The Influence of Partisanship on Health: A Theoretical and Empirical Investigation Restricted; Files Only

Abstract

In the United States, Democrats consistently report poorer health than Republicans; however, the underlying mechanisms remain underexplored. This raises an important question: why is partisanship associated with health status, even after sociodemographic adjustment? This dissertation argues that this relationship operates through the mediating influence of health beliefs and behaviors. It uses data from the American Health Values Survey to decompose the relationship between partisanship and health status. The first two chapters develop a theoretical framework and review theories of partisanship to argue for its role in shaping health. The third chapter (The Independent Effect of Partisanship) empirically tests the direct association. It confirms that sociodemographic characteristics, particularly income, attenuates the relationship between partisanship and health status. However, a significant residual effect persists after sociodemographic adjustment. The final chapter (Mediation Analysis) employs a series of mediation models (simple, parallel, and sequential) to explain this residual effect. It finds that both health beliefs (self-efficacy) and health behaviors are significant mediators across all models, thus illuminating multiple causal pathways between partisanship and health status.

Table of Contents

1 Introduction - 9

2 Theoretical Framework - 12

3 The Independent Effect of Partisanship - 36

4 Mediation Analysis - 59

5 Appendix - 79

6 References - 89

About this Dissertation

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School	Laney Graduate School
Department	Health Services and Research Health Policy
Degree	Ph.D.
Submission	Dissertation
Language	English
Research Field	Health Sciences, Public Health Political Science, General
关键词	Partisanship Health Status
Committee Chair / Thesis Advisor	David Howard, Emory University
Committee Members	Ilana Graetz, Emory University Jason Hockenberry, Yale University

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