December 15, 2022

This is the third in our 2022 Year in Review series of lists – which began with "10 Harris Events That Shaped Our Thinking in 2022" and “8 New Faculty Insights That Made Us Think in 2022” – spotlighting the top Harris news, accomplishments, and perspectives from across our community.

Since October 2018, the University of Chicago Harris School of Public Policy has collaborated with The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research on polling designed to advance research and inform public discourse on key policy issues. Here are three UChicago Harris AP/NORC polls from 2022:

Nearly Half of U.S. Adults Believe It Is Hard for Their Family to Improve Their Standard of Living

Although almost all adults say it is important to have a good standard of living, 46% say it is more difficult to achieve one now than it was for their parents. And 54% believe it is unlikely that today’s youth will have a better standard of living than their parents.

The new poll examines opinions surrounding upward mobility and equality of opportunity in the U.S. It reveals that most people value owning a home and raising a family, but half believe that both are more difficult to achieve than it was for their parents. However, there are significant differences in attitudes based on race and age.

Read more about the poll here. Read the Associated Press story, "Poll: Many pessimistic about improving standard of living," by Cora Lewis. Research in conjunction with Professor Steven Durlauf.

About 1 in 5 Americans Say Gun Violence Has Touched Their Lives and Even More Fear Being a Victim

Twenty-one percent of Americans say either themselves, a family member, or a close friend has had an experience with gun violence in the past five years, and twice as many believe it is likely they will be a victim of gun violence in the next five years.

There are significant racial and ethnic disparities in experiences with gun violence. Black Americans and Hispanic Americans are more than twice as likely as white Americans to say either themselves or someone they know has experienced gun violence (54% and 27% vs. 13%).

Read more about the poll here. Read the Associated Press story, "AP-NORC poll: Most in US say they want stricter gun laws," by Sara Burnett, and "AP-NORC poll: 2 in 10 report experience with gun violence," by Corey Williams and Michelle L. Price. Research in conjunction with Professor Jens Ludwig and the UChicago Crime Lab, housed at Harris.

No Public Consensus on How Schools Should Teach about Racism and Discuss Sexuality

As several state and local governments consider bills that prohibit teaching about sexual identity and issues around race, there is no public consensus about the role of public schools in teaching children about these issues. About a quarter of Americans say teachers in their local public school are focusing on racism and sexuality too much, while about a third think they are focusing too little on these issues.

The new study also reveals 50% of Americans believe parents do not have enough influence on classroom curriculum and 51% think the same for teachers.

Read more about the poll here. Read the Associated Press story, "Talk of race, sex in schools divides Americans: AP-NORC poll," by Hannah Fingerhut and Annie Ma. Research in conjunction with Assistant Professor Adam Zelizer.