Keywords
Environmental attitudes; Political polarization; Public opinion; Hierarchical linear modeling; General Social Survey; United States
Abstract
Public attitudes toward environmental spending have become increasingly divided along party lines, with sharp shifts over the past five decades. This thesis updates and expands on Johnson and Schwadel’s 2019 study by applying a two-level hierarchical linear model to General Social Survey data updated to include data from 2015-2022, capturing how political affiliation, education, race, and economic context interact with broader political and economic contexts to shape environmental attitudes over time.
The results show that political affiliation remains the strongest and most reactive predictor of environmental spending attitudes. Republican respondents are significantly more likely to oppose environmental spending, especially under Democratic presidencies. In contrast, Democratic support remains relatively stable across changing political contexts. Education and Age also emerged as significant factors: individuals with more education and younger respondents are more likely to support environmental spending. Race had mixed statistical significance. Income, sex, and unemployment are not significant predictors on their own, but interactions indicate that attitudes may shift based on context.
This study reinforces the central role of partisan identity in shaping environmental views and demonstrates how political and economic context can activate or dampen that divide. By incorporating new interaction terms and updated data, the model offers a clearer understanding of how these dynamics have evolved over time. The findings underscore the challenges of building bipartisan support for environmental policy and point to the importance of messaging that considers political context and reactive partisan patterns.
Thesis Completion Year
2025
Thesis Completion Semester
Summer
Thesis Chair
Plate, Richard
College
College of Undergraduate Studies
Thesis Discipline
Environmental Studies
Language
English
Access Status
Open Access
Length of Campus Access
None
Campus Location
Orlando (Main) Campus
STARS Citation
Lipner, Jordan, "Partisan Divides in Environmental Spending Attitudes: A Two-Level Hierarchical Analysis, 1973-2022" (2025). Honors Undergraduate Theses. 377.
https://stars.library.ucf.edu/hut2024/377
Included in
Environmental Studies Commons, Longitudinal Data Analysis and Time Series Commons, Models and Methods Commons, Multivariate Analysis Commons
Rights Statement
