The Role of Group Consciousness in Latino Public Opinion

Abstract

The public opinion of the Latino community is an understudied area within the political science literature. This analysis contributes to this literature by investigating the role of group consciousness across both Latino salient and general policy areas utilizing the 1999 Washington Post/Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation National Survey of Latinos. By including both issue areas that are salient to the Latino community (immigration, bilingual education) as well as those that are not directly tied to Latinos (abortion, death penalty), I test the primary hypothesis that group consciousness has a greater impact on Latino political attitudes across issues that are directly tied to ethnicity than on those that are not. Results from this analysis support the overall theory, as perceived discrimination motivates public opinion toward both immigration and bilingual education, and collective action toward immigration. Among other factors, nativity and the length of time lived in the U.S. have the greatest influence on Latino public opinion.