Paassen, Tosca van (2024) The political side of life satisfaction: the effect of political engagement on life satisfaction and the influence of trust in institutions. Bachelor thesis, Sociology.
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Abstract
Dutch citizens are very satisfied with their lives and the Netherlands is a well-functioning democracy. An essential element of democracy is the voicing of citizens’ opinions through political engagement. This thesis aims to get an understanding of the connection between political engagement and the high levels of life satisfaction in the Netherlands. Additionally, the influence of trust in institutions on this relationship is studied. The research question for this thesis is the following: What is the effect of political engagement on life satisfaction of Dutch people and is this mediated by trust in institutions? To answer this question, two hypotheses are formulated based on the literature findings. The first hypothesis is: people who engage in politics score higher on life satisfaction than people who do not engage in politics. The second is: the positive effect of political engagement on life satisfaction is partly explained by the amount of trust in institutions people have. To answer these hypotheses, data from the LISS panel is used. The sample of this data used in this thesis consists of 4432 respondents. These respondents have all filled in online surveys every year on various subjects. With the data, a multiple linear regression analysis was done. The results of this analysis partly support the hypotheses. It was found that voting has a positive effect on life satisfaction and that trust in institutions shows a slight mediating effect on this relationship. No significant effect of political party participation on life satisfaction was found. In future research, more ways to engage in politics should be analyzed and more institutions should be used to measure trust in institutions. Finally, the recommendation is done to invest more in mini publics, because they are a way to get citizens to engage in politics with the possible result of higher levels of life satisfaction.
| Item Type: | Thesis (Bachelor) |
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| Supervisor name: | Giardini, F. |
| Degree programme: | Sociology |
| Differentiation route: | None [Bachelor Sociology] |
| Date Deposited: | 03 Jul 2024 14:41 |
| Last Modified: | 03 Jul 2024 14:41 |
| URI: | http://gmwpublic.studenttheses.ub.rug.nl/id/eprint/3643 |
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