Abstract
Research shows that life satisfaction is associated with political participation, although there are some inconsistencies in the literature. Drawing on a discrepancy perspective, the present study aims to investigate the moderating role of preference for non-democratic solutions. More specifically, the hypothesis states that the relationship between non-conflictual forms of political participation and life satisfaction would be weaker for high levels of preference for non-democratic regimes (high discrepancy) compared to low levels of preference for non-democratic regimes (low discrepancy). An ancillary analysis was also conducted to investigate the moderating role of preference for non-democratic solutions in the relationship between protest activities and life satisfaction. Analyses were conducted using data from the World Values Survey wave 7 involving 51 countries/territories for a total of 76,897 participants. The results revealed that the relationship between non-conflictual forms of political participation and life satisfaction was negative at high levels of preference for non-democratic regimes (high discrepancy) and positive at low levels of preference for non-democratic regimes (low discrepancy). In addition, the association between protest activities and life satisfaction was negative at medium to high levels of preference for non-democratic political systems, while at low levels of the moderator this association was positive. Results highlight the need to consider the discrepancy between preferences for non-democratic regimes and participation to fully characterize the relationship between life satisfaction and political participation.
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Appendix
Content and numbers of WVS items
Preference for non-democratic political systems
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Having a strong leader who does not have to bother with parliament and elections (Q235)
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Having experts, not government, make decisions according to what they think is best for the country (Q236)
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Having the army rule (Q237)
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Having a system governed by religious law in which there are no political parties or elections (Q239)
Political participation (non-conflictual)
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Signing a petition (Q209)
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Donating to a group or campaign (Q213)
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Contacting a government official (Q214)
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Encouraging others to take action about political issues (Q215)
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Encouraging others to vote (Q216)
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Searching information about politics and political events (Q217)
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Signing an electronic petition (Q218)
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Encouraging other people to take any form of political action (Q219)
Protest activities
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Joining in boycotts (Q210)
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Attending lawful/peaceful demonstrations (Q211)
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Joining unofficial strikes (Q212)
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Organizing political activities, events, protests (Q220)
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Prati, G. The Relationship Between Political Participation and Life Satisfaction Depends on Preference for Non-Democratic Solutions. Applied Research Quality Life 17, 1867–1881 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11482-021-10013-z
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11482-021-10013-z