2018

After 37 years, the Kinder Houston Area Survey continues to track the attitudes and experiences of one of the most diverse cities in the country. This year, the survey also asks about policy interventions in the wake of Hurricane Harvey. Five blog posts, written by undergraduate students who participated in the research course this spring that helped develop and analyze the survey findings, capture some of the insights contained within it.

  1. Diversity and density: The influence of the back-to-the-city movement, the nationwide trend of younger and more affluent Americans moving into previously neglected urban cores, has led to the recent proliferation of dense urban housing developments in the Inner Loop. While Anglo residents often feel tethered to their large lawns and vehicles, growing numbers of younger homeowners seem to prefer denser developments, smaller living spaces, and more walkable neighborhoods.
  2. Economic opportunity for African Americans: The findings from the Kinder Houston Area Survey (KHAS) in the years from 1989 to 2018 show that generation is, in fact, a significant predictor of the belief among African Americans in the extent of equality of opportunity, even after controlling for differences in education, religion, political party, and income.
  3. Abortion attitudes: In the last thirty years, abortion has become one of the most politically salient issues of our time. There has been little change in attitudes overall. If anything, area residents have moved slightly toward a more pro-choice position, but their relatively tolerant attitudes are not reflected in the politics and policies of our state or nation. This discrepancy may be due in part to the tendency among pro-life voters to be more intensely committed to their position and more likely than their pro-choice counterparts to vote on the basis of that issue alone.
  4. Flood mitigation: Hurricane Harvey brought devastating pictures of flooded streets and homes to national attention in a way that now threatens to damage Houston’s image as an increasingly attractive and livable city. Local government has proposed various flood resiliency measures, which include raising taxes and imposing new restrictions on land development across the region. While business leaders have begrudgingly supported increased regulations in the past, Houston and its residents are still holding on to their reputation for being staunchly individualistic and opposed to most government regulations.
  5. Religious identity: Harris County has grown much more ethnically diverse since the beginnings of the Houston Area Survey 37 years ago. The religious identity and religiosity of Houstonians have also shifted during these years, even within demographic groups. The changes in religious identity are strongly associated with attitudes toward diversity and government programs.

2016

Stephen Klineberg | @SteveKlineberg

Here are four blog posts presenting interesting findings from the 2016 Kinder Houston Area Survey. The blog posts reflect the work of students who participated in the research course this spring and who helped to develop the final questionnaire and analyze the survey findings.

  1. Criminal justice reform: The surveys track the significant increase in the numbers of area residents who are calling for “moving away from the idea of mandatory prison sentences for nonviolent drug offenders.” Unlike in previous years, support for criminal justice reform is no longer a partisan issue, nor do Anglos differ from African Americans in this regard. One of the most important predictors of support for sentencing reform is empathy for the disadvantaged, as indicated by the belief that welfare recipients are really in need of help rather than taking advantage of the system.
  2. Evaluations of ethnic relations in Houston: Anglos consistently give higher ratings to “the relations among racial or ethnic groups in the Houston area” than do Latinos and, especially, African Americans. The differences clearly do not reflect any greater comfort with the new diversity on the part of Anglos, but rather their stronger belief that discrimination is no longer a serious problem and that all of Houston’s ethnic communities now have equal opportunities.
  3. How much does religious affiliation matter?: The percent of Protestants has declined in Harris County and the number of Catholics has increased. The data indicate that Catholics and Protestants express similar views on such issues as global warming, the death penalty, and poverty programs. Demographic characteristics such as age, ethnicity, and above all political party affiliation are far more powerful predictors of differences in attitudes and beliefs than is the respondent’s identification as Protestant or Catholic.
  4. The “gender gap” in political attitudes: Women are consistently more likely than men to identify with the Democratic Party. The analyses indicate that women, at the same levels of income, education, and ethnicity, typically express more positive views than men toward immigrants, the unemployed, homosexuality, and concerns about global warming – all positions that are generally more firmly espoused by the Democratic Party. It will be interesting to see how these gender differences play out in the 2016 elections.

2015

Stephen Klineberg | @SteveKlineberg

We are delighted to post this collection of seven blog posts presenting some of the most interesting findings from our preliminary analyses of the 2015 Kinder Houston Area Survey. These blogs reflect the work of eight Rice University students who participated this spring in the academic course that developed the questionnaire and analyzed the findings from this year’s survey. We hope readers will gain some new insights from these brief reports and will be able to share in the fun of uncovering the often non-obvious underlying patterns in the survey findings.

  1. Asian-American assimilation: The longer Asian immigrants are in this country, the more they come to see themselves as “Americans” and to report having close personal friends from other ethnic communities, but they show no signs of becoming any less involved in Asian events or cultural traditions or any weakening of the strong ties with their countries of origin.
  2. Environmental concerns: The importance of political party affiliation and of direct exposure to environmental toxins in predicting concerns about the health effects of air pollution and in accounting for beliefs about the causes of global warming.
  3. Why the widespread racial inequalities? The relationship among Anglos and blacks between conservative Protestantism and explanations for the racial inequalities in America.
  4. Abortion attitudes: The role of empathy and social support in accounting for why a clear majority of Harris County residents have managed consistently over the years to endorse both “anti-abortion” and “pro-choice” positions simultaneously.
  5. Does skin color still matter? The significance of skin tone in predicting African Americans’ life circumstances and their reported experiencing of discrimination.
  6. Current and future economic circumstances: Differences in the factors that predict respondents’ assessments of their current financial situations and those that account for their beliefs about how they’ll be doing financially 3 or 4 years down the road.
  7. Rethinking the death penalty: The evidence that support for capital punishment has been declining among Harris County residents in recent years and the importance of beliefs about the extent of racial discrimination in shaping attitudes toward capital punishment.