Abstract

Following an influential Supreme Court decision regarding the legality of abortion, America seems to be split now more than ever on their attitudes towards this care. At the same time, researchers have shown that America has been shifting towards a more diverse and liberal population on social issues. With the increased presence of diverse groups, cross-pressures have grown in individuals belonging to multiple social groups that may hold conflicting opinions about political issues such as abortion care. Race and frequent religiosity have been salient identities in predicting attitudes towards abortion. This research set out to test whether these identities can interact and impact individuals' opinions about abortion care. I theorized that in the absence of a minority racial cross pressure, that frequent religious attenders who are white were less likely to support abortion for any reason. Using binary logistic regression, I estimated whiteness, frequent religious attendance, and an interaction term of the two against support for abortion under any circumstance. While initial patterns in the data suggested a small interaction, the effect in the model was not statistically significant. However, the findings presented here provide initial results and a path forward in this emerging, and relevant field of research. Though this research was completed prior to the decision that overturned Roe, its impact will undoubtably shift future work in this field.

Notes

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Graduation Date

2022

Semester

Summer

Advisor

Wright, Kenicia

Degree

Master of Arts (M.A.)

College

College of Sciences

Department

School of Politics, Security and International Affairs

Degree Program

Political Science

Identifier

CFE0009161; DP0026757

URL

https://purls.library.ucf.edu/go/DP0026757

Language

English

Release Date

August 2022

Length of Campus-only Access

None

Access Status

Masters Thesis (Open Access)

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