Variables in GSS

Guideline

What is this document?

This document lists the variable names, what they measure, the full wording and response sets of each question from the GSS dataset.

Table A. Guideline of variable types

Variable type	It means
Binary (categorical)	Binary variable: it has two responses
Nominal (categorical)	Nominal variable: it has more than two responses
Ordinal (categorical)	Ordinal variable: same as nominal variable, but there is a logical order among categories
Ordinal ✅ (categorical)	✅ next to an ordinal variable indicates that these ordinal variables could be treated as continuous
Continuous	Continuous variable: numeric variables; real numbers
COMPUTE	Indicates that it can be computed together with other variables marked with a COMPUTE in the same color under the same table. Note that the computed variable will be continuous.
RECODE	Indicates that they should be recoded (the direction of the responses should be reversed) before computation or treating them as continuous. After recoding, the new (recoded) variables should be used in analysis.

Table 1. Basic demographics

Variable name	What it measures?	Variable type	Full wording of the question
age	respondents' age	Continuous	What is your age?
educ	respondents' education in years	Continuous	What is the highest year of school you completed?
degree	education degree	Ordinal	Do you have less than high school, high school, associate/junior college, bachelor's, or graduate degree? (0: less than high school; 1: High school; 2: Associate/junior college; 3: Bachelor's; 4: Graduate)
coninc	family income	Continuous	What is your family income in dollars?
conrinc	personal income	Continuous	What is your income in dollars?
sei10	socio-economic index score	Continuous	Socio-economic index score of the respondent (calculated)
spsei10	socio-economic index score of the respondents’ spouses	Continuous	Socio-economic index score of the respondent's spouse (calculated)
prestg10	occupational prestige score	Continuous	Respondent’s occupational prestige score (calculated)
sppres10	occupational prestige score of the respondents’ spouses	Continuous	Respondent's spouse occupational prestige score (calculated)
sex	respondents' sex	Binary	What’s your sex? (1: male; 2: female)
sexornt	respondents' sexual orientation	Nominal	Which of the following best describes you? (1: gay, lesbian, or homosexual; 2: bisexual; 3: heterosexual or straight)
race	respondents' race	Nominal	What’s your race? (1: white; 2: black; 3: other)
marital	respondents' marital status	Nominal	Are you currently--married, widowed, divorced, separated, or have you never been married? (1: married; 2: widowed; 3: divorced; 4: separated; 5: never married)
sibs	the number of brothers and sisters respondents have	Continuous	How many brothers and sisters do you have?
childs	the number of children respondents have	Continuous	How many children do you have?
born	respondents' immigrant status	Binary	Were you born in this country? (1: yes; 2: no)
region	the region of residence	Nominal	The region respondents lives in (1: New england; 2: Middle atlantic; 3: East north central; 4: West north central; 5: South atlantic; 6: East south atlantic; 7: West south central; 8: Mountain; 9: Pacific)
dwelown	home ownership	Nominal	(Do you/Does your family) own your (home/apartment), pay rent, or what? (1: Own or is buying; 2: Pays rent; 3: Other)
partyid	political party affiliation	Nominal	Generally speaking, do you usually think of yourself as a Republican, Democrat, Independent, or what? (0: Strong democrat; 1: Not very strong democrat; 2: Independent, close to democrat; 3: Independent (neither, no response); 4: Independent, close to republican; 5: Not very strong republican; 6:Strong republican; 7: other party)
polviews	respondents' conservatism level	Ordinal ✅	Do you think of yourself as liberal or conservative? (1: extremely liberal; 2: liberal; 3: slightly liberal; 4: moderate; 5: slightly liberal; 6: conservative; 7: extremely conservative)

Table 2. Respondents’ parents and adolescence years

Variable name	What it measures?	Variable type	Full wording of the question
granborn	third generation respondents' immigrant status by generation	Ordinal	Were all of your four grandparents born in this country? A. How many were born outside the United States? (0: none; 1: one; 2: two; 3: three; 4: four)
res16	higher population density of residence during adolescence years	Ordinal ✅	Which of the categories on this card comes closest to the type of place you were living in when you were 16 years old? (1: country, nonfarm; 2: farm; 3: town less than 50K; 4: 50K to 250K; 5: big city, suburb; 6: city greater than 250K)
reg16	the region of residence during adolescence years	Nominal	In what state or foreign country were you living when you were 16 years old? (0: foreign country; 1: New England; 2: Middle Atlantic; 3: East north central; 4: West north central; 5: South Atlantic; 6: East south Atlantic; 7: West south central; 8: Mountain; 9: Pacific)
family16	parental cohabitation status during adolescence years	Nominal	Were you living with both your own mother and father around the time you were 16? (0: other; 1: mother and father; 2: father and stepmother; 3: mother and stepfather; 4: father; 5: mother; 6: male relative; 7: female relative; 8: male and female relatives)
incom16	self-assessment of family wealth relative to societal average during adolescence years	Ordinal ✅	Thinking about the time when you were 16 years old, compared with American families in general then, would you say your family income was--far below average, below average, average, above average, or far above average? (1: far below average; 2: below average; 3: average; 4: above average; 5: far above average)

Table 3. Quality of life - Living standards

Variable name	What it measures?	Variable type	Full wording of the questions
lifenow	quality of life rating	Ordinal ✅	If you were asked to rate your overall life from 0-10, where 10 represents the best possible state and 0 represents the worst possible state, how would you rate your life today?
lifein5	quality of life rating in five years	Ordinal ✅	If you were asked to rate your overall life from 0-10, where 10 represents the best possible state and 0 represents the worst possible state, how do you think you would rate your life five years from today?
goodlife	the level of optimism about economic opportunity	Ordinal ✅ RECODE	The way things are in America, people like me and my family have a good chance of improving our standard of living -- do you agree or disagree? (1: strongly agree; 2: agree; 3: neither agree nor disagree; 4: disagree; 5: strongly disagree)
finrela	attitude towards higher family income	Ordinal ✅	Compared with American families in general, would you say your family income is far below average, below average, average, above average, or far above average? (1: far below average; 2: below average; 3: average; 4: above average; 5: far above average)
parsol	the level of higher living standard compared to parents	Ordinal ✅ RECODE	Compared to your parents when they were the age you are now, do you think your own standard of living now is much better, somewhat better, about the same, somewhat worse, or much worse than theirs was? (1: much better; 2: somewhat better; 3: about the same; 4: somewhat worse; 5 much worse)
rank	social ranking level	Ordinal ✅ RECODE	In our society there are groups which tend to be towards the top and those that are towards the bottom. Where would you put yourself on this scale? (1: top....10: bottom)

Table 4. Social life

Variable name	What it measures?	Variable type	Full wording of the questions
socrel	the frequency of social evening with relatives	Ordinal ✅ RECODE	How often do you spend a social evening with relatives (1: almost daily; 2: once or twice a week; 3: several times a month; 4: about once a month; 5: several times a year; 6: about once a year; 7: never)
socommun	the frequency of social evening with neighbors	Ordinal ✅ RECODE	How often do you spend a social evening with neighbors (1: almost daily; 2: once or twice a week; 3: several times a month; 4: about once a month; 5: several times a year; 6: about once a year; 7: never)
socfrend	the frequency of social evening with friends	Ordinal ✅ RECODE	How often do you spend a social evening with friends (1: almost daily; 2: once or twice a week; 3: several times a month; 4: about once a month; 5: several times a year; 6: about once a year; 7: never)
socbar	the frequency of going to a bar	Ordinal ✅ RECODE	How often do you go to a bar? (1: almost daily; 2: once or twice a week; 3: several times a month; 4: about once a month; 5: several times a year; 6: about once a year; 7: never)
hrsrelax	leisure time hours after work day	Continuous	After an average work day, how many hours do you have to relax or pursue activities that you enjoy?
wkvsfam	the level of job interfering with family life	Ordinal ✅ RECODE	How often do the demands of your job interfere with your family life? (1: often; 2: sometimes; 3: rarely; 4: never)

Table 5. Work

Variable name	What it measures?	Variable type	Full wording of the questions
wrkstat	labor force status	Nominal	Last week were you working full time, part time, going to school, keeping house, or what? (1: working full time; 2: working part time; 3: with a job, but not at work because of temporary illness, vacation, strike; 4: unemployed, laid off, looking for work; 5: retired; 6: in school; 7: keeping house; 8: other)
wrkslf	respondents' employment status	Binary	Are you self employed or do you work for someone else? (1: self employed; 2: for someone else)
wrktype	work arrangement at main job	Nominal	How would you describe your work arrangement in your main job? (1: independent contractor/consultant/freelance worker; 2: on-call, work only when called to work; 3: paid by a temporary agency; 4: work for contractor who provides workers/services; 5: regular, permanent employee)
wrksched	usual work schedule	Nominal	Which of the following best describes your usual work schedule? (1: day shift; 2: afternoon shift; 3: night shift; 4: split shift; 5: irregular shift/on-call; 6: rotating shifts)
secondwk	having a job other than the main job	Binary	Do you have any jobs besides your main job or do any other work for pay? (1: yes; 2: no)
wrkhome	the frequency of remote work	Ordinal ✅	How often do you work at home as part of your job? (1: never; 2: a few times a year; 3: about once a month; 4: about once a week; 5: more than once a week; 6: worker works mainly at home)
waypaid	the way respondents are paid in their main job	Nominal	In your main job, are you salaried, paid by the hour, or what? (1: salaried; 2: paid by the hour; 3: other)
fairearn	perceived pay fairness	Ordinal ✅	How fair is what you earn on your job in comparison to others doing the same type of work you do? (1: much less than they deserve; 2: somewhat less than they deserve; 3: about as much as they deserve; 4: somewhat more than they deserve; 5: much more than they deserve)
stress	stress level at work	Ordinal ✅ RECODE	How often do you find your work stressful? (1: always; 2: often; 3: sometimes; 4: hardly ever; 5: never)
weekswrk	weeks respondents worked last year	Continuous	In the previous year how many weeks did you work either full-time or part-time not counting work around the house--including paid vacations and sick leave?
hrs1	number of hours respondents worked last week	Continuous	How many hours did you work last week, at all jobs?
phyeffrt	the level of physical effort required at work	Ordinal ✅ RECODE	Please rate the overall physical effort at the job you normally do (1: very hard; 2: hard; 3: somewhat hard; 4: fairly light; 5: very light)
earnrs	the number of family members earned money last year	Continuous	How many persons in the family, including yourself, earned any money last year -[the previous year] - from any job or employment?

Table 6. Quality of working life

Variable name	What it measures?	Variable type	Full wording of the questions
learnnew	agreement level with continuous learning in the workplace	Ordinal RECODE COMPUTE	Do you strongly agree, agree, disagree, or strongly disagree with each of these statements? My job requires that I keep learning new things (1: strongly agree; 2: agree; 3: disagree; 4: strongly disagree)
workfast	agreement level with speed demands in the workplace	Ordinal RECODE COMPUTE	Do you strongly agree, agree, disagree, or strongly disagree with each of these statements? My job requires that I work very fast (1: strongly agree; 2: agree; 3: disagree; 4: strongly disagree)
workdiff	agreement level with job variety	Ordinal RECODE COMPUTE	Do you strongly agree, agree, disagree, or strongly disagree with each of these statements? I get to do a number of different things on my job (1: strongly agree; 2: agree; 3: disagree; 4: strongly disagree)
overwork	agreement level with high workplace workload	Ordinal RECODE COMPUTE	Do you strongly agree, agree, disagree, or strongly disagree with each of these statements? I have too much work to do everything well (1: strongly agree; 2: agree; 3: disagree; 4: strongly disagree)
knowwhat	agreement level with clarity of job expectations	Ordinal RECODE COMPUTE	Do you strongly agree, agree, disagree, or strongly disagree with each of these statements? On my job, I know exactly what is expected of me (1: strongly agree; 2: agree; 3: disagree; 4: strongly disagree)
myskills	agreement level with skill utilization in the workplace	Ordinal RECODE COMPUTE	Do you strongly agree, agree, disagree, or strongly disagree with each of these statements? My job lets me use my skills and abilities (1: strongly agree; 2: agree; 3: disagree; 4: strongly disagree)
respect	agreement level with being treated with respect at work	Ordinal RECODE COMPUTE	Do you strongly agree, agree, disagree, or strongly disagree with each of these statements? At the place where I work, I am treated with respect (1: strongly agree; 2: agree; 3: disagree; 4: strongly disagree)
trustman	agreement level with trust in management	Ordinal RECODE COMPUTE	Do you strongly agree, agree, disagree, or strongly disagree with each of these statements? I trust the management at the place where I work (1: strongly agree; 2: agree; 3: disagree; 4: strongly disagree)
safetywk	agreement level with management's prioritization of worker safety	Ordinal RECODE COMPUTE	Do you strongly agree, agree, disagree, or strongly disagree with each of these statements? The safety of workers is a high priority with management where I work (1: strongly agree; 2: agree; 3: disagree; 4: strongly disagree)
safefrst	agreement level with the absence of safety compromises at work	Ordinal RECODE COMPUTE	Do you strongly agree, agree, disagree, or strongly disagree with each of these statements? There are no significant compromises or shortcuts taken when worker safety is at stake (1: strongly agree; 2: agree; 3: disagree; 4: strongly disagree)
teamsafe	agreement level with collaboration on workplace safety	Ordinal RECODE COMPUTE	Do you strongly agree, agree, disagree, or strongly disagree with each of these statements? Where I work, employees and management work together to ensure the safest possible working conditions (1: strongly agree; 2: agree; 3: disagree; 4: strongly disagree)
safehlth	agreement level with the quality of safety and health conditions at work	Ordinal RECODE COMPUTE	Do you strongly agree, agree, disagree, or strongly disagree with each of these statements? The safety and health conditions where I work are good (1: strongly agree; 2: agree; 3: disagree; 4: strongly disagree)
proudemp	agreement level with pride in one's employe	Ordinal RECODE COMPUTE	Do you strongly agree, agree, disagree, or strongly disagree with each of these statements? I am proud to be working for my employer (1: strongly agree; 2: agree; 3: disagree; 4: strongly disagree)
prodctiv	agreement level with work conditions allow productivity	Ordinal RECODE COMPUTE	Do you strongly agree, agree, disagree, or strongly disagree with each of these statements? Conditions on my job allow me to be about as productive as I could be (1: strongly agree; 2: agree; 3: disagree; 4: strongly disagree)
wksmooth	agreement level with job conditions for personal productivity	Ordinal RECODE COMPUTE	Do you strongly agree, agree, disagree, or strongly disagree with each of these statements? The place where I work is run in a smooth and effective manner (1: strongly agree; 2: agree; 3: disagree; 4: strongly disagree)
trdunion	agreement level with the need for strong trade unions for workers	Ordinal RECODE COMPUTE	Do you strongly agree, agree, disagree, or strongly disagree with each of these statements? Workers need strong trade unions to protect their interests (1: strongly agree; 2: agree; 3: disagree; 4: strongly disagree)

Table 7. Discrimination and harassment at work

Variable name	What it measures?	Variable type	Full wording of the questions
wkageism	perceived discrimination at work because of age	Binary RECODE COMPUTE	Do you feel in any way discriminated against on your job because of your age? (1: yes; 2: no)
wkracism	perceived discrimination at work because of race	Binary RECODE COMPUTE	Do you feel in any way discriminated against on your job because of your race or ethnic origin? (1: yes; 2: no)
wksexism	perceived discrimination at work because of gender	Binary RECODE COMPUTE	Do you feel in any way discriminated against on your job because of your gender? (1: yes; 2: no)
wkharsex	respondent sexually harassed on the job last 12 months	Binary RECODE COMPUTE	In the last 12 months, were you sexually harassed by anyone while you were on the job? (1: yes; 2: no)
wkharoth	respondent threatened on the job last 12 months	Binary RECODE COMPUTE	In the last 12 months, were you threatened or harassed in any other way by anyone while you were on the job? (1: yes; 2: no)

Table 8. Government spending

Variable name	What it measures?	Variable type	Full wording of the questions
natspac	support level for government spending on space exploration	Ordinal COMPUTE	Are we spending too much money on it, too little money, or about the right amount on the space exploration program? (1: too little; 2: about right; 3: too much)
natenvir	support level for government spending on environment	Ordinal COMPUTE	Are we spending too much money on it, too little money, or about the right amount on improving and protecting the environment? (1: too little; 2: about right; 3: too much)
natheal	support level for government spending on the nation's health	Ordinal COMPUTE	Are we spending too much money on it, too little money, or about the right amount on improving and protecting the nation's health? (1: too little; 2: about right; 3: too much)
natcity	support level for government spending for solving problems of big cities	Ordinal COMPUTE	Are we spending too much money on it, too little money, or about the right amount on solving problems of big cities? (1: too little; 2: about right; 3: too much)
natcrime	support level for government spending for halting the rising crime rate	Ordinal COMPUTE	Are we spending too much money on it, too little money, or about the right amount on halting the rising crime rate? (1: too little; 2: about right; 3: too much)
natdrug	support level for government spending for dealing with drug addiction	Ordinal COMPUTE	Are we spending too much money on it, too little money, or about the right amount on dealing with drug addiction? (1: too little; 2: about right; 3: too much)
nateduc	support level for government spending for improving the nation's education system	Ordinal COMPUTE	Are we spending too much money on it, too little money, or about the right amount on improving the nation's education system? (1: too little; 2: about right; 3: too much)
natrace	support level for government spending for improving the conditions of Blacks	Ordinal COMPUTE	Are we spending too much money on it, too little money, or about the right amount on improving the conditions of Blacks? (1: too little; 2: about right; 3: too much)
natarms	support level for government spending for military, armaments, and defense	Ordinal COMPUTE	Are we spending too much money on it, too little money, or about the right amount on military, armaments, and defense? (1: too little; 2: about right; 3: too much)
nataid	support level for government spending for foreign aid	Ordinal COMPUTE	Are we spending too much money on it, too little money, or about the right amount on foreign aid? (1: too little; 2: about right; 3: too much)
natfare	support level for government spending for welfare	Ordinal COMPUTE	Are we spending too much money on it, too little money, or about the right amount on welfare? (1: too little; 2: about right; 3: too much)
natroad	support level for government spending for highways and bridges	Ordinal COMPUTE	Are we spending too much money on it, too little money, or about the right amount on highways and bridges? (1: too little; 2: about right; 3: too much)
natsoc	support level for government spending for social security	Ordinal COMPUTE	Are we spending too much money on it, too little money, or about the right amount on social security? (1: too little; 2: about right; 3: too much)
natmass	support level for government spending for mass transportation	Ordinal COMPUTE	Are we spending too much money on it, too little money, or about the right amount on mass transportation? (1: too little; 2: about right; 3: too much)
natpark	support level for government spending for parks and recreation	Ordinal COMPUTE	Are we spending too much money on it, too little money, or about the right amount on parks and recreation? (1: too little; 2: about right; 3: too much)
natchld	support level for government spending for assistance for childcare	Ordinal COMPUTE	Are we spending too much money on it, too little money, or about the right amount on assistance for childcare? (1: too little; 2: about right; 3: too much)
natsci	support level for government spending for supporting scientific research	Ordinal COMPUTE	Are we spending too much money on it, too little money, or about the right amount on supporting scientific research? (1: too little; 2: about right; 3: too much)
natenrgy	support level for government spending for developing alternative energy sources	Ordinal COMPUTE	Are we spending too much money on it, too little money, or about the right amount on developing alternative energy sources? (1: too little; 2: about right; 3: too much)

Table 9. Civil liberties - Freedom of speech

Variable name	What it measures?	Variable type	Full wording of the questions
spkath	perception of allowing an anti-religionist person to make a speech	Binary RECODE COMPUTE	Consider a person who is against all churches and religion. If such a person wanted to make a speech in your (city/town/community) against churches and religion, should he be allowed to speak, or not? (1: allowed; 2: not allowed)
colath	perception of allowing an anti-religionist person to teach in a college	Binary RECODE COMPUTE	Consider a person who is against all churches and religion. Should such a person be allowed to teach in a college or university, or not? (1: allowed; 2: not allowed)
libath	perception of allowing a book by an anti-religionist person from the public library	Binary RECODE COMPUTE	If some people in your community suggested that a book he wrote against churches and religion should be taken out of your public library, would you favor removing this book, or not? (1: allowed; 2: not allowed)
spkrac	perception of allowing a racist person to make a speech	Binary RECODE COMPUTE	Consider a person who believes that Blacks are genetically inferior. If such a person wanted to make a speech in your community claiming that Blacks are inferior, should he be allowed to speak, or not? (1: allowed; 2: not allowed)
colrac	perception of allowing a racist person to teach in a college	Binary RECODE COMPUTE	Consider a person who believes that Blacks are genetically inferior. Should such a person be allowed to teach in a college or university, or not? (1: allowed; 2: not allowed)
librac	perception of allowing a book by a racist person from the public library	Binary RECODE COMPUTE	Consider a person who believes that Blacks are genetically inferior. If some people in your community suggested that a book he wrote which said Blacks are inferior should be taken out of your public library, would you favor removing this book, or not? (1: allowed; 2: not allowed)
spkcom	perception of allowing a communist person to make a speech	Binary RECODE COMPUTE	Consider a person who admits he is a Communist. Suppose this admitted Communist wanted to make a speech in your community. Should he be allowed to speak, or not? (1: allowed; 2: not allowed)
colcom	perception of allowing a communist person to teach in a college	Binary RECODE COMPUTE	Consider a person who admits he is a Communist. Suppose he is teaching in a college. Should he be fired, or not? (1: allowed; 2: not allowed)
libcom	perception of allowing a book by a communist person from the public library	Binary RECODE COMPUTE	Consider a person who admits he is a Communist. Suppose he wrote a book which is in your public library. Somebody in your community suggests that the book should be removed from the library. Would you favor removing it, or not? (1: allowed; 2: not allowed)
spkmslm	perception of allowing a Muslim clergyman preaching hatred of the United States to make a speech	Binary RECODE COMPUTE	Consider a Muslim clergyman who preaches hatred of the United States. If such a person wanted to make a speech in your community preaching hatred of the United States, should he be allowed to speak, or not? (1: allowed; 2: not allowed)
colmslm	perception of allowing a Muslim clergyman preaching hatred of the United States to teach in a college	Binary RECODE COMPUTE	Consider a Muslim clergyman who preaches hatred of the United States. Should such a person be allowed to teach in a college or university, or not? (1: allowed; 2: not allowed)
libmslm	perception of allowing a book by a Muslim clergyman preaching hatred of the United States from the public library	Binary RECODE COMPUTE	Consider a Muslim clergyman who preaches hatred of the United States. If some people in your community suggested that a book he wrote which preaches hatred of the United States should be taken out of your public library, would you favor removing this book, or not? (1: allowed; 2: not allowed)

Table 10. Abortion

Variable name	What it measures?	Variable type	Full wording of the questions
abdefect	supporting abortion in cases of potential birth defects	Binary RECODE COMPUTE	Should abortion be legal if there is a strong chance of serious defect in the baby? (1: yes; 2: no)
abnomore	supporting abortion for family planning reasons	Binary RECODE COMPUTE	Should abortion be legal if she is married and does not want any more children? (1: yes; 2: no)
abhlth	supporting abortion for maternal health reasons	Binary RECODE COMPUTE	Should abortion be legal if the woman's own health is seriously endangered by the pregnancy? (1: yes; 2: no)
abpoor	supporting abortion for economic reason	Binary RECODE COMPUTE	Should abortion be legal if the family has a very low income and cannot afford any more children? (1: yes; 2: no)
abrape	supporting abortion in cases of rape	Binary RECODE COMPUTE	Should abortion be legal if she became pregnant as a result of rape? (1: yes; 2: no)
absingle	supporting abortion in cases of non-marital pregnancy	Binary RECODE COMPUTE	Should abortion be legal if she is not married and does not want to marry the man? (1: yes; 2: no)
abany	supporting unrestricted abortion rights	Binary RECODE COMPUTE	Should abortion be legal if she wants it for any reason? (1: yes; 2: no)

Table 11. Affirmative action - concern and support

Variable name	What it measures?	Variable type	Full wording of the questions
affrmact	support level for preferential hiring and promotion policies for Black people	Ordinal RECODE COMPUTE	Some people say that because of past discrimination, blacks should be given preference in hiring and promotion. Others say that such preference in hiring and promotion of blacks is wrong because it discriminates against whites. What about your opinion -- are you for or against preferential hiring and promotion of blacks? (1: strongly favors; 2: not strongly favors; 3: not strongly opposes; 4: strongly opposes)
fejobaff	support level for preferential hiring and promotion policies for women	Ordinal RECODE COMPUTE	Some people say that because of past discrimination, women should be given preference in hiring and promotion. Others say that such preference in hiring and promotion of women is wrong because it discriminates against men. What about your opinion - are you for or against preferential hiring and promotion of women? (1: strongly favors; 2: not strongly favors; 3: not strongly opposes; 4: strongly opposes)
discaffm	concern level for gender-based employment discrimination against men	Ordinal RECODE COMPUTE	What do you think the chances are these days that a man won't get a job or promotion while an equally or less qualified woman gets one instead? (1: very likely; 2: somewhat likely; 3: somewhat unlikely; 4: very unlikely)
discaffw	concern level for gender-based employment discrimination against women	Ordinal RECODE COMPUTE	What do you think the chances are these days that a woman won't get a job or promotion while an equally or less qualified man gets one instead? (1: very likely; 2: somewhat likely; 3: somewhat unlikely; 4: very unlikely)
discaff	concern level for reverse discrimination in employment	Ordinal RECODE COMPUTE	What do you think the chances are these days that a white person won't get a job or promotion while an equally or less qualified black person gets one instead? (1: very likely; 2: somewhat likely; 3: somewhat unlikely; 4: very unlikely)
fehire	support level for special efforts to hire and promote qualified women	Ordinal RECODE	Do you agree that because of past discrimination, employers should make special efforts to hire and promote qualified women? (1: strongly agree; 2: agree; 3: neither agree nor disagree; 4: disagree; 5: strongly disagree)

Table 12. Religion, religiosity, and spirituality

Variable name	What it measures?	Variable type	Full wording of the questions
god	confidence in the existence of God	Ordinal ✅	Respondent's confidence in the existence of God (1: don’t believe; 2: don't know, no way to find out; 3: higher power; 4: believe sometimes; 5: believe with doubts: 6: no doubts about it)
attend	institutional religiosity	Ordinal ✅	How often do you attend religious services? (0: never; 1:less than once a year; 2: about once or twice a year; 3:several times a year; 4: about once a month; 5: 2-3 times a month; 6: nearly every week; 7: every week; 8: several times a week)
pray	individual religiosity	Ordinal ✅ RECODE	How often do you pray? (1: several times a day; 2:once a day; 3:several times a week; 4:once a week; 5:less than once a week; 6: never)
relpersn	subjective religiosity	Ordinal ✅ RECODE	To what extent do you consider yourself a religious person? (1: very religious; 2: moderately religious; 3: slightly religious; 4 not religious at all)
sprtprsn	the level of spirituality	Ordinal ✅ RECODE	To what extent do you consider yourself a spiritual person? (1: very spiritual; 2: moderately spiritual; 3: slightly spiritual; 4 not spiritual at all)
postlife	belief in life after death	Binary	Do you believe there is a life after death? (1: yes; 2: no)
prayer	agreement with the prohibition of mandated Bible readings in schools	Binary	The United States Supreme Court has ruled that no state or local government may require the reading of the Lord's Prayer or Bible verses in public schools. What are your views on this--do you approve or disapprove of the court ruling? (1: approve; 2: disapprove)
bible	feelings about the Bible	Nominal	Which of these statements comes closest to describing your feelings about the Bible? (1: word of god; 2: inspired word; 3: ancient book; 4: other)
savesoul	engagement in faith-based outreach	Binary	Have you ever tried to encourage someone to believe in Jesus Christ or to accept Jesus Christ as his or her savior? (1: yes; 2: no)

Table 13. Intermarriage attitudes

Variable name	What it measures?	Variable type	Full wording of the questions
marblk	approval rate for intermarriage with black people	Ordinal ✅ RECODE	Would you be very in favor of having a close relative or family member marry a Black person? (1: strongly favor; 2: favor; 3: neither favor nor oppose; 4: oppose; 5: strongly oppose)
marasian	approval rate for intermarriage with asian people	Ordinal ✅ RECODE	Would you be very in favor of having a close relative or family member marry an Asian person? (1: strongly favor; 2: favor; 3: neither favor nor oppose; 4: oppose; 5: strongly oppose)
marhisp	approval rate for intermarriage with hispanic people	Ordinal ✅ RECODE	Would you be very in favor of having a close relative or family member marry a Hispanic person? (1: strongly favor; 2: favor; 3: neither favor nor oppose; 4: oppose; 5: strongly oppose)
marwht	approval rate for intermarriage with white people	Ordinal ✅ RECODE	Would you be very in favor of having a close relative or family member marry a White person? (1: strongly favor; 2: favor; 3: neither favor nor oppose; 4: oppose; 5: strongly oppose)

Table 14. Immigration related questions

Variable name	What it measures?	Variable type	Full wording of the questions
immcrime	the perception that immigrants increase crime rates	Ordinal ✅ RECODE	How much do you agree or disagree that immigrants increase crime rates (1: agree strongly; 2: agree; 3: neither agree nor disagree; 4: disagree; 5: disagree strongly)
immjobs	the perception that immigrants take jobs away from natives	Ordinal ✅ RECODE	How much do you agree or disagree that immigrants take jobs away from people who were born in America (1: agree strongly; 2: agree; 3: neither agree nor disagree; 4: disagree; 5: disagree strongly)
letin1a	the perception that the number of immigrants should be decreased	Ordinal ✅	Do you think the number of immigrants to America nowadays should be increased or decreased? (1: increased a lot; 2: increased a little; 3: remain the same as it is; 4: reduced a little; 5 reduced a lot)

Table 15. Happiness and satisfaction

Variable name	What it measures?	Variable type	Full wording of the questions
happy	happiness level	Ordinal RECODE	Would you say that you are very happy, pretty happy, or not too happy? (1: very happy; 2: pretty happy; 3: not too happy)
hapmar	marriage happiness level	Ordinal RECODE	Would you say that your marriage is very happy, pretty happy, or not too happy? (1: very happy; 2: pretty happy; 3: not too happy)
hapcohab	relationship happiness level	Ordinal RECODE	Would you say that your relationship with your partner is very happy, pretty happy, or not too happy? (1: very happy; 2: pretty happy; 3: not too happy)
life	the level of finding life exciting	Ordinal RECODE	In general, do you find life exciting, pretty routine, or dull? (1: exciting; 2: routine; 3: dull)
satjob	the level of work satisfaction	Ordinal RECODE	On the whole, how satisfied are you with the work you do? (1: very satisfied; 2: moderately satisfied; 3: a little dissatisfied; 4: very dissatisfied)
satfin	the level of financial satisfaction	Ordinal RECODE	So far as you and your family are concerned, how satisfied are you with your present financial situation? (1: pretty well satisfied; 2: more or less satisfied; 3: not satisfied at all)

Table 16. Health

Variable name	What it measures?	Variable type	Full wording of the questions
health1	perceived personal health quality	Ordinal ✅ RECODE	Would you say that in general your health is Excellent, Very good, Good, Fair, or Poor? (1: excellent; 2: very good; 3: good; 4: fair; 5: poor).
physhlth	days of physical issues during the past 30 days	Continuous	Now thinking about your physical health, which includes physical illness and injury, for how many days during the past 30 days was your physical health not good?
mntlhlth	days of mental issues during the past 30 days	Continuous	Now thinking about your mental health, which includes stress, depression, and problems with emotions, for how many days during the past 30 days was your mental health not good?
usedup	the level of feeling used up	Ordinal ✅ RECODE	How often during the past month have you felt used up at the end of the day? (1: very often; 2: often; 3: sometimes; 4: rarely; 5: never).
slpprblm	the frequency of having trouble sleeping	Ordinal ✅ RECODE	During the past 12 months, how often have you had trouble going to sleep or staying asleep? (1: often; 2: sometimes; 3: rarely; 4: never)
depress	history of depression diagnosis	Binary	Has a doctor, nurse, or other health professional ever told you that you had depression? (1: yes; 2: no)
backpain	history of back pain diagnosis	Binary	In the past 12 months, have you had back pain every day for a week or more? (1: yes; 2: no)
painarms	history of pain in arms diagnosis	Binary	In the past 12 months, have you had pain in the hands, wrists, arms, or shoulders every day for a week or more? (1: yes; 2: no)
hyperten	history of hypertension diagnosis	Binary	Has a doctor, nurse, or other health professional ever told you that you had hypertension or high blood pressure? (1: yes; 2: no)
arthrtis	history of arthritis or rheumatism diagnosis	Binary	Has a doctor, nurse, or other health professional ever told you that you had arthritis or rheumatism? (1: yes; 2: no)
diabetes	history of diabetes diagnosis	Binary	Has a doctor, nurse, or other health professional ever told you that you had diabetes or high blood pressure? (1: yes; 2: no)

Table 17. Same sex couples

Variable name	What it measures?	Variable type	Full wording of the questions
homosex	support level for sexual relations between two adults of the same sex	Ordinal ✅	What about sexual relations between two adults of the same sex--do you think it is always wrong, almost always wrong, wrong only sometimes, or not wrong at all? (1: always wrong; 2: almost always wrong; 3: wrong only sometimes; 4: not wrong at all)
marhomo	support level for same-sex marriage	Ordinal ✅ RECODE	Do you agree or disagree?: Homosexual couples should have the right to marry one another (1: strongly agree; 2: agree; 3: neither agree nor disagree; 4: disagree; 5: strongly disagree)

Table 18. Technology and media use

Variable name	What it measures?	Variable type	Full wording of the questions
usetech	percentage of time use at work using electronic technologies	Continuous	During a typical week, about what percentage of your total time at work would you normally spend using different types of electronic technologies?
wwwhr	internet use in hours	Continuous	Not counting email, how many hours per week do you use the Web?
news	the level of reading newspaper	Ordinal ✅ RECODE	How often do you read the newspaper? (1: everyday; 2: a few times a week; 3: once a week; 4: less than once a week: 5 never)
tvhours	television screen time in hours	Continuous	On the average day, how many hours do you personally watch television?
compuse	the use of computer	Binary	Do you personally ever use a computer at home, at work, or at some other location? (1: yes; 2: no)

Table 19. Confidence in institutions

Variable name	What it measures?	Variable type	Full wording of the questions
confinan	confidence level in banks and financial institutions	Ordinal RECODE COMPUTE	Would you say you have confidence in banks and financial institutions (1: a great deal; 2: only some; 3: hardly any)
conbus	confidence level in major companies	Ordinal RECODE COMPUTE	Would you say you have confidence in major companies (1: a great deal; 2: only some; 3: hardly any)
conclerg	confidence level in organized religion	Ordinal RECODE COMPUTE	Would you say you have confidence in organized religion (1: a great deal; 2: only some; 3: hardly any)
coneduc	confidence level in education	Ordinal RECODE COMPUTE	Would you say you have confidence in education (1: a great deal; 2: only some; 3: hardly any)
confed	confidence level in executive branch of the federal government	Ordinal RECODE COMPUTE	Would you say you have confidence in executive branch of the federal government (1: a great deal; 2: only some; 3: hardly any)
conlabor	confidence level in organized labor	Ordinal RECODE COMPUTE	Would you say you have confidence in organized labor (1: a great deal; 2: only some; 3: hardly any)
conpress	confidence level in press	Ordinal RECODE COMPUTE	Would you say you have confidence in press (1: a great deal; 2: only some; 3: hardly any)
conmedic	confidence level in medicine	Ordinal RECODE COMPUTE	Would you say you have confidence in medicine (1: a great deal; 2: only some; 3: hardly any)
contv	confidence level in television	Ordinal RECODE COMPUTE	Would you say you have confidence in television (1: a great deal; 2: only some; 3: hardly any)
conjudge	confidence level in Supreme Court	Ordinal RECODE COMPUTE	Would you say you have confidence in Supreme Court (1: a great deal; 2: only some; 3: hardly any)
consci	confidence level in scientific community	Ordinal RECODE COMPUTE	Would you say you have confidence in scientific community (1: a great deal; 2: only some; 3: hardly any)
conlegis	confidence level in congress	Ordinal RECODE COMPUTE	Would you say you have confidence in Congress (1: a great deal; 2: only some; 3: hardly any)
conarmy	confidence level in military	Ordinal RECODE COMPUTE	Would you say you have confidence in military (1: a great deal; 2: only some; 3: hardly any)

Table 20. Eldercare

Variable name	What it measures?	Variable type	Full wording of the questions
eldhelp	perceptions of family versus state roles in caregiving	Nominal	Thinking about elderly people who need some help in their everyday lives, such as help with grocery shopping, cleaning the house, doing the laundry etc. Who do you think should primarily provide this help? (1: family members; 2: government agencies; 3: non-profit organizations (e.g., charitable organizations, churches/religious organizations); 4: private providers of this kind of help; 5: missing)
eldcost	opinions on funding for elder care	Binary	Who do you think should primarily cover the costs of this help to these elderly people? (1: The elderly people themselves or their family; 2: The government/public funds)
rfamlook	time spent on caregiving in hours	Continuous	On average, how many hours a week do you spend looking after family members (e.g. children, elderly, ill or disabled family members)?
aged	perception of intergenerational living	Nominal	As you know, many older people share a home with their grown children. Do you think this is generally a good idea or a bad idea? (1: a good idea; 2: a bad idea; 3: depends)

Table 21. Family and gender roles

Variable name	What it measures?	Variable type	Full wording of the questions
meovrwrk	level of agreement with the negative impact of men's work commitment on family life	Ordinal RECODE COMPUTE	Do you agree or disagree?: Family life often suffers because men concentrate too much on their work (1: strongly agree; 2: agree; 3: neither agree nor disagree; 4: disagree; 5: strongly disagree)
famsuffr	level of agreement with the negative impact of women's full-time employment on family life	Ordinal RECODE COMPUTE	Do you agree or disagree?: All in all, family life suffers when the woman has a full-time job (1: strongly agree; 2: agree; 3: neither agree nor disagree; 4: disagree; 5: strongly disagree)
meovrwrk	level of agreement with the negative impact of men's work focus on family life	Ordinal RECODE COMPUTE	Do you agree or disagree?: Family life often suffers because men concentrate too much on their work (1: strongly agree; 2: agree; 3: neither agree nor disagree; 4: disagree; 5: strongly disagree)
famsuffr	level of agreement with the negative impact of women having full-time jobs on family life	Ordinal RECODE COMPUTE	Do you agree or disagree?: All in all, family life suffers when the woman has a full-time job (1: strongly agree; 2: agree; 3: neither agree nor disagree; 4: disagree; 5: strongly disagree)
homekid	level of agreement with the statement regarding women's preference for home and children over a job	Ordinal RECODE COMPUTE	Do you agree or disagree?: A job is alright, but what most women really want is a home and children (1: strongly agree; 2: agree; 3: neither agree nor disagree; 4: disagree; 5: strongly disagree)
housewrk	level of agreement with the fulfillment derived from being a housewife compared to paid employment	Ordinal RECODE COMPUTE	Do you agree or disagree?: Being a housewife is just as fulfilling as working for pay (1: strongly agree; 2: agree; 3: neither agree nor disagree; 4: disagree; 5: strongly disagree)
marlegit	level of agreement with the necessity of marriage for those who desire children	Ordinal RECODE COMPUTE	Do you agree or disagree?: People who want children ought to get married (1: strongly agree; 2: agree; 3: neither agree nor disagree; 4: disagree; 5: strongly disagree)
cohabok	level of agreement with the acceptability of couples cohabitating without plans for marriage	Ordinal RECODE COMPUTE	Do you agree or disagree?: It is alright for a couple to live together without intending to get married (1: strongly agree; 2: agree; 3: neither agree nor disagree; 4: disagree; 5: strongly disagree)
kidnofre	level of agreement with the statement that having children greatly limits parental freedom	Ordinal RECODE COMPUTE	Do you agree or disagree?: Having children interferes too much with the freedom of parents (1: strongly agree; 2: agree; 3: neither agree nor disagree; 4: disagree; 5: strongly disagree)
hubbywk1	level of agreement with traditional gender roles in earning and homemaking	Ordinal RECODE COMPUTE	Do you agree or disagree?: A man's job is to earn money; a woman''s job is to look after the home and family (1: strongly agree; 2: agree; 3: neither agree nor disagree; 4: disagree; 5: strongly disagree)
fechld	level of agreement with the capability of working mothers to establish a warm and secure relationship with their children	Ordinal RECODE COMPUTE	Do you agree or disagree?: A working mother can establish just as warm and secure a relationship with her children as a mother who does not work (1: strongly agree; 2: agree; 3: neither agree nor disagree; 4: disagree; 5: strongly disagree)
fefam	level of agreement with the belief that traditional roles with the man as the external achiever and the woman as the caretaker are best for everyone involved	Ordinal RECODE COMPUTE	Do you agree or disagree?: It is much better for everyone involved if the man is the achiever outside the home and the woman takes care of the home and family (1: strongly agree; 2: agree; 3: neither agree nor disagree; 4: disagree; 5: strongly disagree)

Table 22. Police abuse

Variable name	What it measures?	Variable type	Full wording of the questions
polhitok	support of police violence for some reason	Binary RECODE COMPUTE	Are there any situations you can imagine in which you would approve of a policeman striking an adult male citizen? (1: yes; 2: no)
polabuse	support of police violence if citizen said vulgar or obscene things	Binary RECODE COMPUTE	if they had said vulgar and obscene things to the policeman would you approve of a policeman striking an adult male citizen? (1: yes; 2: no)
polmurdr	support of police violence if citizen questioned as murder suspect	Binary RECODE COMPUTE	If they were being questioned as a suspect in a murder case would you approve of a policeman striking an adult male citizen? (1: yes; 2: no)
polescap	support of police violence if citizen attempting to escape custody	Binary RECODE COMPUTE	If they were attempting to escape from custody would you approve of a policeman striking an adult male citizen? (1: yes; 2: no)
polattak	support of police violence if citizen attacking policeman with fists	Binary RECODE COMPUTE	If they were attacking the policeman with his fists would you approve of a policeman striking an adult male citizen? (1: yes; 2: no)

Table 23. Government responsibility - Opposition to social state

Variable name	What it measures?	Variable type	Full wording of the questions
helppoor	opposition to the view that the government should be responsible for improving the standard of living for poor Americans	Ordinal COMPUTE	Some people think that the government in Washington should do everything possible to improve the standard of living of all poor Americans; they are at Point 1 on this card. Other people think it is not the government's responsibility, and that each person should take care of himself; they are at Point 5. Where would you place yourself on this scale, or haven't you have up your mind on this? (1: government’s responsibility; 2…; 3: agree with both: 4…; 5: each person should take care of himself)
helpnot	opposition to the belief in government's responsibility to act as a welfare state	Ordinal COMPUTE	Some people think that the government in Washington is trying to do too many things that should be left to individuals and private businesses. Others disagree and think that the government should Do even more to solve our country's problems. Still others have opinions somewhere in between. Where would you place yourself on this scale, or haven't you made up your mind on this? (1: government should do more; 2…; 3: agree with both: 4…; 5: government does too much)
helpsick	opposition to the government's responsibility in assisting with doctor and hospital bills.	Ordinal COMPUTE	In general, some people think that it is the responsibility of the government in Washington to see to it that people have help in paying for doctors and hospital bills. Others think that these matters are not the responsibility of the federal government and that people should take care of these things themselves. Where would you place yourself on this scale, or haven't you made up your mind on this? (1: government’s responsibility; 2…; 3: agree with both: 4…; 5: each person should take care of himself)
helpblk	opposition to the idea that it is the government's responsibility to assist Black people	Ordinal COMPUTE	Some people think that Blacks have been discriminated against for so long that the government has a special obligation to help improve their living standards. Others believe that the government should not be giving special treatment to Blacks. Where would you place yourself on this scale, or haven't you made up your mind on this? (1: government should do more; 2…; 3: agree with both: 4…; 5: no special treatment)
eqwlth	opposition to the view that the government should reduce the income differences between rich and poor	Ordinal ✅	Do you think the government ought to reduce the income differences between rich and poor? (1: the government should reduce income differences; 7: the government should not concern itself with reducing income differences)

Table 24. Miscellaneous

Variable name	What it measures?	Variable type	Full wording of the questions
fear	sense of neighborhood security	Binary	Is there any area right around here--that is, within a mile--where you would be afraid to walk alone at night? (1: yes; 2: no)
cappun	views on death penalty	Binary	Do you favor or oppose the death penalty for persons convicted of murder? (1: favor; 2: oppose)
gunlaw	views on gun control measures	Binary	Would you favor or oppose a law which would require a person to obtain a police permit before he or she could buy a gun? (1: favor; 2: oppose)
owngun	ownership of gun	Nominal	Do you happen to have any guns or revolvers? (1: yes; 2: no; 3: refused)
courts	views on on criminal justice adequacy	Nominal	In general, do you think the courts in this area deal too harshly or not harshly enough with criminals? (1: too harshly; 2: not harshly enough; 3: about right)
grass	views on legality of marijuana	Binary	Do you think the use of marijuana should be made legal or not? (1: should be legal; 2: should not be legal)
sexeduc	views on sex education in public schools	Binary	Would you be for or against sex education in the public schools? (1: favor; 2: oppose)
raclive	presence of racial diversity in the neighborhood	Binary	Are there any (“whites” for black respondents, “blacks” for non-black respondents) living in this neighborhood now? (1: yes; 2: no)
spanking	favoring spanking children to discipline	Ordinal ✅ RECODE	Do you strongly agree, agree, disagree, or strongly disagree that it is sometimes necessary to discipline a child with a good, hard spanking? (1: strongly agree; 2: agree; 3: disagree:; 4 strongly disagree)