Theses and Dissertations

Date of Award

5-1-2026

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Arts (MA)

Department

Political Science

First Advisor

Alvaro J. Corral

Second Advisor

Carlos Gutierrez-Mannix

Third Advisor

Canan Tanir

Abstract

The trend of the birth rate decline is an important phenomenon which has attracted scholarly attention in the United States. Prior research has explored factors such as income, education, and personal preferences. However, there is minimal research on how the political environment affects people’s family planning decisions. That is, in what ways might perceptions of modern politics affect whether people decide to have children? The limited amounts of research in other countries focusing on political efficacy and its effects on people’s decision to have children have found that people are highly sensible about their political environment when it comes to making family-oriented decisions. To expand on some of these findings, this paper will focus on political efficacy, political ideology, and trust in government among young people in the U.S. to better understand if these factors play a role in the family planning decisions. To test these factors, I analyze a public opinion survey of enrolled UTRGV students and find that political ideology and trust in government are important factors for respondents with their family planning decisions. In this study, political efficacy had no evidence that suggested it is a crucial factor for respondents. Unsurprisingly, political ideology and trust in government are more important factors for women than they are for men. This means that men may be less affected by politics and their political climate regarding family planning.

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Copyright 2026 Gloria Sofia Flores. All Rights Reserved. https://proquest.com/docview/3371138185

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