Americans have consistently viewed medical workers, K-12 teachers and military officers as the most ethical professions — but even their ratings have dropped considerably, new Gallup polling shows. Americans' opinion of the ethics of various professions has stalled at its lowest point — reflective of declining confidence in U.S. institutions overall. "Americans interact with numerous professionals in their daily lives, while depending on others they've never met to maintain an efficient, fair and secure society," per the annual survey data, released Monday. "Whether reflecting personal experience or secondhand reports, Americans' sense of how much they can trust each profession varies widely, likely influencing how they engage with each."

The average honesty and ethics ratings for 11 core professions was 30% in Monday's report, down from 40% in 2005. Three professions had "majority negative" ratings: — TV reporters, members of Congress and lobbyists. Those were followed by roles including advertising practitioners, car salespeople, business executives and state officeholders. Day care providers, funeral directors, police officers and auto mechanics enjoyed "net positive" ratings. Three of the five professions with "majority positive" ratings were in medical fields, but nursing home operators had "net negative" ratings. Despite being among the highest in the list, trust in medical doctors and pharmacists has dropped below pre-pandemic levels. Polling released last year separately showed that more people are trusting in their own ability to assess health information or turning to friends for guidance amid lack of trust in public health agencies. Grade school teachers also received "majority positive ratings," but Americans have expressed growing dissatisfaction with K-12 education.

Trust in judges and clergy have fallen the most, long-term, although ratings were still net positive for both. Trust in judges reached a low of 28% in the honesty and ethics rating, a 21-point decrease since the early 2000s. Public approval of the Supreme Court nearly reached a record low after the court concluded its most recent term, per previous Gallup polling. Approval plunged in particular among Democrats as the high court's rulings have leaned conservative. Meanwhile, every age group has seen declines in religious affiliations during the past decade. U.S. trust in mass media hit a historic low last year, and Monday's report echoes low ratings of TV and newspaper reporters. 55% of respondents rated TV reporters as having "majority negative" honesty and ethical standards, a nine percentage point drop since the early 2000s. 45% said the same of newspaper reporters, which have had consistently low ratings over the years.

Nurses have earned the highest rating every year but one since they were added to the survey in 1999. "The exception was 2001, when firefighters — included only that year — earned a record 90% trust rating after their heroism in responding to the 9/11 attacks on the Twin Towers," the report said.

TrueTexan wrote: Tue Jan 14, 2025 3:23 pm As a retired RN with over 30 years in Healthcare practice I am please to read we are the ones that earn the most trust.

SunRiseWest wrote: Tue Jan 14, 2025 11:35 pm I'm feeling some harbingers of loss of trust in psychotherapists.

It's vague, but it's there. A lot more younger folks are asking, "What good does talking about anything do?" And when I answer this question, which I'm well equipped to do, I'm getting more resistance than usual. And more clients who seem to come to my office just to argue with me, though there are other reasons for that-- I'm more experienced and getting referrals for more difficult clients who the younger headshrinkers might have trouble with, etc.

Also, I view statistics and polls like these with a lot of suspicion. My general feeling is that we're kind of obsessed with statistics and numbers, and try to get information or draw conclusions that numbers can't give us. Trying to prove things that may well be true, but can't be proved.

featureless wrote: Wed Jan 15, 2025 9:38 am

SunRiseWest wrote: Tue Jan 14, 2025 11:35 pm I'm feeling some harbingers of loss of trust in psychotherapists.

It's vague, but it's there. A lot more younger folks are asking, "What good does talking about anything do?" And when I answer this question, which I'm well equipped to do, I'm getting more resistance than usual. And more clients who seem to come to my office just to argue with me, though there are other reasons for that-- I'm more experienced and getting referrals for more difficult clients who the younger headshrinkers might have trouble with, etc.

Also, I view statistics and polls like these with a lot of suspicion. My general feeling is that we're kind of obsessed with statistics and numbers, and try to get information or draw conclusions that numbers can't give us. Trying to prove things that may well be true, but can't be proved.

I wonder if, with the younger folk, the mass of existential threats they face is part of the "what good does talking about it do."

I can't imagine being 20 and looking at the earth burning with fever, the gargantuan dump we've made of the place, the state of politics around the world and feeling that talk therapy would be of much use. Still, I encourage my 20 year old daughter to do so!

I'm entirely hopeless that we get through our current troubles. That said, I continue to work on our "doomstead" in hopes there is a place for my daughter and her cousins where the lights and refrigeration can be kept on and food grown/gathered. That is, if the place doesn't burn to the ground.

SunRiseWest wrote: Tue Jan 21, 2025 10:49 pm

featureless wrote: Wed Jan 15, 2025 9:38 am

SunRiseWest wrote: Tue Jan 14, 2025 11:35 pm I'm feeling some harbingers of loss of trust in psychotherapists.

It's vague, but it's there. A lot more younger folks are asking, "What good does talking about anything do?" And when I answer this question, which I'm well equipped to do, I'm getting more resistance than usual. And more clients who seem to come to my office just to argue with me, though there are other reasons for that-- I'm more experienced and getting referrals for more difficult clients who the younger headshrinkers might have trouble with, etc.

Also, I view statistics and polls like these with a lot of suspicion. My general feeling is that we're kind of obsessed with statistics and numbers, and try to get information or draw conclusions that numbers can't give us. Trying to prove things that may well be true, but can't be proved.

I wonder if, with the younger folk, the mass of existential threats they face is part of the "what good does talking about it do."

I can't imagine being 20 and looking at the earth burning with fever, the gargantuan dump we've made of the place, the state of politics around the world and feeling that talk therapy would be of much use. Still, I encourage my 20 year old daughter to do so!

I'm entirely hopeless that we get through our current troubles. That said, I continue to work on our "doomstead" in hopes there is a place for my daughter and her cousins where the lights and refrigeration can be kept on and food grown/gathered. That is, if the place doesn't burn to the ground.

Yes, Featureless, that's what I think it is-- the sum total of existential threats.

Seasoned with the idea that I'm from the generation that really accelerated a lot of the threats and disasters, so I become sort of a punching bag or proxy for every venal old fuck who ever fiddled while Rome burned. Which is when I go to my own shrink, because I feel guilty about that, too-- wish I could have done more, gone harder, got involved beyond going to a bunch or demonstrations for Vietnam and Iraq, etc.

OTOH, just because I feel like I'm kinda getting shat on doesn't mean the therapy had no value. On the contrary, when I have my head on straight, I even can use that, like, "Good practice, great first try. Now how would you manage someone with more power who was an actual threat?" Sometimes, I may be the first older adult some of these kids have ever stood up to.

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SunRiseWest wrote: Tue Jan 21, 2025 10:49 pm I feel guilty about that, too-- wish I could have done more, gone harder, got involved beyond going to a bunch or demonstrations for Vietnam and Iraq, etc.

featureless wrote: Wed Jan 22, 2025 9:32 am

SunRiseWest wrote: Tue Jan 21, 2025 10:49 pm I feel guilty about that, too-- wish I could have done more, gone harder, got involved beyond going to a bunch or demonstrations for Vietnam and Iraq, etc.

I'm a bit younger at 52. From my experience, having worked in environmental compliance my adult life, primarily funding water and wastewater projects for communities that can't afford to fix their critical infrastructure (including rebuilding infrastructure in fire ravaged areas), I've tried to make things better through work practice and personal choices. Yet the guilt remains. It's bigger than any one of us can change. It's bigger than any group can change. It's bigger than any country can change. When MTV and Baywatch exported the American dream of excess to the world, we were fucked. When our population growth became exponential, we were fucked. When we liberated millions of years of sunshine condensed down to black oil in short decades, we were fucked.

From one guilt laden do gooder to another, it's not your fault. We have collectively fucked ourselves and failed through an inability to chose better leadership. Largely, I think, because we thought we had more time.

I studied this environmental shit in college, even got an MA in it. I knew it was coming. Yet I had a kid in 2003. By 2005, the climate really started showing it had had enough of our shit. Had it done so sooner, I likely would have made a different decision on becoming a parent. That is some pretty deep guilt. I owe my daughter a better world and cannot make it so.