Live Poster Session: https://wesleyan.zoom.us/j/98474672100
Sophia Bourne
Sophia Bourne is a sophomore year student at Wesleyan University. She is pursuing a double major in Government and English.
Abstract: Due to the overwhelming prevelence of politics, and political affiliation, in the daily life of the average American citizen, researchers believe that political affiliation contributes to the individual’s general emotional well-being. Although some researchers find a correlation between political party affiliation and well-being, citing that conservatives generally reporting higher general happiness than liberals, other researchers claim there is no relationship between political party affiliation and well-being. Researchers agree that extreme political views correlate with lower general happiness across the political spectrum. The data used in this data analysis study was collected during the 2024 election year, which will provide insight into the relationship between political views and well-being during a turbulant political period. The 2024 General Social Survey (GSS) allowed the adult population of America to self-report their position on a scaled scaled response to each question. For example, each individual surveyed was asked to report their political views on a scale from 1 (extremely liberal) to 7 (extremely conservative). This research found no significant relationship between political party affiliation and general emotional well-being within this data set. However, this research found a significant relationship between extreme political views and general emotional well-being. Individuals who report partisan political views, on either side of the political spectrum, are more likely to report general happiness than extremists on either side of the spectrum. When controlling for age, race, and sex, only race acts as a confounding variable between extreme political views and happiness. Black americans are less likely to report happiness, regardless of extreme political views, than white Americans. This research suggests that extreme political views are an indication of worse emotional well-being.
Bourne2-Data-Poster