Date

5-20-2026

Department

School of Education

Degree

Doctor of Education in Educational Leadership (EdD)

Chair

Jeff Savage

Keywords

General self-efficacy, political affiliation, social media use integration, college students, social media, X, cognitive dissonance

Disciplines

Education | Educational Leadership

Abstract

The purpose of this quantitative, causal-comparative research was to determine whether there was a statistically significant difference in general self-efficacy and integration of social media use among college students who were Democrats compared to those who were Republicans. This is a relevant research topic because college students are a priority in the educational system, with attention to their general well-being, academic performance, and the effects of social media on their lives. There is a lack of research on this topic regarding political affiliation. The sample consisted of 165 college students from various colleges and universities. Participants were recruited from an online platform. The participants completed the General Self-Efficacy Scale and the Social Media Use Integration Scale electronically. The data were collected electronically and were imported into SPSS. The results were analyzed using a one-way multivariate analysis of variance. There was no statistically significant difference in the multivariate combinations of the dependent variables, general self-efficacy and social media use integration, between Democrats and Republicans, Wilks Λ = .995, F (2,162) = 0.39, p = .677, ηp² = .005. Therefore, the null hypothesis was not rejected. This means that political affiliation is not a determining factor in the aforementioned general constructs of college students. Study limitations, areas for future research, and other implications are explored.

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