When it comes to those they most admire, young people do not look chiefly to the worlds of music, today?s wars or history. Instead, they turn to their own families. Asked to name their heroes, young Americans surveyed make their parents the collective top pick.

Twenty-nine per cent choose their mothers, 2% name their fathers and 16% pick their parents without specifying which one. Allowed to choose as many heroes as they?d like, nearly half mention at least one of their folks.

?They?re really hard workers, and they?ve done everything in their power to make sure my siblings and I have everything we?ve needed,? said Stacy Runne, 21, of New Bern, North Carolina, now a student at Brookdale Community College in Lincroft. Next in line as the poll?s top heroes: 11% choose friends, 10% God, 8% their grandmother, 7% their brother and 5% a teacher or professor. Jacquelynne Eccles, a University of Michigan psychology professor who has studied young people, says surveys she has helped conduct since 1980 have consistently found that parents are youths? most oft-named heroes.