Social Justice Attitudes and Their Demographic Correlates Among a Nationally Representative Sample of U.S. Adolescents

Compared to extant studies, this study uses more rigorous analyses to describe social justice attitudes and their correlates among a nationally representative sample of 2,811 U.S. ninth-graders. Females and adolescents with more educated mothers tended to express more support for social justice. Strikingly, about 90 % of adolescents believed that equal opportunity to obtain a good education exists in the U.S. Adolescents were also more likely to support abstract social justice principles rather than solutions that promote social justice: about 80 % agreed that all races and genders should have equal opportunities, but only 55 % reported that government should be responsible for individuals' economic needs. Differences between U.S. adolescents' and adults' attitudes are noted, and implications for future research are presented.