From Information to Participation: Understanding the Connection Between Black Women’s Political Information Seeking Habits, Socioeconomic Status, and Political Participation

Having the ability to engage in political information seeking – the ability to find, access, and utilize political information – is paramount in allowing people to take part in and make informed political decisions. However, research has shown that experiencing socioeconomic hardship and poverty can lead to lower levels of political information seeking and knowledge. Communications scholar Chelsea Peterson-Salahuddin will investigate how low-income Black women’s socioeconomic experiences, such as increased anxiety due to financial insecurity or lack of access to digital technologies, shape their political information seeking habits and their engagement in other forms of political participation. She will conduct focus groups and in-depth interviews for her study.