Joe Posnanski writes that a Danica Patrick win at this year's Daytona 500 (she has the pole position) will mean much more than a notable "first woman to win Daytona". Patrick serves as a role model to his eight year old daughter Katie. Not because Katie will grow up to be a race car driver but because by Patrick being one of (and perhaps the) best at she does she is serving as a model for Katie that she can aspire to do anything she wants with her life. I have never been a NASCAR fan but I may even watch some of tomorrows race. I now have a personal interest in it. I want to see Patrick win ...because of what a win will mean to thousands or millions of young girls like Katie.
This got me to thinking. What has a Barack Obama presidency meant for millions of young African American children? What would a Hillary Clinton presidency mean for millions of young girls? How much impact do role models have on a child's future achievement? Looking around the internet it is surprisingly difficult to find polls of children's role models.
Here is a poll of 845 readers of Highlights Magazine asking "who is a person you admire and respect". Top responses were friends (28.4%), teachers (17.2%), and family members (12.9%). Celebrities got less than 5% of the vote. Here is a discussion of these results.
Here are the results from a poll of school children (no age range or sample size) as to who their favorite movie role model is. Number one is Hermione Granger from Harry Potter.
Here is a poll of 1,121 children ages 8-12 on their favorite celebrity role model. Taylor Swift edges out Justin Bieber. I can't find the original poll and the article does not make clear what the question asked was exactly.
Here is a poll of 13-17 year olds asking them to identify the person whom they admire most today as a role model, other than their parents. This is targeting a slightly older group but we do get detailed results. To summarize the results; another family member (37%), teachers and coaches (11%), friends (9%), religious leaders they know personally (6%), entertainers (6%), sports heroes (5%), political leaders (4%), faith leaders (4%), business leaders (1%), authors (1%), science and medical professionals (1%), other artists (1%), and members of the military (1%). "The high-profile leaders most commonly named were President Obama (3%) and Jesus Christ (3%). Other “celebrities” mentioned by multiple teenagers in the study included entertainers Tyra Banks, Rob Dyrdrek, Lady Gaga, Demi Lovato, Paul McCartney, Taylor Swift, Steven Spielberg and Oprah Winfrey. The only athletes who earned multiple mentions were LeBron James, Peyton Manning, Michael Phelps, Mike Tyson and David Wright. In the spiritual domain, besides Jesus, teens were most likely to admire Mahatma Gandhi and the Pope. Social and business leaders garnering teen attention included Walt Disney, Bill Gates, and Martin Luther King, Jr. The writers who captured the imagination of teens included Yumi Tamura (Japanese Manga artist) and Alan Moore (English comic book writer)."
The results above suggest that youngsters do not model themselves on celebrities but instead look to parents, relatives, and friends for role models. I tend to think that the result understate the impact of famous people on children - but I don't really have any hard evidence. While looking through Highlights State of the Kid Poll 2011 I did find the below. Perhaps after Sunday it will change. Go Danica!
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