GALESBURG -- There is widespread support for regulating advertisements directed at children, according to an opinion survey conducted by Tim Kasser, associate professor of psychology at Knox College in Galesburg, Illinois, and Susan Linn of the Judge Baker Children's Center in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The survey was conducted earlier this spring, and the results were released this week.

More than 80-percent of respondents agreed that advertising to children eight and under should be prohibited, and that schools should be "commercial-free" zones, according to the survey of nearly 1,000 adults from 45 states and the District of Columbia, conducted via a website during March and April 2004. Nearly three-fourths of those surveyed agreed that marketing to children should be subject to increased regulation.

In the conclusion to their report, Kasser and Linn wrote: "Most respondents feel that the current practices of the youth marketing industry have gotten out of hand and are in need of regulation, especially as they regard children eight-years-old and under."

The full text of the survey report is available from the web page "Report on Public Attitudes Toward the Youth Marketing Industry and Its Impact on Children." (PDF) Some of the results are summarized below.

"The people who responded to the survey hold a low opinion of the youth marketing industry," Kasser said. "They see the youth marketing industry as contributing to problems such as aggressiveness, materialism, obesity, lack of creativity, sexual behavior and low self-esteem."

"We designed the survey to increase understanding of public attitudes toward marketing to children, and to generate much-needed public discussion about the impact of commercialism on children's lives," Kasser said.

According to Kasser and Linn, corporations spent an estimated $15 billion on marketing to children and adolescents in 2003.

"The survey is particularly interesting when compared to the results of a recent Harris Interactive poll, in which most of the respondents worked in the advertising industry," Kasser said. "Both groups agreed that it's not appropriate to direct advertising to children younger than the age of seven."

"It's good to see that marketers agree with the majority of Americans, that young children should not be marketed to," Linn said. "Youth marketers should change their practices to match their beliefs."

Kasser has done extensive research into materialism and well-being. He is the author of "The High Price Of Materialism" and co-editor of "Psychology and Consumer Culture: The Struggle for a Good Life in a Materialistic World."

Linn is associate director of the Media Center at Judge Baker Children's Center in Cambridge, Massachusetts, a non-profit organization affiliated with Harvard Medical School. The center conducts research and develops programs for children with emotional, learning and behavioral problems. Linn is the author of the new book "Consuming Kids: The Hostile Takeover of Childhood."

The following tables give sample results from the Report on Public Attitudes Toward the Youth Marketing Industry and Its Impact on Children:

Report on Public Attitudes Toward the Youth Marketing Industry and Its Impact on Children (PDF)

Harris Interactive Survey on Youth Marketing (PDF)

Tim Kasser Biography