Title

Public Opinion Toward Equal Opportunity Issues: The Role Of Attitudinal And Demographic Forces Among African Americans

Abstract

This paper explores African American opinion toward equal opportunity issues using a demographic-attitudinal focus. Previous explorations have focused on black-white opinion comparisons. In this analysis, attitudinal forces, particularly core values, are identified as playing an influential role in policy support. Further, these patterns of values tend to reflect those expressed by whites on similar questions: The more individualistic and conservative one is, the less likely one is to support government intervention on African Americans behalf. In responding to questions concerning governmental responsibility, higher SES African Americans express stronger support than do their lower SES counterparts. This finding suggests that those who are experiencing “glass ceilings” are concerned about government guarantees of equal opportunity, despite their individualistic beliefs. This is inconsistent with previous explorations that analyze these beliefs among disadvantaged populations. The implications of social changes in the African American community and the impact of these changes on opinion dynamics are discussed. © 1992, Pacific Sociological Association. All rights reserved.

Publication Date

1-1-1992

Publication Title

Sociological Perspectives

Volume

35

Issue

4

Number of Pages

705-720

Document Type

Article

Identifier

scopus

Personal Identifier

scopus

DOI Link

https://doi.org/10.2307/1389305

Socpus ID

84965456398 (Scopus)

Source API URL

https://api.elsevier.com/content/abstract/scopus_id/84965456398

This document is currently not available here.

Share

COinS