Factors influencing the engagement of St Andrews students with the 2024 U.S. Presidential Elections
December 2024
Authors: Ruby Kay Dalwood, Chai Ho, Leijie Yang, Rebekah Paredes-Larson, Sabrina Boughanem
Junior Editor: Teodora-Irina Bertescu
Deputy Editor: Grace Risucci
Editor-in-Chief: Cadence Mak
Executive Summary
This project offers a detailed analysis of the factors influencing engagement levels among students at the University of St Andrews in the 2024 US presidential election, focusing on three factors: American citizenship, degree level and faculty.
The results show that American citizenship correlates with higher engagement in the US election, with American students showing significantly higher engagement than non-American students.
Degree level was not shown to correlate with engagement, but there is some evidence suggesting a correlation between faculty and engagement. While there are some indications that engagement varies between Sciences and Social Sciences, further research exploring the impact of faculty on political engagement is recommended
Finally, whilst a history of involvement in a political party or activist organization is shown to correlate with engagement, the importance of friends and family relatives is found to correlate negatively with engagement.