported that 56 percent of nearly 750 Los Angeles County teens surveyed named role models in their lives. Among those, 42 percent named a parent or relative, 39 percent named a figure known primarily through the media, and 19 percent named a non-familial known individual. The most popular role models were parents (22 percent), sports figures (18 percent), siblings (10 percent) and singers (10 percent).

While girls most often identified known individuals as role models, boys were more likely to identify sports stars and other public figures. African American teens also were more likely to identify figures known through the media rather than family or friends. Teens identifying role models of all types earned higher grades and had higher self-esteem and stronger ethnic identity � known indicators of healthier behavior -- than teens without role models, the study showed.

"We've long known that teens with mentors in their lives -- admired individuals to whom they can turn to for help or advice -- demonstrate lower levels of risk-taking behavior such as substance abuse and unprotected sexual activity," said Dr. Antronette K. Yancey, lead author and community health sciences professor in the School of Public health. "The data here, however, represent the first scientific demonstration that role models introduced to teens by the media also exert a positive influence. Despite the highly publicized falls from grace of some athletes and actors, sports and other public figures have a positive influence on the lives of admiring teens."

Among other findings:

Whites (64 percent) were more likely to have role models than either African Americans (53 Percent) or Latinos (54 percent).
Higher income was associated with having a role model, with 65 percent in the top income group identifying a role model, 50 percent in the middle third, and 52 percent in the lower third.
72 percent of teens chose role models of like ethnicity and 86 percent chose models of the same gender. Among African American teens, 96 percent chose a role model of the same ethnicity, compared with 79 percent of whites and 64 percent of Latinos.
No differences with regard to grades, self-esteem or ethnic identity were found among teens naming a sports figure for a role model and teens selecting someone else. However, teens who admired sports figures were less likely to have used substances in the past week than teens with other role models.
Of the 73 teens who identified sports figures as role models, only one was female.
Whites with role models used more controlled substances than either African Americans or Latinos with role models, and teens of any ethnicity who lacked a father in the house and failed to identify a role model used more substances than those with a custodial father.

In conducting the study, researchers interviewed 749 Los Angeles County adolescents, ages 12 to 17. Of the total, 52 percent were males and 48 percent were females. Latinos were the dominant ethnic subgroup (477 total), followed by whites (171) and African Americans (101).

A total of 66.8 percent of the teens surveyed resided with two parents � biological, adoptive or a parent and stepparent. Parental education ranged from less than elementary school to post-graduate, with a median attainment of high school graduation.

Median annual household income among teens surveyed was $28,750. About a quarter of households, 23.8 percent, lived below the federal poverty standard. The median incomes of African American and Latino households were similar at about $21,500, while the median income for white households was $48,000.

Other study authors included Judith M. Siegel, UCLA professor of community health sciences, and Kimberly L. McDaniel of the Department of Behavioral Health Care Services in Alameda County (Calif.).

The UCLA School of Public Health is dedicated to enhancing the public's health by conducting innovative research, training future leaders and health professionals, translating research into policy and practice, and serving local, national and international communities.

A full copy of the article is available online at the Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine.

More information online about the UCLA School of Public Health.

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