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Using the SIRDE Model of Social Change to Examine the Vote of Scottish Teenagers in the 2014 Independence Referendum

Grant, Peter R, Bennett, Mark, Abrams, Dominic (2017) Using the SIRDE Model of Social Change to Examine the Vote of Scottish Teenagers in the 2014 Independence Referendum. British Journal of Social Psychology, 56 (3). pp. 455-474. ISSN 0144-6665. E-ISSN 2044-8309. (doi:10.1111/bjso.12186) (KAR id:60310)

Abstract

Five hundred and seventy three Scottish high school students were surveyed in the two months following the 2014 referendum on Scotland’s independence. We used the Social Identity, Relative Deprivation, collective Efficacy (SIRDE) model of social change to examine the social psychological factors that should have influenced the voting choices of these teenagers. Structural equation modeling indicated that the SIRDE model fit the data and largely supported four sets of hypotheses derived from the model. Specifically, i) those with a stronger Scottish identity, ii) those who felt frustrated and angry that Scottish people are discriminated against in British society, and iii) those who believed that Scottish people are not able to improve their relatively poor social conditions within the United Kingdom (a lack of collective efficacy) were more likely to hold separatist beliefs. Further, the relationships between identity, relative deprivation, and collective efficacy, on the one hand, and voting for Scotland’s independence, on the other, were fully mediated by separatist social change beliefs. Consistent with the specificity of the model, neither political engagement nor personal relative deprivation were associated with voting choice, whereas the latter was associated with lower life satisfaction. The implications and limitations of these findings are discussed.

Item Type: Article
DOI/Identification number: 10.1111/bjso.12186
Subjects: H Social Sciences > H Social Sciences (General)
Divisions: Divisions > Division of Human and Social Sciences > School of Psychology
Depositing User: Dominic Abrams
Date Deposited: 10 Feb 2017 10:10 UTC
Last Modified: 04 Mar 2024 19:14 UTC
Resource URI: https://kar.kent.ac.uk/id/eprint/60310 (The current URI for this page, for reference purposes)

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