Overall, many studies have been done that show that women are less likely to favor capital punishment (Ogloff) but the underlying have not been as easy to discern. This study attempts to uncover some of these factors. .
Hypothesis:.
Using data from the General Social Survey from 1998, it is expected that women will be less likely to be in favor of the death penalty. Additionally, women who are married and have more education are expected to be less likely to be in favor of capital punishment. Their political views are expected to create no difference in opinion. By analyzing these comparisons an accurate picture of women's views on capital punishment, as influenced by these variables, should develop.
Analysis:.
This study used capital punishment as the dependent variable and gender as the independent variable. It then used marital status, education level, and political philosophy as control variables to examine their effect on women's views. Univariate analysis of the data shows that out of 2832 respondents, 73.3% (1906) favor capital punishment while 26.7% (693) oppose it. This shows that an overwhelming majority favor the death penalty, further analysis will reveal whether women follow this pattern. .
Bivariate analysis showed that there is a relationship between the two variables. Only 69.1% (998) of women favor the death penalty while 78.7% (908) of men favor it. This shows over a 4% drop for women from the combined percentage of 73%. The Chi-square test had a value of 30.347 with 1 degree of freedom and was significant at the .05 level. These results support the hypothesis that women are less likely to favor the death penalty, but a Cramer's V and phi value of .108 does not suggest a strong relationship. Further analysis may reveal other factors that cause more women to oppose the death penalty.
Multivariate analysis shows that the other variables do effect women's position on capital punishment with one being notably stronger.
