A new survey of 30,000 high school students by the Josephsen Institute reveals:

• 30 percent admitted stealing from a store within the past year.
• 42 percent said that they sometimes lie to save money.
• 64 percent cheated on a test during the past year (38 percent did so two or more times), up from 60 percent and 35 percent, respectively, in 2006.)

Intriguingly, while boys and girls cheat at the same rate, boys are more likely to lie and steal.

One clue as to why dishonesty is pervasive comes from another question. 59% agreed with this statement: “In the real world, successful people do what they have to do to win, even if others consider it cheating.”
We can harumph about how kids today aren’t as honest as we were but obviously they’re getting the signals from parents, teachers, political campaigns and the broader culture that cheating is key to success.
Other theories:
“The problem stems in part from the lack of controls in an increasingly laissez-faire business environment.”
— John Dvorak of PC Magazine
“Advanced technology has led to more opportunities for an easy fix, increasing temptation.”
—Fall River (Mass) Herald News
“The competition is greater, the pressures on kids have increased dramatically….”
–Mel Riddle of the National Association of Secondary School Principals.
Is this actually getting worse? In the last two years, it has but if you look back further, it’s a mixed picture. For instance, 71% in 2000 said they cheated compared to 64% this year. This makes me wonder whether somehow we feel that lying and cheating is more tolerable during tough economic times.
What are you theories?