Tracking US Social Change Over a Half-Century: The General Social Survey at Fifty

2020 ◽  
Vol 46 (1) ◽  
pp. 109-134
Author(s):  
Peter V. Marsden ◽  
Tom W. Smith ◽  
Michael Hout
Keyword(s):  
Cross Sections ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
General Social Survey ◽  
Well Being ◽  
The United States ◽  
Birth Cohorts ◽  
Social Scientists ◽  
Social Survey ◽  
Two Generations ◽  
Current Characteristics

In the five decades since its inception in 1971, the General Social Survey (GSS) project has prospectively recorded the current characteristics, backgrounds, behaviors, and attitudes of representative cross sections of American adults covering more than two generations and more than a century of birth cohorts. A foundational resource for contemporary social science, the data it produces and disseminates enable social scientists to develop broad and deep understandings into the changing fabric of US society, and aid legions of instructors and students in teaching and learning. It facilitates internationally comparative survey research and places the United States in the context of other societies through the International Social Survey Program, which it cofounded. This article first recounts the GSS's origins, design, and development. It then surveys contributions based on GSS data to studies of stratification and inequality, religion, sociopolitical trends, intergroup relations, social capital and social networks, health and well-being, culture, and methodology.

Social Trends in American Life

2012 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Social Connectedness ◽  
General Social Survey ◽  
Well Being ◽  
The United States ◽  
American Life ◽  
Social Trends ◽  
Women In The Workplace ◽  
Social Affiliations ◽  
Political Conservatism ◽  
Two Generations

This book assembles a team of leading researchers to provide unparalleled insight into how American social attitudes and behaviors have changed since the 1970s. Drawing on the General Social Survey—a social science project that has tracked demographic and attitudinal trends in the United States since 1972—it offers a window into diverse facets of American life, from intergroup relations to political views and orientations, social affiliations, and perceived well-being. Among the book's many important findings are the greater willingness of ordinary Americans to accord rights of free expression to unpopular groups, to endorse formal racial equality, and to accept nontraditional roles for women in the workplace, politics, and the family. Some, but not all, signs indicate that political conservatism has grown, while a few suggest that Republicans and Democrats are more polarized. Some forms of social connectedness such as neighboring have declined, as has confidence in government, while participation in organized religion has softened. Despite rising standards of living, American happiness levels have changed little, though financial and employment insecurity has risen over three decades. This book provides an invaluable perspective on how Americans view their lives and their society, and on how these views have changed over the last two generations.

The Arts as a Polarized Issue and the Role of Political Trust in Promoting the Arts: Evidence From the United States

2021 ◽  
Vol 36 (1) ◽  
pp. 85-97
Author(s):  
Lim Jae Young ◽  
Woo Harin
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
General Social Survey ◽  
Strong Support ◽  
Political Trust ◽  
The United States ◽  
Social Survey ◽  
The Arts ◽  
Long Time ◽  
Moderating Role

The arts in the United States, for a long time received strong support from both sides of the political aisle. However, in recent years, the arts have been transformed into a partisan issue that pits conservatives against liberals. The article points to the importance of political trust as a means of helping conservatives overcome their ideological inclinations and support the arts. Scholars argue that political trust influences more strongly individuals who perceive a given policy to be one that imposes ideological risks for them compared with those without such risks. Focusing on the moderating role of political trust, the article examines whether political trust can help alleviate the conservatives’ hostility to the arts. Relying on the 2016 General Social Survey, the article finds that conservatives have no direct relationship with arts spending, but they will be more likely to support arts spending when this is contingent upon political trust.

scholarly journals Gendered Religiosity

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Landon Schnabel
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Gender Differences ◽  
Social Identity ◽  
General Social Survey ◽  
The United States ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Social Survey ◽  
Gender Expression ◽  
The Feminine

This study uses measures of cognitive and expressive aspects of gender as a social identity from the General Social Survey to examine whether and how they relate to religiosity. I find that religiosity is clearly gendered, but in different ways for women and men. Consistent with the feminine-typing of religion in the Christian-majority context of the United States, gender expression is linked with more religiousness among women but not men. Consistent with religion being a sometimes patriarchal institution, those with more pride in being men are more religious. I conclude that religiosity is gendered, that degendering and secularization processes could go hand-in-hand, and that future research on gender differences in religiosity should further examine variation among women and among men.

Religion and Happiness

2012 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Hout ◽  
Andrew Greeley
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Religious Affiliation ◽  
General Social Survey ◽  
The United States ◽  
Religious Groups ◽  
Social Survey ◽  
Religious Rituals ◽  
Religious Services ◽  
Using Data ◽  
International Social

This chapter discusses the link between happiness and religion. It draws on meaning-and-belonging theory to deduce that a religious affiliation heightens happiness through participation in collective religious rituals. Attendance and engagement appear key: a merely nominal religious affiliation makes people little happier. Notably, two religious foundations of happiness—affiliation with organized religious groups and attendance at services—have fallen. Softened religious engagement, then, may contribute to the slight downturn in general happiness. In fact, steady happiness is reported among those who participate frequently in religious services, but falling levels among those who are less involved. The chapter also considers the association between religion and happiness outside the United States using data from the International Social Survey Program, an international collaborative survey to which the General Social Survey contributes the American data.

Caregiving Choice and Caregiver-Receiver Relation: Effects on Psychological Well-being of Family Caregivers in Canada

2020 ◽  
Vol 39 (4) ◽  
pp. 634-646 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lun Li ◽  
Yeonjung Lee
Keyword(s):  
Family Caregivers ◽  
Interaction Effect ◽  
General Social Survey ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Population Based ◽  
Social Survey ◽  
Psychological Well Being ◽  
Moderation Effect ◽  
Being There ◽  
Perceived Choice

ABSTRACTThe psychological well-being of family caregivers is influenced by their relations with care receivers, and whether they have choice in becoming a caregiver. Limited study has explored the interaction effect of caregiver-receiver relations and caregiving choice on caregivers’ psychological well-being. This study examines whether the caregiver’s perceived choice moderates the association between caregiver-receiver relation and psychological well-being. Using population-based data from the 2012 Canada General Social Survey – Caregiving and Care Receiving (n = 5,285), this study applies regression and ANCOVA analyses. Results show family caregivers for spouses and children report significantly worse psychological well-being, whereas having choice to become a caregiver is associated with better psychological well-being. There was a significant moderation effect of caregiving choice on the association between caregiver-receiver relation and psychological well-being. Findings suggest that more services should be targeted for family caregivers without choice for caregiving as well as those who provide care for their children.

Developmental Models of Adult Life: Myth or Reality

1980 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 89-110 ◽  
Author(s):  
William B. Lacy ◽  
Jon Hendricks
Keyword(s):  
General Social Survey ◽  
Adult Life ◽  
Life Stages ◽  
Social Scientists ◽  
Social Survey ◽  
Developmental Models ◽  
Life Orientation ◽  
National Surveys ◽  
Age Related ◽  
Attitudes And Perceptions

This study investigates the existence of age related life stages and the presumed evolution of attitudes and perceptions in accordance with passages through these successive developmental plateaus. The research utilizes data from six national samples gathered as part of the General Social Survey between 1972 and 1977 by the National Opinion Research Center (N=9120). Criteria suggested by developmental theorists and other social scientists are employed to examine respondents' life orientation and satisfaction. In most Instances age is minimally related to attitudes in these areas while social class and to a lesser extent race and sex emerge as statistically significant and substantively important predictors of these dimensions. The results suggest the difficulties in identifying age related adult life phases through national surveys of attitudes and challenges the underlying assumptions for the existence of uniform age related stages.

Understanding Female Gun Ownership

2016 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 43-71 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maria D. H. Koeppel ◽  
Matt R. Nobles
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Survey Data ◽  
Fear Of Crime ◽  
General Social Survey ◽  
The United States ◽  
Gun Ownership ◽  
Social Survey ◽  
Male And Female ◽  
Nationally Representative ◽  
New Research

This research examines female gun ownership trends from 1973 to 2010. Nationally representative General Social Survey data are used to compare rates for male and female gun ownership. In light of the specific marketing trends by gun manufacturers beginning in the mid-1990s as well as previous findings within the literature, we test (a) whether an increase in female gun ownership is observed from 1973 to 2010, (b) whether female gun owners report increased fear of crime, and (c) the extent to which other gun-owning motivations, especially hunting, shape women’s gun ownership. Our analysis confirms a decline in women’s gun ownership, but in contrast to previous studies emphasizing a link between fear of crime and female gun ownership, we find that hobbies and lifestyle factors may better explain women’s interests in firearms. We could conclude by highlighting avenues for new research that better take into account the heterogeneity of gun ownership in the United States.

scholarly journals Comparability of Mortality Estimates from Social Surveys and Vital Statistics Data in the United States

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dustin C Brown ◽  
Joseph Lariscy ◽  
Lucie Kalousova
Keyword(s):  
Mortality Risk ◽  
General Social Survey ◽  
The United States ◽  
Mortality Rates ◽  
Vital Statistics ◽  
National Death Index ◽  
Social Survey ◽  
Social Surveys ◽  
Cox Proportional Hazard Models ◽  
Mortality Estimates

Social surveys prospectively linked with death records provide invaluable opportunities for the study of the relationship between social and economic circumstances and mortality. Although survey-linked mortality files play a prominent role in U.S. health disparities research, it is unclear how well mortality estimates from these datasets align with one another and whether they are comparable with U.S. vital statistics data. We conduct the first study that systematically compares mortality estimates from several widely-used survey-linked mortality files and U.S. vital statistics data. Our results show that mortality rates and life expectancies from the National Health Interview Survey Linked Mortality Files, Health and Retirement Study, Americans’ Changing Lives study, and U.S. vital statistics data are similar. Mortality rates are slightly lower and life expectancies are slightly higher in these linked datasets relative to vital statistics data. Compared with vital statistics and other survey-linked datasets, General Social Survey-National Death Index life expectancy estimates are much lower at younger adult ages and much higher at older adult ages. Cox proportional hazard models regressing all-cause mortality risk on age, gender, race, educational attainment, and marital status conceal the issues with the General Social Survey-National Death Index that are observed in our comparison of absolute measures of mortality risk. We provide recommendations for researchers who use survey-linked mortality files.

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