First national survey measuring where Americans experience dignity versus contempt across family, school, politics, media, and work — a baseline practitioners can use to target interventions.
About this research
This data brief presents UNITE’s 2026 Dignity Barometer, described as the first national survey of its kind, in which Hart Research polled 1,503 U.S. adults (weighted to Census demographics, February 2026, ±2.5-point margin of error) on how they experience dignity versus contempt across family, school, politics, media, and work. It finds large gaps between stated values and perceived reality — 94% say all people deserve to be treated with dignity, but only 31% believe Americans actually do so — with family relationships rating most dignified and political and online contexts rating most contemptuous. As UNITE’s own survey of its Dignity Barometer program area, these are self-reported organizational research findings rather than an independent third-party study.
