Though many U.S. adults consider today's teens to be selfish and lazy, nearly seven out of ten parents say the current economic climate has made their teens "more aware of the needs of others."

The survey, conducted by Harris Interactive, examines parents' perceptions of their teenagers during the current economic recession. The study also illustrates that more than half of parents say their teens support charities actively.

The survey offers a surprising picture of how teens are perceived today - both positively and negatively. The study reveals that three out of four adults (76 percent) describe teens as "tech-savvy" and about two out of three (67 percent) see them as "intelligent" but more than half also describe them as "selfish" (59 percent) and "lazy' (56 percent).

But the results also reflect an encouraging trend for charities like World Vision. About seven in ten (69 percent) say their teens are now more aware of the needs of others because of the current economic climate. And more than half (56 percent) say their teen actively supports charitable causes or organizations by volunteering their time or participating in events such as "fast days" like World Vision's 30-Hour Famine.

"We're encouraged by these results. We wanted a better picture of how teens in America are feeling in the midst of this recession. This survey gives us a snapshot of what teens are thinking in 2009," says Pat Rhoads, World Vision's 30-Hour Famine National Program Manager. Rhoads has been working with teens and 30-Hour Famine for the last six years. 30-Hour Famine has been working with teens since 1992.

By participating in World Vision's 30 Hour Famine, half a million American teens will put a human face on the untold suffering of the Global Food Crisis. And closer to home, youth will be helping those hardest-hit by the recession as they participate in community service projects (at food banks, soup kitchens and homeless shelters).

Tonight, 850 million people worldwide will go to bed hungry - that's one out of every six people on earth. 26,000 children die each day from preventable causes like hunger, disease and malnutrition. Chronic poverty, affecting half the people on earth, is the cause. Nearly 3 billion people live on less than $2 a day.

The study also compared how adults support charitable causes with how parents report their teens' support of those causes. According to the survey, more than three out of four adults (77 percent) support charities financially as compared to roughly one in four (26 percent) teens. But when it comes to volunteering, teens are more likely to give their time than adults. More than half of parents (56 percent) say their teens actively support charities, for example by volunteering their time, while less (46 percent) adults say they do so. However, conveying the importance of charity to teenagers is paramount to parents today. About nine out of ten (91 percent) parents say they try to emphasize the importance of charity to their teens and more than three out of five (62 percent) strongly agree.

The poll was conducted by telephone by Harris Interactive on behalf of World Vision, an international Christian relief and development organization, between January 29 and February 2, 2009 among 2,003 U.S. adults ages 18 +, of whom, 215 are the parent or legal guardian of a child ages 13 to 18 years old. 

Contact: John Yeager, World Vision, 253-815-2356