Research Findings

Many Americans Lack Basic Understanding of the Judiciary Americans consistently rank the Supreme Court as the most trusted branch of government and hold a similar level of trust in state courts. But many also believe that the nation’s courts favor the wealthy and politically connected, that judges are motivated by political and personal biases, and

About 40 percent of adolescents ages 14 to 22 who use social networking sites such as MySpace report that they had been contacted online by a stranger not known to them or their friends, according to a national survey released today. This rate is about twice as high (20 percent) as the reported contact among

Contrary to what they have been taught in civics books, over one-third of American adults thinks it is okay for the president to ignore a Supreme Court ruling if the president believes the ruling will prevent him from protecting the country against terrorist attacks, according to a recent APPC survey.

Annenberg Public Policy Center research on the smoking habits and risk perceptions of young people was cited in a federal court decision last week that concluded that cigarette makers had engaged in a half-century conspiracy to deceive the public about the dangers of smoking. That deception has resulted in “an immeasurable amount of human suffering,”

The Internet is the best information source for promoting political awareness and civic engagement among youths aged 14-22, according to findings reported in the June issue of Communication Research. Conversely, a heavy diet of television viewing lowered political awareness. Newspaper consumption among youths heightened political knowledge, but did little to motivate the readers to become

News coverage of suicides by local television and newspapers is more likely to trigger suicide attempts in others than national news stories on the subject, according to a new study that tracked reporting and health statistics in six U.S. cities. The study, published in the current issue of the Journal of Communication, is the most

About 2.9 Million Young People Gamble on Cards in Average Week; Increased Use of Internet Gambling Sites Also Observed The results of the Annenberg Public Policy Center’s 2005 National Annenberg Risk Survey of Youth (NARSY) indicate that the likelihood that young men will gamble on card games continues to increase. Download the full news release

Eight out of ten Americans and 94 percent of lawyers feel that the process of confirming judges to the Supreme Court has become increasingly political, according to a national survey conducted by the University of Pennsylvania’s Annenberg Public Policy Center.

Nearly six in ten of Americans say that they are confident the President will make good choices in his nominations to replace Supreme Court justices, while six in ten lawyers do not have faith in Bush’s ability to choose the best candidate for lifetime appointment in the highest court.

About as many Americans consider Rush Limbaugh, the conservative radio talk show star, to be a journalist as say the same of Bob Woodward, the Washington Post’s assistant managing editor who broke the Watergate story with Carl Bernstein.