International Journal of Research and Scientific Innovation (IJRSI) |Volume X, Issue I, January 2023|ISSN 2321-2705
Marlou Sophia P. Sabariaga, Rose Marie C. Galban, Jessabel S. Paderes, Patricia Jainne S. Zafra, and Argel B. Masanda*
National University Philippines
*Corresponding Author
Abstract: – This study aims to know the relationship between mental well-being and life satisfaction to Political Orientation of Filipino voters. It answers the following questions, what the political orientation of Filipino voters in terms of their cognitive, evaluative, and affective orientation is, the state of the mental well-being of Filipino voters, their level of life satisfaction, the relationship between mental well-being and life satisfaction to the political orientation of Filipino voters. The researchers used quantitative and correlational research design to determine if there is a relationship between mental well-being and life satisfaction to Political orientation. They used self-made political orientation questionnaires, the Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Well-being Scale, and the Satisfaction with Life Scale. The researchers collected the data with questionnaires. It was found that there is moderate positive correlation between Mental Well-being and Life Satisfaction of Filipino Voters to their Political Orientation (r = .603, n = 100, p = .001. This implies that the moderate positive correlation between Mental Well-being and Life Satisfaction of Filipino Voters is significant. It shows that mental well-being and life happiness are important variables in Filipino voters’ political orientation. When viewed as whole, the findings revealed substantial link between Mental Well-being and Life Satisfaction in the Political Orientation of Filipino Voters. This study may serve as a wake-up call to continue exploring, including, and accepting that mental well-being is a part of Filipino health and a reminder of how the actions of the government may affect the mental well-being, life satisfaction, and orientations of the citizens.
Keywords: Political Orientation, Mental Well-being, Life Satisfaction, Filipino Voters, Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Well-Being Scale, Satisfaction with Life Scale
I. Introduction
The latest results of the concluded elections were done in the middle of a pandemic and have been a rollercoaster of emotions for Filipinos as they are excited to know who won in various positions and if their voted candidates won. Some are pleased, and some are not with the concluded election results, as Filipinos’ feelings and opinions towards the government differ from one person to another (Velmonte, 2019). According to Rodolfo (2021), Filipino voters cast their votes in the minds of our countrymen and with good cause. It is their chance to play a part in the future of the Philippines, as elections only happen every six years. Election outcomes may not have an immediate impact, but they will, for better or worse, in six years. Voters actively contribute to guaranteeing an equal and uncorrupted political process, assisting local communities, and establishing a nation as more and more of them are persuaded to vote through organizational campaigns, family influence, or social media. The pandemic became a wake-up call for everybody all around the world. This is where citizens realize how important their votes are (Beilstein et al., 2021), the importance of mental health (Arevalo et al., 2022), and life satisfaction in their country (Dymecka et al., 2021).
According to Knudsen (2021), studying political orientation is crucial because it influences what sorts of future worries citizens have and what problems are brought to the attention of formal political decision-makers. The theory of Almond and Verba (1963) is used in this study as a definition of political orientation. It discussed culture as a group of the distributed orientation of each individual towards the government. They have three categorizations of orientation. These are cognitive, evaluative, and affective. Cognitive orientation refers to the knowledge and the belief of the person towards the government, and Affective orientation refers to the feelings of a person towards the government. Lastly, Evaluative orientation refers to the person’s judgment toward the government. The study utilizes these orientations as how the citizens view the government of the Philippines. In order to effectively function, a democratic country citizen’s needs to share a set of fundamental beliefs and perspective towards different problems in the society, hence the importance of studying the orientation of the citizens regarding to the political system because it will help to determine the impact they have on political participation and can also be a new factor in explaining political behavior (Pastrana Valls, 2018).