Maintaining America's Social Fabric

The AARP Survey of Civic Involvement is a national telephone survey of American adults, sponsored by the American Association of Retired Persons and conducted at the end of 1996 by the Center for Survey Research (CSR) at the University of Virginia. The purpose of this wide-ranging survey was to gauge the state of social connectedness, civic engagement, and civic orientations in a changing America, particularly as these might affect older Americans. CSR conducted interviews with 1,500 adults representing all regions of the country, with one-half of the sample being adults age 50 or older. About one-half of the latter group are members of AARP, one of the nation's largest membership organizations.