Most Americans Are Still Upbeat and Optimistic - But Less So than in the Recent Past NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--A new Harris Poll finds that the great majority of the public is
satisfied with their lives, and that most people believe that their
personal situation will improve over the next five years. The numbers
who feel this way are lower today than they were in the last few years,
but most Americans are still upbeat and optimistic in spite of the
economic tough times and the increase in unemployment. Furthermore, a
majority of Echo Boomers (aged 18-30), and pluralities of Gen X (aged
31-42) and Baby Boomers feel their present situation today is better
than it was five years ago. Only among Matures (aged 62+) is there a
plurality who feels that their situation has become worse. These are some of the results of The Harris Poll® of 1,019 adults surveyed by telephone between October 13 and 18, 2009 by Harris Interactive®. Some of the most interesting findings are:
So what? Many foreign observers of the United States over the last 200 or more years have remarked that Americans seem to be more optimistic than people living in “the old world,” from which most immigrants came. This new poll shows that, whatever our current problems are, American optimism is alive and well. TABLE 1 OVERALL LIFE SATISFACTION “On the whole, are you very satisfied, fairly satisfied, not very satisfied or not at all satisfied with the life you lead?” Base: All Adults
Note: Percentages may not add up exactly to 100% due to rounding * Less than 0.5% TABLE 2 PRESENT LIFE SITUATION COMPARED TO FIVE YEARS AGO – TREND “If you compare your present situation with five years ago, would you say it has improved, stayed about the same or got worse?” Base: All Adults
Note: Percentages may not add up exactly to 100% due to rounding * Less than 0.5% TABLE 3 PRESENT LIFE SITUATION COMPARED TO FIVE YEARS AGO “If you compare your present situation with five years ago, would you say it has improved, stayed about the same or got worse?” Base: All Adults
Note: Percentages may not add up exactly to 100% due to rounding * Less than 0.5% “-“ No response TABLE 4 EXPECTED PERSONAL SITUATION IN FIVE YEARS - TREND “In the course of the next five years, do you expect your personal situation to improve, to stay about the same or to get worse?” Base: All Adults
Note: Percentages may not add up exactly to 100% due to rounding TABLE 5 EXPECTED PERSONAL SITUATION IN FIVE YEARS “In the course of the next five years, do you expect your personal situation to improve, to stay about the same or to get worse?” Base: All Adults
Note: Percentages may not add up exactly to 100% due to rounding “-“ No response TABLE 6 SELECTED ATTITUDES AND EXPECTATIONS – BY PARTY Base: All adults
TABLE 7 SELECTED ATTITUDES – BY INCOME Base: All adults
Methodology This Harris Poll was conducted by telephone within the United States October 13 and 18, 2009 among 1,019 adults (aged 18 and over). Figures for age, sex, race/ethnicity, education, region and household income were weighted where necessary to bring them into line with their actual proportions in the population. Propensity score weighting was also used to adjust for respondents’ propensity to be online. All sample surveys and polls, whether or not they use probability sampling, are subject to multiple sources of error which are most often not possible to quantify or estimate, including sampling error, coverage error, error associated with nonresponse, error associated with question wording and response options, and post-survey weighting and adjustments. Therefore, Harris Interactive avoids the words “margin of error” as they are misleading. All that can be calculated are different possible sampling errors with different probabilities for pure, unweighted, random samples with 100% response rates. These are only theoretical because no published polls come close to this ideal. Respondents for this survey were selected from among those who have agreed to participate in Harris Interactive surveys. The data have been weighted to reflect the composition of the adult population. Because the sample is based on those who agreed to participate in the Harris Interactive panel, no estimates of theoretical sampling error can be calculated. These statements conform to the principles of disclosure of the National Council on Public Polls.
About Harris Interactive Harris Interactive is a global leader in custom market research. With a long and rich history in multimodal research, powered by our science and technology, we assist clients in achieving business results. Harris Interactive serves clients globally through our North American, European and Asian offices and a network of independent market research firms. For more information, please visit www.harrisinteractive.com Contact: Harris Interactive, Inc. Alyssa Hall, 212-539-9749 ahall@harrisinteractive.com Source: Harris Interactive
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