Political Party Affinity and Fear of Conventional and Nuclear War in Germany
Abstract
:1. Introduction
2. Materials and Methods
2.1. Sample
2.2. Dependent Variables
2.3. Independent Variables
- Christian Democratic Union of Germany (CDU)
- Christian Social Union in Bavaria (CSU)
- Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD)
- Free Democratic Party (FDP)
- Alliance 90/The Greens
- Left Party
- Alternative for Germany (AFD)
- National Democratic Party (NPD) of Germany/Republicans/The Rights
- Another party (including no affinity with a political party)
2.4. Statistical Analysis
3. Results
3.1. Sample Characteristics and Prevalence Rates
3.2. Regression Analysis
4. Discussion
Author Contributions
Funding
Institutional Review Board Statement
Informed Consent Statement
Data Availability Statement
Conflicts of Interest
References
- Götz, E.; Staun, J. Why Russia attacked Ukraine: Strategic culture and radicalized narratives. Contemp. Secur. Policy 2022, 1–16. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Hamilton, S.B.; Van Mouwerik, S.; Oetting, E.R.; Beauvais, F.; Keilin, W.G. Nuclear war as a source of adolescent worry: Relationships with age, gender, trait emotionality, and drug use. J. Soc. Psychol. 1988, 128, 745–763. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [PubMed]
- Kalcza-Janosi, K.; Kotta, I.; Marschalko, E.E.; Szabó, K. The Fear of War Scale (FOWARS): Development and Initial Validation. 2022. Available online: https://psyarxiv.com/sfz2v/ (accessed on 23 May 2022).
- Poikolainen, K.; Aalto-Setälä, T.; Tuulio-Henriksson, A.; Marttunen, M.; Lönnqvist, J. Fear of nuclear war increases the risk of common mental disorders among young adults: A five-year follow-up study. BMC Public Health 2004, 4, 42. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [PubMed] [Green Version]
- Poikolainen, K.; Kanerva, R.; Lönnqvist, J. Threat of nuclear war related to increased anxiety and psychosomatic symptoms among adolescents. Eur. Child Adolesc. Psychiatry 1994, 3, 46–51. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Boehnke, K.; Schwartz, S.H. Fear of war: Relations to values, gender, and mental health in Germany and Israel. Peace Confl. 1997, 3, 149–165. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Baigozhina, D.O.; Zheltukhina, M.R.; Shiryaeva, T.A.; Talybina, E.V.; Minakova, N.A.; Zyubina, I.A. The threat and fear of war: The state and politics in American mass media. Media Watch 2020, 11, 439–446. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Gul, N.; Ali, S.; Irfan, M. Does War Like Situation Create War Phobia among Television Viewers? A Clash between Pakistan & India on Pulwama Incident In Kashmir. Webology 2021, 18, 1413, ISSN 1735-188X. [Google Scholar]
- Gul, N.; Ali, S.; Latif, F.; Khan, F.R. Fear of War among Newspaper Readers: A Study of Pulwama Incident. Asian Soc. Sci. 2020, 16, 1–30. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Cramer, J.S.; Hartog, J.; Jonker, N.; Van Praag, C.M. Low risk aversion encourages the choice for entrepreneurship: An empirical test of a truism. J. Econ. Behav. Organ. 2002, 48, 29–36. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Hansen, M.A.; Olsen, J. Flesh of the same flesh: A study of voters for the alternative for Germany (AfD) in the 2017 federal election. Ger. Politics 2019, 28, 1–19. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Lees, C. The ‘Alternative for Germany’: The rise of right-wing populism at the heart of Europe. Politics 2018, 38, 295–310. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Koller, V.; Miglbauer, M. What Drives the Right-Wing Populist Vote? Topics, Motivations and Representations in an Online Vox Pop with Voters for the Alternative für Deutschland. Z. Angl. Am. 2019, 67, 283–306. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Gambin, M.; Sharp, C. Relations between empathy and anxiety dimensions in inpatient adolescents. Anxiety Stress Coping 2018, 31, 447–458. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Jütten, L.H.; Mark, R.E.; Sitskoorn, M.M. Empathy in informal dementia caregivers and its relationship with depression, anxiety, and burden. Int. J. Clin. Health Psychol. 2019, 19, 12–21. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Münnich, R.; Gabler, S. 2012: Stichprobenoptimierung und Schätzung in Zensus 2011; Statistisches Bundesamt: Wiesbaden, Germany, 2012; Volume 21.
- Sindermann, C.; Montag, C. Individual differences in need satisfaction and intentions to vote for specific political parties—Results from Germany. Curr. Psychol. 2021. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Schleunes, K.; Turner, H.; Barkin, K.; Bayley, C.; Duggan, L.; Berentsen, W.; Kirby, G.; Elkins, T.; Geary, P.; Sheehan, J. Germany—Political Parties. Available online: https://www.britannica.com/place/Germany (accessed on 23 May 2022).
- Goldenring, J.M.; Doctor, R. Teen-age worry about nuclear war: North American and European questionnaire studies. Int. J. Ment. Health 1986, 15, 72–92. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Scheidt-Nave, C.; Kamtsiuris, P.; Gößwald, A.; Hölling, H.; Lange, M.; Busch, M.A.; Dahm, S.; Dölle, R.; Ellert, U.; Fuchs, J. German health interview and examination survey for adults (DEGS)-design, objectives and implementation of the first data collection wave. BMC Public Health 2012, 12, 730. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [Green Version]
- Betsch, C.; Wieler, L.H.; Habersaat, K. Monitoring behavioural insights related to COVID-19. Lancet 2020, 395, 1255–1256. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Nonnenmacher, A. The Social Representativeness of German Party Membership. Ger. Politics 2019, 28, 201–221. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Mitte, K. Anxiety and risky decision-making: The role of subjective probability and subjective costs of negative events. Personal. Individ. Differ. 2007, 43, 243–253. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Thompson, R.; Zuroff, D.C. The Levels of Self-Criticism Scale: Comparative self-criticism and internalized self-criticism. Personal. Individ. Differ. 2004, 36, 419–430. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Lyon, K.A.; Elliott, R.; Ware, K.; Juhasz, G.; Brown, L.J.E. Associations between Facets and Aspects of Big Five Personality and Affective Disorders: A Systematic Review and Best Evidence Synthesis. J. Affect. Disord. 2021, 288, 175–188. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Huang, I.C.; Lee, J.L.; Ketheeswaran, P.; Jones, C.M.; Revicki, D.A.; Wu, A.W. Does personality affect health-related quality of life? A systematic review. PLoS ONE 2017, 12, e0173806. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [Green Version]
- Chou, W.; Dancygier, R.; Egami, N.; Jamal, A.A. Competing for Loyalists? How Party Positioning Affects Populist Radical Right Voting. Comp. Polit. Stud. 2021, 54, 2226–2260. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Wang, K.; Lin, K.; Yang, S.; Na, S.-G. The Relationship between Social Media Digitalization and Coronavirus Disease 2019 Fear among Service Sector Employees. Front. Psychol. 2021, 12, 702423. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Statistisches Bundesamt. Bildungsstand: Allgemeine Schulausbildung. Available online: https://www.destatis.de/DE/Themen/Gesellschaft-Umwelt/Bildung-Forschung-Kultur/Bildungsstand/Tabellen/bildungsabschluss-privathaush-allgemeine-schulausbildung-insgesamt.html (accessed on 23 May 2022).
SPD | CDU | CSU | FDP | Alliance 90/The Greens | The Left Party | AFD | Other | p-Value | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
N = 643 | N = 435 | N = 159 | N = 326 | N = 576 | N = 247 | N = 295 | N = 410 | ||
Gender | <0.001 | ||||||||
Male | 340 (52.9%) | 223 (51.3%) | 96 (60.4%) | 162 (49.7%) | 232 (40.3%) | 142 (57.5%) | 181 (61.4%) | 178 (43.4%) | |
Female | 303 (47.1%) | 212 (48.7%) | 63 (39.6%) | 164 (50.3%) | 342 (59.4%) | 103 (41.7%) | 114 (38.6%) | 230 (56.1%) | |
Other | 0 (0.0%) | 0 (0.0%) | 0 (0.0%) | 0 (0.0%) | 2 (0.3%) | 2 (0.8%) | 0 (0.0%) | 2 (0.5%) | |
Age (in years) | 49.2 (15.5) | 48.0 (15.0) | 50.5 (14.8) | 43.4 (15.8) | 41.9 (15.5) | 48.4 (15.1) | 47.7 (13.5) | 45.7 (14.4) | <0.001 |
Children in Household | <0.01 | ||||||||
No | 469 (72.9%) | 283 (65.1%) | 110 (69.2%) | 237 (72.7%) | 403 (70.0%) | 174 (70.4%) | 183 (62.0%) | 299 (72.9%) | |
Yes | 174 (27.1%) | 152 (34.9%) | 49 (30.8%) | 89 (27.3%) | 173 (30.0%) | 73 (29.6%) | 112 (38.0%) | 111 (27.1%) | |
Marital Status | <0.001 | ||||||||
Single/Divorced/Widowed/Living Separated: married or in partnership | 261 (40.6%) | 145 (33.3%) | 53 (33.3%) | 121 (37.1%) | 266 (46.2%) | 118 (47.8%) | 111 (37.6%) | 191 (46.6%) | |
Living together: married or in partnership | 382 (59.4%) | 290 (66.7%) | 106 (66.7%) | 205 (62.9%) | 310 (53.8%) | 129 (52.2%) | 184 (62.4%) | 219 (53.4%) | |
Education | <0.001 | ||||||||
Upper Secondary School | 232 (36.1%) | 158 (36.3%) | 61 (38.4%) | 158 (48.5%) | 332 (57.6%) | 100 (40.5%) | 71 (24.1%) | 122 (29.8%) | |
Qualification for Applied Upper Secondary School | 68 (10.6%) | 59 (13.6%) | 18 (11.3%) | 44 (13.5%) | 65 (11.3%) | 26 (10.5%) | 26 (8.8%) | 50 (12.2%) | |
Polytechnic Secondary School | 41 (6.4%) | 18 (4.1%) | 11 (6.9%) | 7 (2.1%) | 11 (1.9%) | 35 (14.2%) | 42 (14.2%) | 31 (7.6%) | |
Intermediate Secondary School | 196 (30.5%) | 151 (34.7%) | 56 (35.2%) | 89 (27.3%) | 127 (22.0%) | 67 (27.1%) | 113 (38.3%) | 157 (38.3%) | |
Lower Secondary School | 102 (15.9%) | 45 (10.3%) | 13 (8.2%) | 26 (8.0%) | 37 (6.4%) | 18 (7.3%) | 42 (14.2%) | 44 (10.7%) | |
Currently in School Training/Education | 2 (0.3%) | 3 (0.7%) | 0 (0.0%) | 2 (0.6%) | 4 (0.7%) | 1 (0.4%) | 1 (0.3%) | 3 (0.7%) | |
Without School-Leaving Qualification | 2 (0.3%) | 1 (0.2%) | 0 (0.0%) | 0 (0.0%) | 0 (0.0%) | 0 (0.0%) | 0 (0.0%) | 3 (0.7%) | |
Migration Background | 0.20 | ||||||||
No | 568 (88.3%) | 375 (86.2%) | 148 (93.1%) | 290 (89.0%) | 493 (85.6%) | 221 (89.5%) | 263 (89.2%) | 363 (88.5%) | |
Yes | 75 (11.7%) | 60 (13.8%) | 11 (6.9%) | 36 (11.0%) | 83 (14.4%) | 26 (10.5%) | 32 (10.8%) | 47 (11.5%) | |
Employment Status | <0.001 | ||||||||
Full-Time Employed | 268 (41.7%) | 206 (47.4%) | 77 (48.4%) | 172 (52.8%) | 243 (42.2%) | 93 (37.7%) | 144 (48.8%) | 162 (39.5%) | |
Retired | 172 (26.7%) | 97 (22.3%) | 47 (29.6%) | 49 (15.0%) | 87 (15.1%) | 60 (24.3%) | 53 (18.0%) | 81 (19.8%) | |
Other | 203 (31.6%) | 132 (30.3%) | 35 (22.0%) | 105 (32.2%) | 246 (42.7%) | 94 (38.1%) | 98 (33.2%) | 167 (40.7%) | |
Chronic Diseases | <0.001 | ||||||||
Absence of chronic diseases | 304 (47.3%) | 231 (53.1%) | 90 (56.6%) | 195 (59.8%) | 358 (62.2%) | 124 (50.2%) | 156 (52.9%) | 215 (52.4%) | |
Presence of at least one chronic disease | 339 (52.7%) | 204 (46.9%) | 69 (43.4%) | 131 (40.2%) | 218 (37.8%) | 123 (49.8%) | 139 (47.1%) | 195 (47.6%) | |
Self-Rated Health (ranging from 1 = very bad to 5 = very good) | 3.5 (0.9) | 3.6 (0.9) | 3.6 (0.9) | 3.7 (0.8) | 3.7 (0.8) | 3.4 (0.9) | 3.5 (1.0) | 3.5 (0.9) | <0.001 |
SPD | CDU | CSU | FDP | Alliance 90/The Greens | The Left Party | AFD | Other | p-Value | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
N = 643 | N = 435 | N = 159 | N = 326 | N = 576 | N = 247 | N = 295 | N = 410 | ||
Fear of a Conventional War (categories): N (%) | |||||||||
No Fear of a Conventional War | 22 (3.4%) | 11 (2.5%) | 7 (4.4%) | 19 (5.8%) | 14 (2.4%) | 13 (5.3%) | 38 (12.9%) | 41 (10.0%) | <0.001 |
Some Fear of a Conventional War | 248 (38.6%) | 194 (44.6%) | 72 (45.3%) | 154 (47.2%) | 251 (43.6%) | 115 (46.6%) | 128 (43.4%) | 204 (49.8%) | |
Severe Fear of a Conventional War | 373 (58.0%) | 230 (52.9%) | 80 (50.3%) | 153 (46.9%) | 311 (54.0%) | 119 (48.2%) | 129 (43.7%) | 165 (40.2%) | |
Fear of a Nuclear War (categories): N (%) | <0.001 | ||||||||
No Fear of a Nuclear War | 34 (5.3%) | 24 (5.5%) | 17 (10.7%) | 26 (8.0%) | 31 (5.4%) | 18 (7.3%) | 40 (13.6%) | 47 (11.5%) | |
Some Fear of a Nuclear War | 285 (44.3%) | 187 (43.0%) | 71 (44.7%) | 149 (45.7%) | 259 (45.0%) | 120 (48.6%) | 143 (48.5%) | 199 (48.5%) | |
Severe Fear of a Nuclear War | 324 (50.4%) | 224 (51.5%) | 71 (44.7%) | 151 (46.3%) | 286 (49.7%) | 109 (44.1%) | 112 (38.0%) | 164 (40.0%) |
Independent Variables | Fear of a Conventional War | Fear of a Nuclear War |
---|---|---|
Political Party Affinity: -CDU (Ref.: SPD) | −0.06 | −0.02 |
(0.06) | (0.07) | |
-CSU | −0.12 | −0.22 * |
(0.09) | (0.10) | |
-FDP | −0.24 *** | −0.22 ** |
(0.07) | (0.08) | |
-Alliance 90/The Greens | −0.03 | −0.04 |
(0.06) | (0.06) | |
-Left Party | −0.17 * | −0.17 + |
(0.08) | (0.09) | |
-AFD | −0.37 *** | −0.41 *** |
(0.09) | (0.09) | |
-Other | −0.45 *** | −0.39 *** |
(0.07) | (0.07) | |
Potential Confounders | ✓ | ✓ |
R2 | 0.08 | 0.09 |
Observations | 3091 | 3091 |
Publisher’s Note: MDPI stays neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations. |
© 2022 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
Share and Cite
Hajek, A.; König, H.-H. Political Party Affinity and Fear of Conventional and Nuclear War in Germany. Psychiatry Int. 2022, 3, 212-220. https://doi.org/10.3390/psychiatryint3030017
Hajek A, König H-H. Political Party Affinity and Fear of Conventional and Nuclear War in Germany. Psychiatry International. 2022; 3(3):212-220. https://doi.org/10.3390/psychiatryint3030017
Chicago/Turabian StyleHajek, André, and Hans-Helmut König. 2022. "Political Party Affinity and Fear of Conventional and Nuclear War in Germany" Psychiatry International 3, no. 3: 212-220. https://doi.org/10.3390/psychiatryint3030017