2022 Summer Research

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Introduction

On May 2, a leaked draft opinion by Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito revealed that the court planned to overturn Roe v. Wade, the case that affirmed a person’s Constitutional right to have an abortion. On May 14, a mass shooting at a Buffalo, New York, grocery store killed 14 people; 10 days later, 19 children and two teachers inside an elementary school were killed by a teenage gunman. By the end of June, President Joe Biden had signed a $15 billion bill passed by Congress to add some restrictions to gun ownership, and the Supreme Court had removed federal abortion protections.

These are the moments and events that transpired right before research began for this second report of 2022 from Cause and Social Influence. Each quarter, CSI tracks the behaviors and motivations of young Americans (ages 18-30) related to social issues and major moments. This report presents findings on data tracked all year for comparison, then focuses specifically on the social issues of guns and women’s reproductive rights due to recent cultural, social and political events. Visit causeandsocialinfluence.com/download-latest-research for research on young Americans since 2018.

Methodology

Cause and Social Influence researchers took a quantitative approach with an online survey fielded July 9-10, 2022, of 1,000 young Americans (ages 18-30), a nationally representative sample based on census-projected ethnic and demographic composition. With this response rate, the data presented has a 95% confidence interval and 5% margin of error. Respondents were asked to self-identify gender and race/ethnic identity and given the option not to answer.

 
 
 
 

Key Findings

Young Americans Ranked Women’s Rights as the Top Social Issue of Interest – and are Equally Split on Guns.

 
 
 

Young Americans Still Taking Time to Learn About Social Issues.

 
 
 

Young Americans are Prompted to Act More Often by Online Influencers or Content Creators Than by Causes They Follow.

 
 
 

Expectation of Corporate Involvement in Social Issues and Belief in Corporate Influence Remain Strong and Consistent.

 
 
 
 
 
 

Congress is the Part of Government Least Addressing Young Americans’ Social Issues of Most Concern.

 
 
 

Young Americans are Evenly Split Over Whether Biden Has Kept His Campaign Promises.

 
 
 
 
 
 

Young Americans Lack Confidence in the Supreme Court’s Ability to Render Nonpartisain Decisions.

 
 
 

Young Americans’ Confidence that the Country is on the Right Track has Dropped Since the Spring.

 
 
 
 

Almost Half of Young Americans Want More Gun Control, with the Remaining Half Split Among Wanting No Change, Lenient Change or Uncertainty.

 
 
 
 

Young Americans are Ambivalent About the Way President Biden Has Handled Gun Safety and Second Amendment Protection.

 
 

Mental Health Plays a Role in Gun Safety, and Extreme-Risk Laws Would Reduce Gun Violence, According to Young Americans.

 

Taking Action on Guns is Important to Nearly Two-Thirds of Young Americans.

 
 
 
 

64% of Young Americans Believe a Pregnant Person’s Right to Have an Abortion Should be Legally Protected.

 

Sample

Age

Gender

Race

 
 

Employment Status

Marital Status

Education

 
 
 

Location