Y Strong Communities Study, United States, 2019-2020 (ICPSR 38183)

Version Date: Jan 19, 2023

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Principal Investigator(s):
Alycia Bayne, National Opinion Research Center

https://doi.org/10.3886/ICPSR38183.v1

Version V1

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Summary

In November 2019, the National Opinion Research Center (NORC) launched the Y Strong Communities Study to explore how experiences with the YMCA (or "the Y") have affected the lives of Y participants and their communities. NORC fielded a survey with over 3,000 individuals who were Y members or who had participated in activities at the Y. Topics covered by the survey included Y engagement (duration and frequency of Y participation), reflections on the Y (e.g., whether the Y helps them develop connect to resources), community involvement, and health and well-being. Additional information collected by the survey includes work status, volunteer activity, attendance of faith-based services, gender identity, age, ethnicity, race, and educational attainment.

NORC also fielded two rounds of questions on the AmeriSpeak Omnibus survey in November 2019 and March 2020 to collect a general population comparison for the Y participant survey.

Citation

Bayne, Alycia. Y Strong Communities Study, United States, 2019-2020. Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research [distributor], 2023-01-19. https://doi.org/10.3886/ICPSR38183.v1

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Funding

Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (75958)

Subject Terms

Geographic Coverage

Smallest Geographic Unit

region

Distributor(s)

Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research
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Time Period(s)

2019-10-31 -- 2020-03-15

Date of Collection

2019-10-31 -- 2020-01-06, 2019-11-18 -- 2019-11-21, 2020-03-12 -- 2020-03-15

Data Collection Notes

  1. For additional information on the Y Strong Communities Study, please visit the AmeriSpeak and the National Opinion Research Center (NORC) websites.
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Study Purpose

The goal of this study is to develop and implement an online, cross-sectional survey with a sample of Y participants, who are defined as individuals who are either members of a YMCA or have participated in activities at a YMCA. With this, the National Opinion Research Center (NORC) is seeking to explore the role that Ys play in strengthening communities through youth and adult engagement. Data will be collected using a web-based survey, though respondents can request to be sent a paper survey if they prefer.

To compare the responses of Y participants to those of the general population, the study will also field several survey questions on the AmeriSpeak Omnibus survey. The AmeriSpeak Omnibus is a monthly survey of 1,000 nationally representative adults age 18 and older drawn from the AmeriSpeak Panel, a probability-based national online panel operated by NORC. AmeriSpeak panelists complete surveys online and by phone. All AmeriSpeak panelists will be asked about their Y participation in order to identify the general population comparison.

Sample

For the Y Member Survey, researchers drew a sample of 30 Ys that were proportional to the spread of Ys across regions and operating revenue. The Ys provided contact information for their membership and 12,000 individuals from the data set were randomly sampled . After verifying addresses, they sent the survey to 11,990 individuals, and received 3,417 complete responses. Data were collected through self-administered web and mailed questionnaires.

The AmeriSpeak Omnibus Surveys were also used to collect data for a general population comparison. The Omnibus is a twice-a-month, multi-client survey using a probability sample that delivers 1,000 nationally representative adult interviews age 18 and older. Respondents are interviewed online and by phone from National Opinion Research Center (NORC)'s AmeriSpeak Panel.

Time Method

Cross-sectional

Universe

Y Member Survey: Adults aged 18 or higher who are Y members or participants of Y programs

AmeriSpeak Omnibus Survey: U.S. adults aged 18 or higher

Unit(s) of Observation

Individual

Data Type(s)

Mode of Data Collection

Description of Variables

The AmeriSpeak Omnibus Surveys will cover the following domains:

  • Health and well-being
  • Involvement with YMCA

The Y Member Survey will cover the following domains:

  • Section 1: Y Engagement, including the duration and frequency of Y participation for the respondent and members of their household
  • Section 2: Reflections on the Y, including questions about how the Y has benefited the respondents and their communities
  • Section 3: Community Involvement, including questions about community participation and sense of community
  • Section 4: Health and Well-Being, including measures of physical, mental, and financial well-being
  • Section 5: Demographics and Other Activities, including contextual factors that can affect the ways that individuals perceive the strength of their communities (e.g., age and gender identity)

Response Rates

The overall response rate for the Y member survey was 28.50%

Presence of Common Scales

No common scales used.

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Original Release Date

2023-01-19

Version History

2023-01-19 ICPSR data undergo a confidentiality review and are altered when necessary to limit the risk of disclosure. ICPSR also routinely creates ready-to-go data files along with setups in the major statistical software formats as well as standard codebooks to accompany the data. In addition to these procedures, ICPSR performed the following processing steps for this data collection:

  • Created online analysis version with question text.
  • Checked for undocumented or out-of-range codes.

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Weight

Weighting adjustments for Y participants were used to account for unequal selection probabilities, non-response, and associations that were not sampled. The AmeriSpeak sample was weighted to account for selection probabilities, non-response, and demographic benchmarks.

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Notes

  • The public-use data files in this collection are available for access by the general public. Access does not require affiliation with an ICPSR member institution.