Immigration, safety top Houstonians' fears, study says

Houston Business Journal - 1:37 PM CDT Wednesday, August 15, 2007
Personal safety, crime and immigration worry Houston area residents more than having a person with a mental illness living in their neighborhood, according to a survey released Wednesday.

The 2007 Houston Area Survey by the Center for Public Policy at the University of Houston found that the percentage of survey respondents who said they would be "very" or "somewhat" concerned if they found a person being treated for mental illness was living in their neighborhood fell from 52 percent in 2004 to 48 percent this year.

The survey found a growing discomfort with Houston's burgeoning diversity, he said. For example, the percentage of people believing that the new immigration "mostly threatens American culture" increased to 43 percent from 31 percent in 2005.

When asked to name the biggest problem facing people in the Houston area today, crime and personal safety were mentioned by 38 percent in 2007, compared with just 11 percent who cited crime as the biggest problem in 2004.

"Given the heightened concerns in these other areas, one would expect fears related to mental illnesses would also increase, but this was not the case," said Stephen Klineberg, sociology professor at Rice University, who directed the study for the Center for Public Policy.

The study began including questions about mental health issues in 2004, when UH began working with the Mental Health Association of Greater Houston after receiving a grant from the Stanford and Joan Alexander Foundation.

http://www.bizjournals.com/houston/stor ... ily37.html