Gender, Media Exposure, Attitude Towards Iraq and the War, and Fear About The War

Abstract

Do exposure to news about Iraq and the prelude to the war matter? Is there a gender difference in exposure to the news and its effects? A total of 135 male and 160 female undergraduate students voluntarily participated in a survey examining the relationships of news exposure, gender, attitudes toward Iraq and the war, and fear about consequences of the war. The data were collected using a self-administered questionnaire. Results of the t-test support the hypothesized difference in the level of news exposure, attitudes toward Iraq and attitudes toward the war across gender, but fail to support the hypothesized gender difference in fear about consequences of the war. Fear of consequences of the war was not related to attitudes toward Iraq and the war. Females were significantly less exposed to news about Iraq and the prelude to the war compared to that of males; females significantly had more unfavourable attitude toward Iraq and more favourable attitude about the war compared to that of males. Results of partial correlation analysis showed that news exposure had direct relationships with attitudes toward Iraq and attitudes toward the war, after controlling the effect of gender. Relationships of gender with attitudes toward Iraq and the prelude to the war were not significant when the effect of news exposure is controlled. The present study clearly provides further evidence on the direct role of news exposure on perception and attitudes.