Graduation Year
2023
Document Type
Thesis
Degree
M.A.
Degree Name
Master of Arts (M.A.)
Degree Granting Department
Criminology
Major Professor
Richard K. Moule Jr., Ph.D.
Committee Member
George Burruss, Ph.D.
Committee Member
Dawn Cecil, Ph.D.
Keywords
politics, emotion, structural equation modeling, mediation
Abstract
This study examines voting as a legitimate coping strategy through the lens of general strain theory. Drawing on previous research on the correlates of voting and general strain theory, this study seeks to evaluate the influence of different beliefs and negative emotions on voting, as well as the role of voting as a way to alleviate the negative emotions brought on by presidential elections. Using an analytic sample of 664 American adults with perceived voting eligibility, two structural equation models are used to evaluate the relationship between beliefs, negative emotions, and voting. Results suggests that individual beliefs and negative emotions directly influence voting decisions, and that negative emotions mediated the relationship between beliefs and voting.
Scholar Commons Citation
Smith, Katelyn N., "Candidate-related Distress and Voting: Examining Political Behavior through the Lens of General Strain Theory" (2023). USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations.
https://digitalcommons.usf.edu/etd/10770
