probability panel
PRRI
PRRI August 2021 American Values Atlas Wave 3 (LGBTQ module) · Aug 9–30, 2021 · US national
Methodology
- Pollster
- PRRI independent
- Sponsor
- PRRI
- Fielded
- Aug 9–30, 2021
- Population
- adults
- Sample size
- 5,415
- Sample frame
- probability panel
- Panel
- Ipsos KnowledgePanel
- Mode
- online, self-administered - Ipsos KnowledgePanel (probability, address-based sampling from the USPS Delivery Sequence File), supplemented with Ipsos opt-in panel respondents calibrated to the KnowledgePanel weights to reach minimum sample sizes in smaller states
- Margin of error
- +/- 1.86 percentage points
- Weighting
- pre-stratification to the latest CPS March Supplement, PPS selection, post-stratification raking (IPF) on age, race and ethnicity, gender, Census division, metro area, education and income; separate state weights; opt-in cases calibrated to the KnowledgePanel weights
- Geography
- US national
- Base notes
- 5,032 Ipsos KnowledgePanel respondents plus 383 recruited by Ipsos from opt-in panels to raise small-state sample sizes. Q.5b and Q.5e were split-sample (Form 1 N=2,704; Form 2 N=2,711). Unweighted party n: Republican 1,460, independent 1,700, Democrat 1,800.
Sources
Verification note. SECOND-HAND. The 47% favor / 50% oppose figures, the field dates, N and MoE come from the compiled polling table in the Wikipedia 'Bathroom bill' article. The PRRI page that table cites (the August 2021 January-6 blame report) was fetched and contains NO transgender item, so the primary PRRI release carrying this wave's bathroom result was not located. Treat these numbers as a lead requiring primary verification before use. || Every four-point distribution copied from the August 2021 topline PDF; party nets on the bathroom and athletics items from the accompanying PRRI report. || Wording, toplines and party breaks read from the PRRI report page. The sports item here is the rare one that asks about a transgender BOY joining a boys' team rather than a transgender girl joining a girls' team - the near-even 46/52 split on that framing is the strongest single piece of evidence in this file that the sports numbers are driven by the trans-women-in-women's-sports framing, not by trans participation as such. || CORRECTION - trend_series reassignment, not a value change. Cells 23/24/32/18/2 (47 favor / 50 oppose) read directly off the 'Aug. 2021' trend row of the PRRI 2025 AVA LGBTQ topline; they match the existing DB record exactly. The DB files this fielding under 'prri_ava_bathroom_sex_at_birth' and AGAIN under 'prri_bathroom_laws' (q20), but never under 'prri_bathroom_birth_sex'. This is the last reading before net favor crosses 50, so its absence from the canonical series materially distorts the 2016-2025 arc. || WORDING RECOVERY SWEEP. Battery instruction, item text and topline copied character-for-character from PRRI's August 2021 AVA Wave 3 LGBTQ topline (Q5 / Q.5a).
Figures below are transcribed from these documents. Where they disagree with the source, the source governs.
Questions asked (20)
laws requiring bathroom use matching sex at birth
Laws that require transgender individuals to use bathrooms that correspond to their sex at birth rather than their current gender identity
Wording reconstructed from: Not retrieved for this wave; wording carried from the confirmed 2019 AVA battery text
Strongly favor
23%
Strongly oppose
18%
Don't know/Refused (VOL.)
2%
Favor 24%Oppose 32%
Wording notes: favor = restriction | last wave in the PRRI trend at which opposition to restrictions still exceeded support
neutral — restriction described in its own terms
Subgroup figures (3)
perceived change in discrimination experienced by transgender people over the past year
Q4. Over the last 12 months, would you say the amount of discrimination experienced by the following groups has...? [RANDOMIZE]
Transgender people
Stayed the same
47%
Increased
39%
Decreased
12%
Don't know/Refused (VOL.)
1%
Wording notes: perception of change rather than level
neutral — symmetric increased/decreased options with an explicit 'stayed the same' middle
transgender boy (listed female at birth) competing with other male students in high school
Q5. How much do you favor or oppose each of the following? [RANDOMIZE]
Allowing a transgender student who was listed as female on their birth certificate, but now identifies as male, to participate in high school athletic events with other male students
Strongly oppose
24%
Strongly favor
13%
Don't know/Refused (VOL.)
2%
Favor 33%Oppose 28%Favor (net) 46%Oppose (net) 52%
Wording notes: identifies the student by birth-certificate sex marker rather than by gender | split-sample design isolates the direction of transition
neutral — descriptive stem naming both the birth-certificate designation and the current identity; the split-sample design is a deliberate and rare control for the direction-of-transition effect
Subgroup figures (3)
transgender girl (listed male at birth) competing with other female students in high school
Q5. How much do you favor or oppose each of the following? [RANDOMIZE]
Allowing a transgender student who was listed as male on their birth certificate, but now identifies as female, to participate in high school athletic events with other female students
Strongly oppose
30%
Strongly favor
12%
Don't know/Refused (VOL.)
2%
Favor 24%Oppose 31%Favor (net) 36%Oppose (net) 61%
Wording notes: identifies the student by birth-certificate sex marker rather than by gender | split-sample design isolates the direction of transition
neutral — same stem structure as the Form 1 item, differing only in the direction of transition; the 10-point gap between the two forms is a wording effect PRRI deliberately measured
Subgroup figures (3)
LGBT nondiscrimination protections in jobs, public accommodations and housing (item explicitly names transgender people)
Q5. How much do you favor or oppose each of the following? [RANDOMIZE]
Laws that would protect gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender people against discrimination in jobs, public accommodations, and housing.
Favor 38%
Wording notes: bundles transgender people with gay, lesbian and bisexual people in one item | three policy domains combined in one question (jobs, public accommodations, housing)
neutral — symmetric favor/oppose scale, no loaded terms; the design limitation is that it is double-barreled across three policy domains and four identity groups, so transgender-specific support cannot be isolated
belief about whether federal law permits firing or refusing to hire someone for being LGBT
Q6. To the best of your knowledge, is it currently legal or not legal under federal law to do each of the following because a person is gay, lesbian, bisexual, or transgender?
For a business to fire or refuse to hire someone
Not legal
79%
Legal
20%
Don't know/Refused (VOL.)
1%
Wording notes: knowledge item, not an attitude item | asked about gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender people jointly
neutral — factual knowledge question with a symmetric legal/not-legal answer set
belief about whether federal law permits housing refusal
Q6. To the best of your knowledge, is it currently legal or not legal under federal law to do each of the following because a person is gay, lesbian, bisexual, or transgender?
For a property owner to refuse to rent a house or apartment to someone
Not legal
73%
Legal
26%
Don't know/Refused (VOL.)
1%
Wording notes: knowledge item, not an attitude item | asked about gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender people jointly
neutral — factual knowledge question with a symmetric legal/not-legal answer set
belief about whether federal law permits public-accommodation refusal
Q6. To the best of your knowledge, is it currently legal or not legal under federal law to do each of the following because a person is gay, lesbian, bisexual, or transgender?
For a business owner to refuse to provide products or services to someone
Not legal
55%
Legal
44%
Don't know/Refused (VOL.)
2%
Wording notes: knowledge item, not an attitude item | asked about gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender people jointly
neutral — factual knowledge question with a symmetric legal/not-legal answer set
belief about whether federal law permits a health care refusal
Q6. To the best of your knowledge, is it currently legal or not legal under federal law to do each of the following because a person is gay, lesbian, bisexual, or transgender?
For a doctor or other health care professional to refuse to treat someone
Not legal
81%
Legal
17%
Don't know/Refused (VOL.)
2%
Wording notes: knowledge item, not an attitude item | asked about gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender people jointly
neutral — factual knowledge question with a symmetric legal/not-legal answer set
belief about whether federal law permits a religious wedding refusal
Q6. To the best of your knowledge, is it currently legal or not legal under federal law to do each of the following because a person is gay, lesbian, bisexual, or transgender?
For a church or religious organization to refuse to perform a wedding for a couple
Legal
68%
Not legal
30%
Don't know/Refused (VOL.)
2%
Wording notes: knowledge item, not an attitude item | asked about gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender people jointly
neutral — factual knowledge question with a symmetric legal/not-legal answer set
comfort with a close friend disclosing they are transgender
Q7. How comfortable or uncomfortable do you think you would be with each of the following?
Having a close friend tell you they're transgender
Very comfortable
39%
Somewhat comfortable
30%
Somewhat uncomfortable
22%
Very uncomfortable
8%
Don't know/Refused (VOL.)
1%
Comfortable (net) 69%
Wording notes: hypothetical social-distance item
neutral — balanced comfortable/uncomfortable scale with no evaluative framing of the transgender person
comfort with a transgender teacher in the local elementary school
Q7. How comfortable or uncomfortable do you think you would be with each of the following?
Learning that a teacher in your local elementary school is transgender
Very comfortable
36%
Somewhat comfortable
29%
Somewhat uncomfortable
21%
Very uncomfortable
12%
Don't know/Refused (VOL.)
2%
Comfortable (net) 65%
Wording notes: hypothetical social-distance item
neutral — balanced comfortable/uncomfortable scale with no evaluative framing of the transgender person
comfort with one's own child disclosing they are transgender
Q7. How comfortable or uncomfortable do you think you would be with each of the following?
Having your own child tell you they are transgender
Very comfortable
30%
Somewhat comfortable
25%
Somewhat uncomfortable
24%
Very uncomfortable
20%
Don't know/Refused (VOL.)
2%
Comfortable (net) 55%
Wording notes: hypothetical social-distance item
neutral — balanced comfortable/uncomfortable scale with no evaluative framing of the transgender person
comfort with a transgender member of one's church or faith community (new in 2021)
Q7. How comfortable or uncomfortable do you think you would be with each of the following?
Learning someone in your church or faith community is transgender
Very comfortable
38%
Somewhat comfortable
30%
Somewhat uncomfortable
20%
Very uncomfortable
9%
Don't know/Refused (VOL.)
2%
Comfortable (net) 68%
Wording notes: hypothetical social-distance item
neutral — balanced comfortable/uncomfortable scale with no evaluative framing of the transgender person
comfort with a transgender coworker (new in 2021)
Q7. How comfortable or uncomfortable do you think you would be with each of the following?
Learning a coworker is transgender
Very comfortable
44%
Somewhat comfortable
31%
Somewhat uncomfortable
18%
Very uncomfortable
6%
Don't know/Refused (VOL.)
2%
Comfortable (net) 75%
Wording notes: hypothetical social-distance item
neutral — balanced comfortable/uncomfortable scale with no evaluative framing of the transgender person
belief that there are only two genders vs. a range of gender identities
Do you ...
Feel strongly that there are only two genders, man or woman
42%
Think there is a range of many gender identities, but do not feel strongly about it
23%
Think there are only two genders, but do not feel strongly about it
17%
Feel strongly that there is a range of many possible gender identities
17%
Don't know/Refused (VOL.)
1%
Only two genders (net) 59%Range of gender identities (net) 40%
Wording notes: strength of view built into the answer set rather than a follow-up | no middle or 'depends' option
neutral — the two positions are stated in parallel with matched intensity gradations
has a close friend, family member or acquaintance who is transgender
Q9. Do you have a close friend or family member who is... [select all that apply]
transgender
No
78%
Yes, someone else
11%
Yes, family member
6%
Yes, close friend
5%
Yes, myself
1%
Wording notes: answer set expanded in 2021 with 'Yes, someone else', which breaks comparability with the pre-2021 net | multiple responses accepted; categories do not sum to 100
neutral — factual contact item
has a close friend, family member or acquaintance who is nonbinary (new in 2021)
Q9. Do you have a close friend or family member who is... [select all that apply]
nonbinary
No
76%
Yes, someone else
11%
Yes, close friend
4%
Yes, family member
3%
Yes, myself
1%
Don't know/Refused (VOL.)
0%
Wording notes: multiple responses accepted; categories do not sum to 100
neutral — factual contact item
transgender boy (assigned female at birth) participating with male students in high school athletics
Transgender student who was assigned female at birth but now identifies as male participating with other male students in high school athletic events
Wording notes: asks about a transgender BOY joining a boys' team - the reverse of the usual framing | explicitly specifies high school athletics | uses 'assigned female at birth but now identifies as male' | 4-point scale, no middle option
neutral — descriptive wording; the direction of the transition is specified rather than left implicit, which is a measurement virtue
Subgroup figures (3)
requiring transgender people to use bathrooms matching sex assigned at birth
Require transgender people to use bathrooms consistent with their sex assigned at birth
Wording reconstructed from: Item text as summarized on the PRRI report page; the full verbatim battery text was not retrieved.
Wording notes: uses 'sex assigned at birth' | bathrooms only | wording only approximately verified
neutral — policy stated in its own terms
Subgroup figures (3)