General Social Survey, 1991 - Analysis
COURTS
In general, do you think the courts in this area deal too harshly or not harshly enough with criminals?
| Frequency | Percent | Cumulative Percent | Z-Score | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1) Too harshly | 61 | 4.0% | 4.0% | -0.98 |
| 2) Not harshly enough | 1202 | 79.2% | 83.3% | -0.29 |
| 3) About right | 169 | 11.1% | 94.4% | 0.41 |
| 8) Don't know | 76 | 5.0% | 99.4% | 3.88 |
| 9) No answer | 9 | 0.6% | 100.0% | 4.57 |
Age (I-AGE)
| 18-29 | 30-44 | 45-59 | 60-74 | 75 and older | Missing | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Too harshly | 7.2%22 | 4.2%23 | 4.0%11 | 1.5%4 | 0.9%1 | 0 | 4.0%61 |
| Not harshly enough | 76.4%233 | 78.5%431 | 80.2%223 | 82.3%219 | 81.0%94 | 2 | 79.3%1200 |
| About right | 10.2%31 | 11.1%61 | 10.4%29 | 10.9%29 | 15.5%18 | 1 | 11.1%168 |
| Don't know | 6.2%19 | 5.6%31 | 3.6%10 | 4.9%13 | 2.6%3 | 0 | 5.0%76 |
| No answer | 0.0%0 | 0.5%3 | 1.8%5 | 0.4%1 | 0.0%0 | 0 | 0.6%9 |
| Missing | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| Total | 100%305 | 100%549 | 100%278 | 100%266 | 100%116 | 1514 |
Worship attendance (I-ATTEND)
| Less than once a year | About once or twice a year | Several times a year | About once a month | Nearly every week | Once a week or more | Missing | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Too harshly | 6.1%20 | 4.5%9 | 3.9%7 | 4.9%13 | 0.0%0 | 2.8%12 | 0 | 4.1%61 |
| Not harshly enough | 75.2%245 | 80.7%163 | 78.2%140 | 82.7%220 | 81.9%68 | 79.8%348 | 18 | 79.4%1184 |
| About right | 12.6%41 | 9.9%20 | 11.7%21 | 8.6%23 | 8.4%7 | 11.9%52 | 5 | 11.0%164 |
| Don't know | 5.5%18 | 4.5%9 | 5.6%10 | 3.4%9 | 8.4%7 | 5.0%22 | 1 | 5.0%75 |
| No answer | 0.6%2 | 0.5%1 | 0.6%1 | 0.4%1 | 1.2%1 | 0.5%2 | 1 | 0.5%8 |
| Missing | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 25 | 0 |
| Total | 100%326 | 100%202 | 100%179 | 100%266 | 100%83 | 100%436 | 1492 |
Education (I-EDUC)
| Less than high school | High school | Junior College | Bachelor's degree | Graduate degree | Missing | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Too harshly | 4.9%15 | 3.8%31 | 4.1%3 | 3.6%8 | 3.7%3 | 1 | 4.0%60 |
| Not harshly enough | 77.7%237 | 82.3%679 | 80.8%59 | 76.3%171 | 65.4%53 | 3 | 79.5%1199 |
| About right | 13.4%41 | 9.2%76 | 11.0%8 | 11.6%26 | 18.5%15 | 3 | 11.0%166 |
| Don't know | 3.6%11 | 4.2%35 | 4.1%3 | 7.6%17 | 11.1%9 | 1 | 5.0%75 |
| No answer | 0.3%1 | 0.5%4 | 0.0%0 | 0.9%2 | 1.2%1 | 1 | 0.5%8 |
| Missing | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 0 |
| Total | 100%305 | 100%825 | 100%73 | 100%224 | 100%81 | 1508 |
Gender (I-GENDER)
| Male | Female | Missing | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Too harshly | 5.2%33 | 3.2%28 | 0 | 4.0%61 |
| Not harshly enough | 77.5%493 | 80.5%709 | 0 | 79.2%1202 |
| About right | 11.8%75 | 10.7%94 | 0 | 11.1%169 |
| Don't know | 4.7%30 | 5.2%46 | 0 | 5.0%76 |
| No answer | 0.8%5 | 0.5%4 | 0 | 0.6%9 |
| Missing | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Total | 100%636 | 100%881 | 1517 |
Religion (I-RELIGION)
| Protestant | Catholic | Jewish | None | Other | Missing | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Too harshly | 4.3%42 | 2.3%9 | 0.0%0 | 7.8%8 | 6.9%2 | 0 | 4.0%61 |
| Not harshly enough | 80.1%774 | 80.1%309 | 81.3%26 | 72.5%74 | 62.1%18 | 1 | 79.3%1201 |
| About right | 9.9%96 | 13.0%50 | 9.4%3 | 13.7%14 | 17.2%5 | 1 | 11.1%168 |
| Don't know | 5.0%48 | 4.1%16 | 9.4%3 | 5.9%6 | 10.3%3 | 0 | 5.0%76 |
| No answer | 0.6%6 | 0.5%2 | 0.0%0 | 0.0%0 | 3.4%1 | 0 | 0.6%9 |
| Missing | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| Total | 100%966 | 100%386 | 100%32 | 100%102 | 100%29 | 1515 |
Political ideology (I-POLITICS)
| Liberal and extremely liberal | Slightly liberal | Moderate, middle or the road | Slightly conservative | Conservative | Extremely conservative | Missing | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Too harshly | 6.3%12 | 7.0%15 | 3.1%18 | 3.2%7 | 1.4%3 | 6.4%6 | 0 | 4.0%61 |
| Not harshly enough | 71.2%136 | 75.2%161 | 81.5%476 | 78.0%170 | 85.8%182 | 80.9%76 | 1 | 79.4%1201 |
| About right | 17.3%33 | 13.6%29 | 8.7%51 | 13.8%30 | 8.0%17 | 8.5%8 | 1 | 11.1%168 |
| Don't know | 5.2%10 | 4.2%9 | 5.7%33 | 5.0%11 | 4.2%9 | 4.3%4 | 0 | 5.0%76 |
| No answer | 0.0%0 | 0.0%0 | 1.0%6 | 0.0%0 | 0.5%1 | 0.0%0 | 2 | 0.5%7 |
| Missing | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| Total | 100%191 | 100%214 | 100%584 | 100%218 | 100%212 | 100%94 | 1513 |
Race (I-RACE)
| White | Black | Other | Missing | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Too harshly | 2.8%35 | 11.3%23 | 6.1%3 | 0 | 4.0%61 |
| Not harshly enough | 80.1%1012 | 75.5%154 | 73.5%36 | 0 | 79.2%1202 |
| About right | 11.7%148 | 7.8%16 | 10.2%5 | 0 | 11.1%169 |
| Don't know | 5.1%64 | 3.9%8 | 8.2%4 | 0 | 5.0%76 |
| No answer | 0.4%5 | 1.5%3 | 2.0%1 | 0 | 0.6%9 |
| Missing | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Total | 100%1264 | 100%204 | 100%49 | 1517 |
