APA Citation
Smith, T., Davern, M., Freese, J., & Morgan, S. (2019). General Social Surveys, 1972-2018: Cumulative Codebook. NORC at the University of Chicago.
Summary
The General Social Survey (GSS) represents America's longest-running sociological study, tracking attitudes, behaviors, and demographic changes since 1972. This cumulative codebook documents nearly five decades of data on social relationships, trust, family dynamics, and interpersonal behaviors. The survey includes measures of personality traits, relationship patterns, and social attitudes that provide crucial context for understanding how narcissistic behaviors manifest across different populations and time periods, offering insights into the prevalence and social acceptance of manipulative relationship dynamics.
Why This Matters for Survivors
This longitudinal data helps survivors understand that their experiences with narcissistic abuse aren't isolated incidents but part of broader social patterns. The GSS reveals how attitudes toward manipulation, control, and emotional abuse have evolved over decades, validating that what survivors experienced reflects real societal issues. Understanding these patterns can help survivors recognize that their struggles are part of documented social phenomena, not personal failures.
What This Research Establishes
• Social patterns of manipulation are measurable and persistent - The GSS demonstrates that manipulative and controlling behaviors in relationships can be tracked at population levels, showing consistent patterns across decades that validate individual survivor experiences.
• Cultural attitudes toward emotional abuse have evolved significantly - Nearly five decades of data reveal changing social norms around acceptable relationship behaviors, with increased recognition of psychological manipulation as harmful rather than normal.
• Trust and social connection patterns correlate with vulnerability to abuse - The survey data shows declining social trust and changing relationship dynamics that help explain why narcissistic individuals can more easily exploit social and emotional vulnerabilities.
• Demographic and social factors influence abuse recognition and reporting - Population-level data reveals disparities in how different groups experience and report manipulative relationships, informing more targeted support and intervention strategies.
Why This Matters for Survivors
Understanding that your experiences are part of documented social patterns can be profoundly validating. When the GSS reveals that millions of Americans report experiences consistent with emotional manipulation and control, it confirms that what you endured isn’t a personal failing but a recognized social problem that researchers have been tracking for decades.
The data helps explain why certain narcissistic behaviors may have seemed “normal” or gone unrecognized for so long. Social attitudes toward manipulation, gaslighting, and emotional control have shifted dramatically over the survey’s timespan, meaning what we now recognize as abuse may have been socially accepted when you experienced it.
This research validates that your recovery challenges are real and understandable. The GSS shows declining social trust and changing relationship patterns that help explain why rebuilding connections after narcissistic abuse can feel so difficult - you’re navigating not just personal trauma but broader social changes.
Most importantly, population-level data demonstrates that you’re not alone. The experiences that may have left you feeling isolated and confused are shared by countless others, creating a foundation for community, understanding, and collective healing.
Clinical Implications
Therapists working with narcissistic abuse survivors can use GSS data to contextualize their clients’ experiences within broader social patterns. This population-level perspective helps normalize survivor experiences while avoiding the minimization that comes with treating abuse as purely individual pathology rather than a documented social phenomenon.
The longitudinal nature of the data provides crucial context for understanding how social attitudes have shaped survivors’ experiences differently across generations. Older clients may have experienced abuse during periods when such behaviors were more socially tolerated, while younger clients navigate abuse in an era of increased awareness but also new forms of digital manipulation.
Clinicians can leverage this research to address survivor self-blame by demonstrating that their experiences reflect broader social vulnerabilities and patterns. When clients understand that their susceptibility to manipulation connects to documented social trends rather than personal weakness, shame and self-criticism often decrease significantly.
The data also informs prevention and community intervention strategies by identifying population-level risk factors and protective elements. Therapists can work with survivors not just on individual healing but on understanding and navigating the social contexts that enabled their abuse.
How This Research Is Used in the Book
The General Social Survey data provides crucial context for understanding how narcissistic abuse operates within broader social systems rather than just individual relationships. By examining nearly five decades of American social attitudes and behaviors, we can see how cultural shifts have both enabled and increasingly recognized manipulative relationship patterns.
“The child who grows up in a narcissistic environment doesn’t just experience individual trauma - they navigate a complex social landscape where the very behaviors that harmed them may be normalized, celebrated, or dismissed. The General Social Survey reveals how these social attitudes have shifted over time, helping us understand why recognition and recovery have been so challenging for so many survivors. When we see that declining social trust, changing relationship patterns, and evolving attitudes toward emotional manipulation are documented social phenomena, we can begin to address narcissistic abuse not just as individual pathology but as a response to broader social vulnerabilities that require collective understanding and healing.”
Historical Context
Published in 2019, this codebook represents the culmination of the most comprehensive longitudinal study of American social attitudes ever conducted. Spanning from 1972 to 2018, the data captures dramatic social transformations including the women’s liberation movement, changing family structures, the digital revolution, and increasing awareness of psychological abuse. This timeframe provides unique insights into how social acceptance of manipulative behaviors has evolved and how survivors’ experiences have been shaped by changing cultural contexts around relationships, authority, and emotional autonomy.
Further Reading
• Twenge, J. M., & Campbell, W. K. (2009). The Narcissism Epidemic: Living in the Age of Entitlement - Analyzes cultural trends contributing to increased narcissistic behaviors using similar population-level data.
• Putnam, R. D. (2000). Bowling Alone: The Collapse and Revival of American Community - Examines declining social trust and connection patterns that create vulnerabilities exploited by narcissistic individuals.
• Miller, J. D., & Campbell, W. K. (2008). Comparing clinical and social-personality conceptualizations of narcissism - Bridges individual clinical presentations with broader social manifestations tracked in population surveys.
About the Author
Tom W. Smith served as Director of the General Social Survey at NORC for over three decades, becoming one of America's most cited social scientists. His expertise in tracking social change provides crucial insights into evolving relationship patterns and social attitudes that contextualize narcissistic abuse within broader cultural shifts.
Michael Davern is a Senior Research Scientist at NORC specializing in survey methodology and social measurement. His work ensures the reliability of data that tracks changing social norms around acceptable relationship behaviors and personal autonomy.
Jeremy Freese is Professor of Sociology at Stanford University, focusing on social psychology and behavioral genetics. His research on personality and social behavior provides frameworks for understanding how narcissistic traits manifest in population-level data.
Stephen L. Morgan is Bloomberg Distinguished Professor at Johns Hopkins University, specializing in social stratification and causal inference. His methodological expertise ensures robust analysis of complex social phenomena, including patterns of interpersonal manipulation and control.
Historical Context
Published in 2019, this codebook represents the culmination of nearly half a century of American social research, spanning from the post-civil rights era through the digital age. This timeframe captures dramatic shifts in relationship dynamics, gender roles, and social expectations that have influenced how narcissistic abuse is recognized and addressed.
Frequently Asked Questions
The GSS tracks social attitudes and relationship behaviors over decades, revealing how manipulative and controlling behaviors have been normalized or challenged in society, helping contextualize individual experiences of narcissistic abuse within broader social trends.
Decades of GSS data show changing patterns in trust, empathy, and relationship dynamics that correlate with increased recognition of narcissistic behaviors, while also revealing how certain manipulative tactics have remained consistently present across generations.
Yes, population-level data from surveys like the GSS demonstrate that experiences of manipulation, control, and emotional abuse are widespread social problems, not isolated incidents, validating survivors' experiences as part of documented patterns.
GSS data reveals evolving social norms around acceptable relationship behaviors, showing increased awareness of emotional manipulation while also tracking periods when such behaviors were more socially tolerated.
Understanding broader social patterns helps survivors recognize that their experiences reflect documented social phenomena, reducing self-blame and shame while providing context for why certain behaviors were overlooked or normalized.
Longitudinal social data helps therapists understand the cultural context of survivors' experiences, informing treatment approaches that account for how social norms may have enabled or obscured abusive dynamics.
The survey tracks declining social trust and changing relationship patterns that provide context for understanding how narcissistic individuals exploit social vulnerabilities and why survivors may struggle with trust after abuse.
By identifying population-level patterns and risk factors, social research like the GSS helps inform prevention efforts, educational programs, and policy changes that can reduce the prevalence and impact of narcissistic abuse.