Theses and Dissertations

Date of Award

5-2025

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Arts (MA)

Department

Political Science

First Advisor

Mi-son Kim

Second Advisor

Alvaro Corral

Third Advisor

Nicholas Kiersey

Abstract

This project aimed to understand how polarization in the United States affects romantic relationships. Other studies in this area have only gauged samples that were either couples in relationships or singles. This work compared the responses of individuals based on their relationship status (in a relationship or not), to note the differences, if any, between samples. This research was conducted through surveys on The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley student population.

In understanding how political opinions affect relationship longevity, satisfaction, and whether candidate choice or opinions matter more, there were interesting findings. Regarding relationship longevity, there was a significance between similar beliefs and relationship longevity found in the sample. There was not a significance between relationship satisfaction and similar beliefs. However, there are certain limitations to gauging self-reported relationship satisfaction, which is discussed in the work. As for whether candidate choice or political opinions matter more, it was clear in both samples, regardless of relationship status, the political opinions of a potential or current partner matter more than candidate choice. These findings do point to a need for further research in this area, as the topic of relationships and polarization are incredibly relevant today.

Comments

Copyright 2025 Jadelyn Lopez. https://proquest.com/docview/3240621831

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