A revealing look at honesty

The number of teenagers reporting that they cheat, lie and steal has gone up.
By STEVEN YANDA
KNIGHT RIDDER NEWSPAPERS
Have you ever wondered why you can't get your parents to extend your curfew by half an hour? Or why you can't keep your teachers from suspecting that every paper you turn in isn't really your work?
Have you asked yourself why you can't even convince the clerk at your local convenience store that you really are going to pay for the bag of Doritos in your hand?
It's because they don't trust us. And now a nonprofit organization focusing on the moral attitudes of high-school students shows they may have more reasons than ever not to.
A study released this fall by the Josephson Institute of Ethics revealed that the number of teenagers who are lying, cheating and stealing is on an alarmingly steady rise. The survey was based on the responses of 12,000 high-school students.
'Has become the norm'
"The evidence is that a willingness to cheat has become the norm and that parents, teachers, coaches and even religious educators have not been able to stem the tide," Michael Josephson, president of the Josephson Institute of Ethics, said in releasing the study.
The report found that lying is the most popular form of deceit: 86 percent of students admitted they had lied to their teachers in the past year, as opposed to 81 percent in 2000. The 2002 survey also reveals that students say they are more apt to lie to receive a better job (39 percent) than they were in 2000 (28 percent).
Attending private religious schools doesn't appear to make much difference. The survey states that students who attend private religious schools were more likely to lie to teachers than those receiving a public education. The report found that there is not much difference between the honesty of boys and girls -- neither has very much.
Cheating, stealing
Cheating and stealing are also on the rise: 74 percent of the students said they had cheated in the last year (up from 71 percent in 2000); 38 percent confessed to having committed theft (up from 35 percent in 2000).
Interestingly, students who receive a private education were found more likely to cheat on exams than students in other schools. However, students who attend public schools were more inclined than those in private schools to shoplift.
By the survey accounts, student-athletes at the varsity level were both worse and better than their peers. In the survey, jocks admitted cheating more on exams, but they did not lie to their parents and steal as often as those who did not participate in athletics.
A student's faith didn't seem to matter much: Those who said religion was "essential or very important to them" admitted lying and cheating on a par with their peers. They did say they shoplifted slightly less.
College-bound students, at least those who were in honors courses and college prep courses, admitting to lying, cheating and stealing but at a rate less than other groups.
Implications
"The scary thing is that so many kids are entering the work force to become corporate executives, politicians, airplane mechanics and nuclear inspectors with the dispositions and skills of cheaters and thieves," Josephson said in a statement accompanying the release.
The survey aimed to discover the honesty and integrity of today's high school students. The Josephson Institute plans to issue another report on violence and drug use in the future.
XSteven Yanda is a sophomore at Rockhurst High School in Kansas City, Mo. Send him e-mail at teenstar@kcstar.com.