How Political Polarization Affects our Closest Relationships

Publication Date

Spring 2025

Presentation Length

15 minutes

College

College of Liberal Arts & Social Sciences

Department

Political Science, Department of

Student Level

Undergraduate

SPARK Category

Research

Faculty Advisor

Nathan Griffith

Presentation Type

Poster

Summary

Despite having a wide-variety of theories and perspectives, political polarization is one of the central issues in the field of research political science today. While experts take differing views on how exactly polarization is affecting our political and cultural landscapes, it is well agreed upon that polarization has become an issue in elections across the country that affects the ability of our elected leaders to perform their jobs. On an individual level, political polarization manifests itself as of lack trust in government, the opposite party, and even fellow Americans to do what is right and move the nation in the right direction on issues ranging from economic policy to more moral or normative cultural issues. Experts leading the literature in the study of political polarization have looked at how this divide affects government efficiency and some aspects of social life like political unrest, hate crimes, and trends in online behavior - ultimately how we treat strangers or those opposing our beliefs and identities - but the question remains on how polarization affects our closest relationships. In this study I seek to address this question by comparing 10 years of surveys regarding trust in government and the opposite party in America with data on reported incidents of domestic violence. I expect that rising tension and trends of increased polarization are connected to increase in the incidence of domestic violence across the country due to broader cultural disagreements and lack of individual agency on issues.

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