National survey of Hispanic adults - Illustration

Black Issues in Higher Education, Sept 26, 2002

The Latino Coalition commissioned the following survey, which was conducted by McLaughlin & Associates' Opiniones Latinas. One-thousand Hispanic adults in the United States were interviewed from Aug. 2-4, 2002, for this survey. Black Issues presents excerpts from the survey. Percentage of respondents who answered the following questions:

Q: What is your national ancestry?

Mexican            65.2
Puerto Rican        7.6
Cuban               4.8
Dominican           2.7
South American      6.4
Central American    7.7
Other Hispanic      5.5

Q: What is your age?

18-25     16.9
26-40     31.9
41-55     28.3
56-65     12.9
Over 65   10.1
Mean      42.77

Q: What is the most important issue facing
Latinos in the United States today?

Immigration                17.8
Discrimination/Prejudice   17.8
Education                  14.8
Employment/Unemployment     9.5

Q: Which national Latino political leader,
living today, do you most admire?

No Answer                   74.4
President Vicente Fox        3.7
Henry Cisneros               1.8
Republican Luis Gutierrez    1.3

Q: Do you feel confident that the quality of life
for your children will be better than it has
been for you, about the same, or worse?

Better              69.5
About the Same      14.2
Worse               12.1
Other/DK*/Refused    4.3

Q: Generally speaking, would you say that you
approve or disapprove of the job George W.
Bush is doing as president?

Approve      68.4
Disapprove   23.9
DK/Refused    7.7

Q: Regarding your health care insurance coverage,
which one of the following comes
closest to describing your own personal
situation?

No Health Insurance     29.9
Private Insurance Co.   48.8
On Medicare             12.3
On Medicaid              7.8.

Q: (For those who have no insurance only)--Where
do you go most often for health care
services?

Private Doctor            31.7
Hospital Emergency Room   18.9
Community Health Center   34.7
Holistic Doctor            2.1
It Depends/Other           7.4
DK/Refused                 5.1

Q: In your opinion, what ought to be the purpose
of bilingual education programs in
the public school system?

Learn english well         68.2
Teach in native language   25.9
DK/Refused                  5.8

Q: Which of the following statements comes
closest to your own personal opinion?

"The Hispanic community should become more a
part of American society, even if it means losing
some of its own cultural identity."                    55.9

"The Hispanic community should keep its own culture,
even if it means staying somewhat separate
from the rest of American society."                    32.6

DK/Refused                                             11.5

Q: What do you consider to be the greatest
barrier that keeps Latinos from succeeding
in the United States?

Language                   28.8
Lack of Education          18.8
Discrimination             14.4
Hispanics Our/Themselves    6.3
Immigration Laws            4.3

Q: Should illegal immigrants be given the
same government benefits and rights as
those immigrants who came to this country
legally?

Yes          59.2
No           34.3
DK/Refused    6.5

Q: Regardless of whether or not you are
registered, with which political party do
you identify most?

Republican    22.9
Democrat      48.4
Independent   13.4
DK/Refused    15.3

Q: Are you registered to vote?

Yes          59.7
No           39.7
DK/Refused    0.6

Q: What is your estimated annual household
income?

Under $20,000      31.5
$20,001-$40,000    30.0
$40,001-$60,000    14.7
$60,001-$ 75,000    5.1
Over $75,000        6.1
DK/Refused         12.6
Mean               33.46

Q: What is your current marital status?

Single, never married   25.7
Married                 56.3
Separated                4.7
Divorced                 7.6
Widowed                  4.7
DK/Refused               1.0

Q: What is the last grade of formal education
you have completed?

Less than High School   30.3
High School Graduate    30.1
Some College            20.7
College Graduate        14.3
Post-Graduate Work       3.8

Q: How long have you lived in the United
States?

Less than One Year      1.0
1-5 Years               5.7
5-10 Years              8.5
10-20 Years            21.2
20  Years/Whole Life   62.7
DK/Refused              0.9

Gender:

Male                   47.4
Female                 52.6

Region:

New England             2.5
Middle Atlantic        12.4
East North Central      6.9
West North Central      1.7
South Atlantic         11.9
East South Central      0.9
West South Central     19.9
Mountain               10.2
Pacific                33.6

"NOTE: 1,000 HISPANIC ADULTS IN THE U.S. WERE INTERVIEWED FROM AUGUST 2-14, 2002 FOR THIS SURVEY, WHICH HAS A MARGIN OF ERROR OF -3.1%."

SOURCE: THE LATINO COALITION--2002 NATIONAL SURVEY OF HISPANIC ADULTS *DK= DON'T KNOW