Attitudes Towards Public Basic Needs Programs: An Analysis of Question Order Effect, Period and Cohort Changes, and Differences Across Religious Traditions

Authors

Jamy Rentschler, University of Nebraska-LincolnFollow

First Advisor

Philip Schwadel

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)

Department

Sociology

Date of this Version

11-23-2023

Document Type

Dissertation

Comments

Copyright 2023, Jamy Rentschler

Abstract

This dissertation examines public opinions towards public basic needs programs (PBNPs), focusing specifically on differences in attitudes towards spending on assistance to the poor (ATP) and welfare. To do this, I use two different approaches, one focusing on survey methodology and the other looking at social change across time and religious tradition. The first research question addresses potential survey question order effects based upon which question came first, ATP or welfare, and examines how other federal spending priorities may impact opinions towards welfare. I do find question order effects, some of which vary based on the respondent’s race, but the effect sizes are rather small. However, the results highlight how important it is for questionnaire designers to be cognizant of how highly racialized concepts could influence respondent answers. The second research chapter explores how attitudes towards ATP and welfare have changed over time. Using a hierarchical age-period-cohort (HAPC) model, I find that people tend to become less supportive of ATP as they age. In addition, attitudes towards ATP varied more across periods compared to cohorts. There was little to no variation in attitudes towards welfare across cohorts. However, support for ATP has been steadily increasing with each successive cohort. Last, I look at how attitudes towards ATP and welfare have changed among different religious traditions. Specifically, I focus on three of the largest religious traditions in the United States: white evangelical Protestants, Catholics, and the religiously unaffiliated (Nones). For most religious traditions, the predicted probability of supporting ATP does vary by year but to different degrees. Black Protestants and non-white evangelical Protestants had the highest predicted support across the years. White evangelical Protestants and mainline Protestants had the lowest levels of predicted support and exhibited more change across periods. In addition, the findings show that despite increasing heterogeneity and ideological shifts within these traditions, predicted probabilities of supporting ATP are growing across cohorts for all religious traditions.

Recommended Citation

Rentschler, Jamy, "Attitudes Towards Public Basic Needs Programs: An Analysis of Question Order Effect, Period and Cohort Changes, and Differences Across Religious Traditions" (2023). Dissertations and Doctoral Documents from University of Nebraska-Lincoln, 2023–. 15.
https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/dissunl/15