online opt-in
YouGov
American Family Survey 2023 (The Practicalities and Politicization of American Family Life) · Aug 3–15, 2023 · US national
Methodology
- Pollster
- YouGov media
- Sponsor
- Deseret News
- Commissioned by
- Deseret News and the Center for the Study of Elections and Democracy at Brigham Young University
- Fielded
- Aug 3–15, 2023
- Population
- adults
- Sample size
- 3,000
- Sample frame
- online opt-in
- Panel
- YouGov
- Mode
- online, YouGov matched sample (interviewed then matched down to 3,000)
- Margin of error
- +/- 2.1 percentage points
- Weighting
- matched on gender, age, race, education; propensity-weighted and post-stratified
- Geography
- US national
- Base notes
- Item g (gender-affirming care) used a randomized directional split-half; the topline reports the two halves combined. Book-availability items (Q99/Q100) were randomly asked of half the sample each.
Sources
Verification note. Verbatim question wording and full 5-point distributions read from the YouGov topline appended to the 2023 AFS report (Q94, Q95f, Q96h). Party breaks for Q96 read from Table 5 of the report body.
Figures below are transcribed from these documents. Where they disagree with the source, the source governs.
Questions asked (7)
trans athletes in high school sports
How much do you agree or disagree with the following statements?
How much do you agree or disagree with the following statements? Transgender athletes should only be able to participate in high school sports as the gender they were assigned at birth.
Total agree 56%Total disagree 16%
Wording notes: restrictive position is the agree direction | assigned at birth phrasing | explicit neutral midpoint
neutral — plain statement of the restrictive policy with a symmetric five-point scale and explicit midpoint
teacher use of students' preferred pronouns
How much do you agree or disagree with the following statements?
How much do you agree or disagree with the following statements? Public school teachers should use students' preferred pronouns, even if they are different from the student's sex at birth.
Strongly disagree
24%
Strongly agree
16%
Neither agree nor disagree
30%
Agree 20%Disagree 10%Total agree 35%Total disagree 35%
Wording notes: sex at birth phrasing | affirming position is the agree direction
neutral — plain statement of the policy with a symmetric five-point scale
best place for children to learn about gender identity
How much do you agree or disagree with the following statements?
How much do you agree or disagree with the following statements? The best place for children to learn about gender identity is at home.
Strongly agree
28%
Strongly disagree
4%
Neither agree nor disagree
28%
Agree 30%Disagree 9%Total agree 59%Total disagree 13%
Wording notes: presupposes a single best venue
unclear — forcing a single best place excludes the common view that home and school both have a role, so agreement cannot be read cleanly as opposition to school instruction
parental authority over gender-affirming care for minors (randomized directional split-half)
How much do you agree or disagree with the following statements?
How much do you agree or disagree with the following statements? Parents should be ['barred from obtaining' or 'permitted by law to obtain'] gender-affirming care for their children, such as hormone blockers or gender reassignment surgery.
Strongly agree
27%
Strongly disagree
17%
Neither agree nor disagree
28%
Agree 17%Disagree 11%Total agree 44%Total disagree 28%
Wording notes: randomized directional split-half | names hormone blockers and gender reassignment surgery | topline pools both split halves, so the total is not interpretable as directional support
neutral — randomized in both directions by design; the pooled topline is however uninterpretable on its own because agreement means opposite things in the two halves
school bathroom access
How much do you agree or disagree with the following statements?
How much do you agree or disagree with the following statements? Public school students should be allowed to use the bathroom of their choice, regardless of the gender they were assigned at birth.
Total agree 26%Total disagree 48%
Wording notes: bathroom of their choice framing | does not name transgender students explicitly
tilts_restrictive — bathroom of their choice implies unconstrained selection by any student rather than access matching a student's gender identity
whether questions of sexual orientation or gender identity should be left to parents (split against a race version)
How much do you agree or disagree with the following statements?
How much do you agree or disagree with the following statements? Questions of [race and racial identity/sexual orientation or gender identity] should be left to parents, not taught at school.
Strongly agree
25%
Strongly disagree
10%
Neither agree nor disagree
26%
Agree 24%Disagree 16%Total agree 49%Total disagree 25%
Wording notes: randomized split against a race-and-racial-identity version | bundles sexual orientation with gender identity | topline pools both split halves
unclear — sexual orientation and gender identity are bundled so a trans-specific reading cannot be isolated, and the published total pools the race and SOGI halves
gender identity as part of a comprehensive sex education curriculum
What should be a part of a comprehensive sex education curriculum in public schools? Check all that apply.
What should be a part of a comprehensive sex education curriculum in public schools? Check all that apply. [item h] Sex education curriculum - Gender identity
Should be part of the curriculum
31%
Wording notes: check-all-that-apply, so non-selection is ambiguous between opposition and indifference
neutral — neutral topic label offered alongside 13 other curriculum topics; the check-all format understates support relative to an explicit yes/no
Subgroup figures (3)