Social Capital, Civic Engagement, and Social Cohesion Content of U.S. Surveys
As discussed in Chapter 4, a number of government surveys include content related to social capital, civic engagement, and social cohesion. In that chapter, the panel recommends a systematic review of the content of, and overlap in, federal surveys in areas related to social capital measurement. The following table provides additional details to Table 4-1 in Chapter 4.
Details of Social Capital, Civic Engagement, and Social Cohesion Content of Major U.S. Surveys
Questionnaire Content | ||||
Survey | Voting | Other Political Engagement | Volunteering | Charitable Giving |
CPS | ||||
CPS Civic Engagement Supplement | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
CPS Volunteer Supplement | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | |
CPS Voting and Registration Supplement | ✓ | |||
NCVS | ||||
NHES | ||||
Civic Involvement | ||||
ATUS | ✓ generic |
|||
AHS (NSCM) | ✓ contact with local politicians |
✓ generic |
Organizational Membership and/or Participation | Contact with Friends, Family, Neighbors, and Networks | Neighborhood Characteristics/Sense of Community | Trust/Confidence (e.g., in neighbors, government, law enforcement, corporations, schools, media) | Fairness, Polarization, and Integration |
✓ union membership |
✓ cohabitation |
|||
✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | |
✓ | ✓ | |||
✓ perceived safety of neighborhood |
✓ trust in law enforcement |
|||
✓ religious services, amount of time spent with other people, caring for children/elderly |
||||
✓ | ✓ | ✓ opinion of neighborhood |
✓ neighbors |
✓ neighborhood cohesion |
Questionnaire Content | ||||
Survey | Voting | Other Political Engagement | Volunteering | Charitable Giving |
HRS | ✓ | |||
NLSY97 | ✓ | ✓ interest in government and public affairs/social activism activities, attendance at meeting or event for a political, environmental, or community group |
✓ volunteer activities |
✓ |
NLSY79 | ✓ political attitudes |
✓ volunteerism/philanthropy |
✓ recently introduced |
|
NLSY79 Child & Young Adult | ✓ political attitudes and behaviors |
✓ full range |
||
NLS Sample Adult Core | ✓ |
Organizational Membership and/or Participation | Contact with Friends, Family, Neighbors, and Networks | Neighborhood Characteristics/Sense of Community | Trust/Confidence (e.g., in neighbors, government, law enforcement, corporations, schools, media) | Fairness, Polarization, and Integration |
✓ frequency/duration of contact with children, friends, neighbors, care of grandchildren |
✓ safety, cleanliness |
✓ friends, neighbors |
✓ attitudinal |
|
✓ | ✓ frequency/importance of family events and holidays; frequency of contact between parents, level of friendliness and hostility |
✓ perception of criminal justice system |
✓ opinions on government responsibility |
|
✓ religious affiliation, frequency of attendance |
✓ attitudinal |
|||
✓ religious affiliation, frequency of attendance |
✓ extent of neighborhood problems/characteristics |
|||
✓ | ✓ neighbors |
Questionnaire Content | ||||
Survey | Voting | Other Political Engagement | Volunteering | Charitable Giving |
PSID | ✓ | |||
PSID Disability and Use of Time Supplement | ||||
PSID Transition into Adulthood Supplement | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | |
GSS 2012 | ✓ basic |
✓ extent of political engagement and knowledge, protest involvement |
✓ | ✓ blood donation, money to homeless, charity, issue-based |
Organizational Membership and/or Participation | Contact with Friends, Family, Neighbors, and Networks | Neighborhood Characteristics/Sense of Community | Trust/Confidence (e.g., in neighbors, government, law enforcement, corporations, schools, media) | Fairness, Polarization, and Integration |
✓ religion | ||||
✓ | ✓ | |||
✓ clubs, groups and religion |
✓ characteristics of social network |
✓ perceptions/experiences, belonging |
✓ perceptions and experiences, belonging |
|
✓ religious affiliation/attendance, union membership, |
✓ neighbors, friends, racial tolerance, look after neighbor’s house, lending, caring for or helping neighbors, job assistance, attendance at artistic events with friends/family |
✓ race, frequency of interactions with neighbors, safety |
✓ trust in others, companies, religion, federal government/agencies, labor unions, press, Supreme Court, congress; use of force by police; health system |
✓ budgetary priorities, role of government in addressing income inequality/living standards, tolerance/intolerance of racial, religious, and political differences, affirmative action/fairness (race/gender), workplace fairness, helping strangers, importance of religious/ethnic customs, educational and health opportunities |
Questionnaire Content | ||||
Survey | Voting | Other Political Engagement | Volunteering | Charitable Giving |
ANES pre-election | ✓ | ✓ political engagement with news from TV/Internet/newspaper, social media, blogs |
✓ |
Organizational Membership and/or Participation | Contact with Friends, Family, Neighbors, and Networks | Neighborhood Characteristics/Sense of Community | Trust/Confidence (e.g., in neighbors, government, law enforcement, corporations, schools, media) | Fairness, Polarization, and Integration |
✓ political party, religion |
✓ trust in elected officials, parties, general role of government, other people |
✓ attitudes about political parties/government/economy, polarization, income gap, fairness of political contributions |
||
Questionnaire Content | ||||
Survey | Voting | Other Political Engagement | Volunteering | Charitable Giving |
ANES post-election | ✓ | ✓ engagement with campaign coverage/candidates/speeches; visit candidate’s Website; meeting or rally participation, past protest involvement, signed petitions, social media, contact representatives |
✓ candidates or parties, religious, school, or issue-based donations |
Organizational Membership and/or Participation | Contact with Friends, Family, Neighbors, and Networks | Neighborhood Characteristics/Sense of Community | Trust/Confidence (e.g., in neighbors, government, law enforcement, corporations, schools, media) | Fairness, Polarization, and Integration |
✓ numbers of and names of organizations |
✓ discuss politics w/friends/family, frequency; worked in community, candidate advocacy |
✓ feelings about religious groups, federal government, specific socioeconomic groups, role of security post-9/11, state nullification, role of Supreme Court, government corruption |
✓ most important problem facing country, feelings of patriotism, taxing millionaires, affirmative action, role and size of government, life affected by specific racial/gender groups, views of traditional v. new lifestyles, fairness of voting and press, discrimination v. women, affirmative action, equality, satisfaction with democracy, feel threatened by federal government, bilingual capabilities, feelings/sentiments toward ethnic groups, income inequality, discrimination |
Questionnaire Content | ||||
Survey | Voting | Other Political Engagement | Volunteering | Charitable Giving |
SCCBS 2000 | ✓ | ✓ interest in politics/national affairs, attend rallies/protests, reform movements, online chats/forums, town meetings |
✓ | ✓ donated blood, amount to religious/nonreligious organizations |
Organizational Membership and/or Participation | Contact with Friends, Family, Neighbors, and Networks | Neighborhood Characteristics/Sense of Community | Trust/Confidence (e.g., in neighbors, government, law enforcement, corporations, schools, media) | Fairness, Polarization, and Integration |
✓ religious affiliation, attendance, adult/youth sports w/frequency, school service, vets groups, neighborhood associations, social welfare organizations, union, trade associations, fraternal/ethnic organizations, PACS, hobby club, officer status, ethnic/gender makeup |
✓ sense of community/belonging, number of close friends, frequency of group activities, visiting family/friends, socialize with neighbors/coworkers |
✓ sense of community/belonging, frequency of interaction w/neighbors, trustworthiness, satisfaction, civic power, obstacles to involvement, attend community events |
✓ trust in neighbors, coworkers, media, local businesses/police, various races, local/national government |
✓ racial tolerance in marriage/friends |
Questionnaire Content | ||||
Survey | Voting | Other Political Engagement | Volunteering | Charitable Giving |
SCCS 2006 | ✓ | ✓ interest in politics/national affairs, attend rallies/protests |
✓ | ✓ donated blood, amount to religious and nonreligious organizations |
Organizational Membership and/or Participation | Contact with Friends, Family, Neighbors, and Networks | Neighborhood Characteristics/Sense of Community | Trust/Confidence (e.g., in neighbors, government, law enforcement, corporations, schools, media) | Fairness, Polarization, and Integration |
✓ religious affiliations attendance; adult/youth sports w/frequency; school service; veterans groups; neighborhood associations; social welfare organizations; union/trade associations; fraternal/ethnic organizations; PACS; hobby club |
✓ sense of self with regard to town, “Americanness”, tenure in community/likely to stay; racial makeup of social network; frequency of group activities; visiting family/friends; socialize with neighbors/coworkers |
✓ sense of self with regard to town, “Americanness”, frequency of interaction with neighbors, trustworthiness, satisfaction, civic power, racial tolerance, attend at community events |
✓ trust in neighbors/strangers, coworkers, media, local businesses/police, various races, local/national government, will you be victim of a crime, “hot/cold” questions, ethnic groups/economic status |
✓ budget priorities, Hurricane Katrina-related questions about evacuees, racial tolerance in marriage/friends |
Questionnaire Content | ||||
Survey | Voting | Other Political Engagement | Volunteering | Charitable Giving |
Giving & Volunteering in the United States | ✓ | ✓ type/frequency/name of organization; why volunteered?; Internet volunteer; attitudes |
✓ religion, youth development, education, health, human services, animal welfare, environment, adult recreation, arts, social/political organization, political campaign, private company foundations, international aid, friends |
|
NOTES: A check in a cell indicates that a particular survey includes content in the identified topic area.
AHS, American Housing Survey, (NCSM, Neighborhood Social Capital Module); ANES, American National Election Studies; ATUS, American Time Use Survey; GSS, General Social Survey; NHES, National Household Education Surveys Program; NCVS, National Crime Victimization Survey; NLSY79, National Longitudinal Surveys [1979 wave]; PSID, Panel Study of Income Dynamics; SCBS, Social Capital Benchmark Survey; SCCS, Social Capital Community Survey.
Organizational Membership and/or Participation | Contact with Friends, Family, Neighbors, and Networks | Neighborhood Characteristics/Sense of Community | Trust/Confidence (e.g., in neighbors, government, law enforcement, corporations, schools, media) | Fairness, Polarization, and Integration |
✓ religious membership, service organizations |
✓ unorganized volunteering, friends/family/neighbors/strangers; proxy questions for family members |
✓ confidence in charitable organizations, political parties, congress, organization labor, corporations, media, Web, federal/state/local government, religions; general trust |
✓ government responsibility for citizens, government should give to faith-based groups |
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