GSS 1972-2021 Cumulative Datafile


Sequential Variable List

RECENT PROBLEMS FOR RESPONDENT
Important Household Problems
prob1 first problem mentioned
prob2 second problem mentioned
prob3 third problem mentioned
prob4 fourth problem mentioned
Health Problems
hlth1 ill enough to go to a doctor
hlth2 counseling for mental problems
hlth3 infertility, unable to have a baby
hlth4 drinking problem
hlth5 illegal drugs (marijuana, cocaine)
hlth6 (husband, wife)partner in hospital
hlth7 a child in hospital
hlth8 child on drugs, drinking problem
hlth9 a death of a close friend
hlth10 respondent in hospital or sanatorium
hlth11 respondent unable to work for one month or more
hlth12 a death of spouse
hlth13 a death of child
hlth14 a death of parents
Work Related Problems
work1 unemployed and looking for work a month +
work2 being demoted or move to worse position
work3 a cut in pay or reduced hours
work4 being passed over for promotion
work5 having trouble with one's boss
work6 own business losing money or failing
work7 a husband, wife, partner being fired
work8 a husband, wife, partner cut in pay
work9 ones' spouse being unemployed
work10 during past 12 mo, r was unemployed and looking for work
Financial Problems
finan1 going bankrupt
finan2 having a car etc. repossessed
finan3 pawning valuables to make ends meet
finan4 being pressured to pay bills
finan5 major worsening financial condition
Personal Hardships
hrdshp1 fall behind in paying rent, mortgage
hrdshp2 eviction from one's apartment, house
hrdshp3 having the utilities shut-off
hrdshp4 being unable to purchase needed food
hrdshp5 unable to afford needed medical care
hrdshp6 lacking health insurance coverage
hrdshp7 homeless
Family Relationship Problems
famper1 having serious trouble with spouse
famper2 separating from spouse or partner
famper3 breaking up with fianc?e)
famper4 having serious trouble with a child
famper5 having serious trouble with friend
famper6 divorced or separated
Crime and Legal Problems
law1 a robbery
law2 a personal assault
law3 your home burglarized
law4 accused of crime
law5 arrested
law6 sued in civil case
law7 your child arrested
Problems Where Live
live1 your home destroyed in disaster
live2 your home in poor condition
live3 major home repair's
live4 serious problem with your landlord
Other Problems
oth1 being discriminated against
oth2 unable to get to school
oth3 child have trouble in school
oth4 need but unable to use public transport.
oth5 do not have a car
extra1 other problems
extra2 other problems
1985 TOPICAL MODULE: SOCIAL NETWORKS
Closeness within Networks
numgiven number of persons mentioned
eqclose r feels equally close to all persons
rclose1 r feels especially close to person #1
rclose2 r feels especially close to person #2
rclose3 r feels especially close to person #3
rclose4 r feels especially close to person #4
rclose5 r feels especially close to person #5
close12 how close are persons number 1 and 2?
close13 how close are persons number 1 and 3?
close14 how close are persons number 1 and 4?
close15 how close are persons number 1 and 5?
close23 how close are persons number 2 and 3?
close24 how close are persons number 2 and 4?
close25 how close are persons number 2 and 5?
close34 how close are persons number 3 and 4?
close35 how close are persons number 3 and 5?
close45 how close are persons number 4 and 5?
Composition of Networks
sex1 sex of person number 1
sex2 sex of person number 2
sex3 sex of person number 3
sex4 sex of person number 4
sex5 sex of person number 5
race1 race of person number 1
race2 race of person number 2
race3 race of person number 3
race4 race of person number 4
race5 race of person number 5
spouse1 person #1 is r's spouse
spouse2 person #2 is r's spouse
spouse3 person #3 is r's spouse
spouse4 person #4 is r's spouse
spouse5 person #5 is r's spouse
parent1 person #1 is r's parent
parent2 person #2 is r's parent
parent3 person #3 is r's parent
parent4 person #4 is r's parent
parent5 person #5 is r's parent
sibling1 person #1 is r's sibling
sibling2 person #2 is r's sibling
sibling3 person #3 is r's sibling
sibling4 person #4 is r's sibling
sibling5 person #5 is r's sibling
child1 person #1 is r's child
child2 person #2 is r's child
child3 person #3 is r's child
child4 person #4 is r's child
child5 person #5 is r's child
othfam1 person #1 is r's family member
othfam2 person #2 is r's family member
othfam3 person #3 is r's family member
othfam4 person #4 is r's family member
othfam5 person #5 is r's family member
cowork1 person #1 is r's coworker
cowork2 person #2 is r's coworker
cowork3 person #3 is r's coworker
cowork4 person #4 is r's coworker
cowork5 person #5 is r's coworker
memgrp1 person #1 is member of r's group
memgrp2 person #2 is member of r's group
memgrp3 person #3 is member of r's group
memgrp4 person #4 is member of r's group
memgrp5 person #5 is member of r's group
neighbr1 person #1 is r's neighbor
neighbr2 person #2 is r's neighbor
neighbr3 person #3 is r's neighbor
neighbr4 person #4 is r's neighbor
neighbr5 person #5 is r's neighbor
friend1 person #1 is r's friend
friend2 person #2 is r's friend
friend3 person #3 is r's friend
friend4 person #4 is r's friend
friend5 person #5 is r's friend
advisor1 person #1 is r's advisor
advisor2 person #2 is r's advisor
advisor3 person #3 is r's advisor
advisor4 person #4 is r's advisor
advisor5 person #5 is r's advisor
other1 person #1 is other type of acquaintance
other2 person #2 is other type of acquaintance
other3 person #3 is other type of acquaintance
other4 person #4 is other type of acquaintance
other5 person #5 is other type of acquaintance
Frequency and Duration of Contact within Networks
talkto1 how often does r talk to person #1?
talkto2 how often does r talk to person #2?
talkto3 how often does r talk to person #3?
talkto4 how often does r talk to person #4?
talkto5 how often does r talk to person #5?
known1 how long has r known person #1?
known2 how long has r known person #2?
known3 how long has r known person #3?
known4 how long has r known person #4?
known5 how long has r known person #5?
Social Attributes of Those in Networks
educ1 education level of person #1
educ2 education level of person #2
educ3 education level of person #3
educ4 education level of person #4
educ5 education level of person #5
age1 age of person #1
age2 age of person #2
age3 age of person #3
age4 age of person #4
age5 age of person #5
relig1 religious preference of person #1
relig2 religious preference of person #2
relig3 religious preference of person #3
relig4 religious preference of person #4
relig5 religious preference of person #5
partyid1 party id of person #1
partyid2 party id of person #2
partyid3 party id of person #3
talkpol1 r discusses politics with person #1
talkpol2 r discusses politics with person #2
talkpol3 r discusses politics with person #3
talkpol how often does r discuss politics?
frndknow how many of r's friends know each other?
1987 TOPICAL MODULE: SOCIO-POLITICAL PARTICIPATION
Group Membership
memfrat membership in fraternal group
memserv membership in service group
memvet membership in veteran group
mempolit membership in political club
memunion membership in labor union
memsport membership in sports club
memyouth membership in youth group
memschl membership in school service
memhobby membership in hobby club
memgreek membership in school fraternity
memnat membership in nationality group
memfarm membership in farm organization
memlit membership in literary or art group
memprof membership in professional society
memchurh membership in church group
memother membership in any other
memnum number of memberships
Groups Solving Problems
solfrat fraternal group tries to solve problems
solserv service group tries to solve problems
solvet veteran group tries to solve problems
solpolit political club tries to solve problems
solunion labor union tries to solve problems
solsport sports club tries to solve problems
solyouth youth group tries to solve problems
solschl school service tries to solve problems
solhobby hobby club tries to solve problems
solgreek fraternity tries to solve problems
solnat nationality grp tries to solve problems
solfarm farm org tries to solve problems
sollit lit or art grp tries to solve problems
solprof prof society tries to solve problems
solchurh church group tries to solve problems
solother any other group tries to solve problems
Active in Groups
actfrat r active in fraternal group
actserv r active in service group
actvet r active in veteran group
actpolit r active in political club
actunion r active in labor union
actsport r active in sports club
actyouth r active in youth group
actschl r active in school service
acthobby r active in hobby club
actgreek r active in school fraternity
actnat r active in nationality group
actfarm r active in farm organization
actlit r active in literary or art group
actprof r active in professional society
actchurh r active in church group
actother r active in any other group
churhgrp is church group church itself
mostact which group is r most active in
caregrp how committed to group is r
Types of Activities in Groups
servegrp has r served on group committees
leadgrp has r served as officer in group
givegrp has r given money above regular dues
attndgrp has r attended group conferences
writegrp has r written to newspaper's for group
lobbygrp has r contacted government for group
Involvement with Local Government and Community
loclived how long has r lived in community
loctrust how much trust does r have in local gov
locinflu how much influence r feels on local gov
locprob has r helped to solve local problems
locgrp has r helped to start new local group
loccare would local officials listen to problem
Political Involvement
intpol how interested in politics is r
swayvote has r tried to influence votes of others
workpol has r worked for parties or candidates
polrally has r attended political rallies
loclobby has r lobbied local officials
locself was problem of narrow or wide concern
othlobby has r lobbied higher level officials
othself was this prob of narrow or wide concern
Knowledge of Political Figures
governor did r correctly name governor
usrep did r correctly name us representative
schlhead did r correctly name local school head
Political Trust and Participation
fedtrust how much does r trust federal government
locvote how often does r vote in local elections
gavepol has r given money to candidate or cause
Group Political Influence
blkinflu opinion of political influence of blacks
blkgains best way for blacks to improve position
feinflu opinion of political influence of women
fegains best way for women to improve position
1988 TOPICAL MODULE: RELIGION
Opinions on Science
scisolve science will solve social problems
scichng science changes way of life too fast
scipry scientists pry into things they oughtn't
scimoral science breaks down ideas of right & wrong
Switching Religions
switched has r ever had a different religion
switch1 what was r's first religious preference
switch2 what was r's second religious preference
switch3 what was r's third religious preference
switnum how many religious preferences mentioned
switage1 how old was r when first switched
switage2 how old was r when second switch
switwhy1 why did r make first switch
switwhy2 why did r make second switch
Religious Backgrounds of Parents
marelig what was mother's religious preference
maden what was mother's religious denomination
maoth other protestant denomination for mother
majew what sort of jew was r's mother
mafund how fundamentalist was r's mother
parelig what was father's religious preference
paden what was father's religious denomination
paoth other protestant denomination for father
pajew what sort of jew was r's father
pafund how fundamentalist was r's father
Religious Upbringing
churhsch number of years r attended church school
sunsch16 how frequently r attended sunday school
grace16 did r's family say grace at meals
join16 was r ever confirmed as member of church
Adult Religious Participation
lapsed did r ever lapse in church attendance
churhmem is r a member of church or synagogue
churhact does r participate in church activities
tvrelig hours per week r watches religious tv
god r's confidence in the existence of god
reborn has r ever had a 'born again' experience
savesoul tried to convince others to accept jesus
saygrace does r's family say grace before meals
readword how often did r read bible last year
Religious Beliefs
punsin r agrees that sinners must be punished
blkwhite r agrees right & wrong not black & white
rotapple r agrees immoral person corrupts society
permoral r agrees that morality a personal matter
Important Factors in Life Decisions
decbible importance of bible in making decisions
decoths imp. of family & friends to make decisions
decchurh imp of church teachings to make decision
decself imp of personal judgment to make decision
What Makes One Good
gochurch importance of attending church regularly
believe importance of believing in god w o doubt
follow importance of following church teachings
goownway importance of following own conscience
Faith
myfaith degree to which faith is free of doubt
madatgod how often r feels angry at god
doubts1 has evil in the world caused r doubt
doubts2 has personal suffering caused r doubt
doubts3 has science-faith conflict caused doubt
doubts4 has feeling of meaninglessness caused doubt
faith1 has death in family strengthened faith
faith2 has birth of child strengthened faith
faith3 has marriage strengthened faith
faith4 has sexual pleasure strengthened faith
Friends and Religion
frndcon1 does friend 1 belong to r's congregation
frndcon2 does friend 2 belong to r's congregation
frndcon3 does friend 3 belong to r's congregation
frndcon4 does friend 4 belong to r's congregation
frndcon5 does friend 5 belong to r's congregation
frndrel1 what is friend 1s religious preference
frndrel2 what is friend 2s religious preference
frndrel3 what is friend 3s religious preference
frndrel4 what is friend 4s religious preference
frndrel5 what is friend 5s religious preference
frndden1 what is friend 1s specific denomination
frndden2 what is friend 2s specific denomination
frndden3 what is friend 3s specific denomination
frndden4 what is friend 4s specific denomination
frndden5 what is friend 5s specific denomination
frndoth1 what is friend 1s other prot denom
frndoth2 what is friend 2s other prot denom
frndoth3 what is friend 3s other prot denom
frndoth4 what is friend 4s other prot denom
frndoth5 what is friend 5s other prot denom
frndfnd1 fund.-lib. of 1st friend
frndfnd2 fund.-lib. of 2nd friend
frndfnd3 fund.-lib. of 3rd friend
frndfnd4 fund.-lib. of 4th friend
frndfnd5 fund.-lib. of 5th friend
Friends and Race
frndrac1 what is friend 1s race
frndrac2 what is friend 2s race
frndrac3 what is friend 3s race
frndrac4 what is friend 4s race
frndrac5 what is friend 5s race
friends have any good friends feeling close
numfrend about how many good friends do you have
numbwfrd good friends who are white-black
bwfriend friends black or white
Religious Expression and Funding
godsells religious image to sell products
godsport pro-athletes giving thanks to god
givecong given money to local congregation
giverel given money other religious org
giveoth given money non-religious charities
givearts contributions to arts culture humanities
relhrs1 hours religious act in home
relhrs2 hours religious act outside of home
numcong number of members of the congregation
kid5up have children older than 5
pubsch all children attend pub elem & hi school
homesch children attend home schooling
cathsch children attend catholic school
chrissch children attend christian school
denomsch denomination of school children attended
relsch children attend other church school
privsch children attend private secular school
othsch children attend other school
shoprel ever shopped around for a church
shopmove shopped around because had moved
shopnum how many churches did you visit
othchrch happy in other non catholic church
implives way of life more important than being catholic
obeytch important to obey church teachings
preach how well local church preaches
ferespct how well local church respects women's rights
sympcoun how well local church counsels sympathetically
wrkyoung how well local church works with youth
worship how good local church wor'ship services
1990 TOPICAL MODULE: INTER-GROUP RELATIONS
Protest and Dissent
ownthing youthful protest is good
talkback talking back to parents is bad
twoclass weak vs. strong
openmind treat dissenters with leniency
Causes of Poverty
whypoor1 poor schools
whypoor2 loose morals and drunkenness
whypoor3 not enough jobs
whypoor4 lack of effort
Social Differences
socdif1 income differences an incentive
socdif2 paid what you need
socdif3 study for years to get high pay
socdif4 don't give equal chance
Group Wealth
wlthwhts rich - poor
wlthjews rich - poor
wlthblks rich - poor
wlthasns rich - poor
wlthhsps rich - poor
wlthso rich - poor
Group Work Ethic
workwhts hard working - lazy
workjews hard working - lazy
workblks hard working - lazy
workasns hard working - lazy
workhsps hard working -lazy
workso hard working - lazy
Violent Tendencies in Groups
violwhts violent - not violent
violjews violent - not violent
violblks violent - not violent
violasns violent - not violent
violhsps violent - not violent
violso violent - not violent
Group Intelligence
intlwhts unintelligent -intelligent
intljews unintelligent - intelligent
intlblks unintelligent - intelligent
intlasns unintelligent - intelligent
intlhsps unintelligent - intelligent
intlso unintelligent - intelligent
Group Prefer Welfare
farewhts self supporting - live off welfare
farejews self supporting - live off welfare
fareblks self supporting - live off welfare
fareasns self supporting - live off welfare
farehsps self supporting - live off welfare
fareso self supporting - live off welfare
Group Patriotism
patrwhts unpatriotic - patriotic
patrjews unpatriotic - patriotic
patrblks unpatriotic - patriotic
patrasns unpatriotic - patriotic
patrhsps unpatriotic - patriotic
patrso unpatriotic - patriotic
Living with Group
livejews neighborhood half jewish
liveblks neighborhood half black
liveasns neighborhood half asian
livehsps neighborhood half hispanic
liveno neighborhood half northern white
liveso neighborhood half southern white
Group Intermarriage
livewhts r favors living in half white neighborhood
marjew close relative marry jew
marblk close relative marry black
marasian close relative marry asian
marhisp close relative marry hispanic
marno close relative marry no. white
marso close relative marry so. white
Solutions to Social Problems
marwht r favor close relative marrying white person
workfare work to get welfare
lessfare if less welfare more will work
povzone tax breaks for poor areas
povschs spend more on poor schools
povcol give college aid to poor
blkzone tax breaks for black areas
blkschs spend more on black schools
blkcol give college aid to blacks
racquota forbid racial job quotas
Group Influence
influwht influence of whites
influjew influence of jews
influblk influence of blacks
influasn influence of asians
influhsp influence of hispanics
influso influence of so. whites
Group Discrimination
hspjobs hispanics discriminated in jobs
blkjobs blacks discriminated in jobs
asnjobs asians discriminated in jobs
hsphouse hispanics discriminated in housing
blkhouse blacks discriminated in housing
asnhouse asians discriminated in housing
racwork racial makeup of workplace
affact r's firm has aff. action program
discaff whites hurt by aff. action
discwhy1 personally experienced it
discwhy2 happened to someone close
discwhy3 happened at work
discwhy4 heard about it in media
discwhy5 heard about it elsewhere
discwhy6 other sources