Detention was a reality for many Americans back when they were in high school. A new CivicScience survey shows that 22% of U.S. adults say they received detention several times, another 35% say once or twice, while 43% report never getting detention (excluding those who answered “does not apply”).
Millennials (ages 30–44) report the highest rates of detention, followed by Gen X, Gen Z, and Baby Boomers. Men are more likely than women to say they’ve been in detention, as are high-income earners ($100K+), and those living in the Northeast.
But demographics aren’t the only thing setting detention veterans apart:
- Cooking: Those who’ve gotten detention several times are nearly twice as likely to say they love cooking compared to those who never had detention.
- BNPL Services: Frequent detention-goers are 17 percentage points more likely to use Buy Now, Pay Later services.
- Cereal Consumption: Breakfast habits shift with behavior—those who’ve gotten detention multiple times are the most likely to eat cereal weekly, while those who never had detention are the least likely.
- Radio: Heavy detention history correlates with higher radio use—they’re 10 points more likely to listen daily.
Detention in high school may be long behind them, but the data shows that those who’ve had detention multiple times stand out in distinct ways today—from cooking and eating habits to shopping and media choices.
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This article’s data comes solely from CivicScience’s database, which contains nearly 700,000 poll questions and 5 billion consumer insights.
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