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Article published In:
Journal of Asian Pacific Communication
Vol. 27:1 (2017) ► pp.22–42

The demobilizing potential of interpersonal conflict in the Pacific

The case of Guam

| University of Guam
| University at Albany
| Shepherd University

Using the case of Guam, the present study examines the politically demobilizing potential of conflict avoidance in the Pacific. An analysis of data from a probability-based mail survey of registered voters (N = 319) in Guam revealed that conflict avoidance is inversely associated with political participation, civic engagement, and attention to interpersonal sources of information on a political issue. An inverse relationship between conflict avoidance and attention to the Internet as a source of information on a political issue was also approaching statistical significance. However, conflict avoidance was not associated with neighborliness. Implications are discussed.

Keywords: Conflict avoidance, political and civic engagement, attention to sources of political information
Article outline
  • Conflict avoidance
  • Political participation, civic engagement, and neighborliness
  • Attention to information sources regarding a political issue
  • Method
    • Sample and procedure
  • Measures
    • Conflict avoidance
    • Political participation and civic engagement
    • Neighborliness
  • Attention to media and interpersonal sources regarding a political issue
    • Controls
  • Results
  • Discussion
  • Limitations, directions for future research, and conclusion
  • Notes
  • References


This article is currently available as a sample article.

Published online: 23 May 2017
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/japc.27.1.02dal
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