Public Opinion - Life Satisfaction Of Minority Groups

In a June 2003 Gallup poll, just 37 percent of African-Americans maintained they were "very satisfied" with their lives, as opposed to 55 percent of non-Hispanic whites. Another 45 percent of African-Americans were "somewhat satisfied" with their lives, but the total satisfaction level of 82 percent for African-Americans still trailed that of non-Hispanic whites (92 percent). (See Figure 10.1.) African-Americans were particularly less optimistic than whites regarding their housing, physical safety, finances, and opportunities for success.

Hispanics polled by Gallup in July 2003 were more positive than African-Americans about the quality of life improving for Hispanics, with 70 percent saying that Hispanics' quality of life had improved in the past ten years. Another 24 percent of Hispanics thought that their lives were about the same, and only 5 percent thought their situations had become worse. (See Figure 10.2.) Hispanics' optimism was likely due to the large number of immigrants in the group who have established a higher quality of life in the United States than was possible in their native countries. Many Hispanics took advantage of a strong economy in the 1990s to enter the ranks of the middle class.