Life satisfaction and the conventionality of political participation: The moderation effect of post-materialist value orientation

Edmund W Cheng, Hiu-Fung Chung*, Hoi-wa Cheng

*Corresponding author for this work

    Research output: Journal Publications and ReviewsRGC 21 - Publication in refereed journalpeer-review

    21 Citations (Scopus)

    Abstract

    Does life satisfaction (LS) predict people’s likelihood of participating in politics? Although the relationship between LS and political participation (PP) has been widely debated, its correlation and causality remain inconclusive. We contribute to the literature by exploring the moderation effect of post-materialist value orientation. By conceptualizing the conventionality of PP as a continuous spectrum, we suggest a new typology beyond the dichotomous understanding. Seventh-wave data from the World Values Survey in Hong Kong indicate that individuals who are more dissatisfied with their lives are more likely to engage in radicalized actions such as strikes and boycotts. This negative relationship is particularly strong among people with a post-materialist orientation, yet LS is not related to electoral participation and normalized actions, including peaceful demonstrations commonly regarded as ‘unconventional’ in previous studies. Furthermore, the results of propensity score matching reinforce the causal claim that LS predicts radicalized action negatively. © The Author(s) 2021
    Original languageEnglish
    Pages (from-to)157-177
    JournalInternational Political Science Review
    Volume44
    Issue number2
    Online published20 May 2021
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - Mar 2023

    Research Keywords

    • Hong Kong
    • Life satisfaction
    • political participation
    • post-materialism
    • protest
    • World Values Survey

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