Explaining Political Attitudes and Behavior

Abstract

In the last chapter, we examined the difference between the percentage of those with NFE engaging in a certain behavior or holding a certain attitude and the percentage of those in the comparison group doing so. The bivariate analyses support the hypotheses that NFE promotes civic participation, individualization, and the adoption of progressive, democratic attitudes. Yet many important questions remain unanswered. How do the effects of NFE compare to those of formal education and Koranic education with regard to our political orientations of interest? How much effect does each year of NFE or formal education have on the political orientation of interest? How might other factors affect the relationship between NFE and the political orientations of interest? The multivariate analyses allow us to address these questions. In this chapter, the hypotheses will be subjected to more rigorous statistical tests than in Chapter 5.