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Abstract

AAPIs are the fastest-growing racial or ethnic group of eligible voters in the U.S., with the majority being naturalized citizens. Existing research has not kept pace with their increasing influence in recent national elections, highlighting the need for this study. Political knowledge and participation are key indicators of immigrants’ acculturation to their host country. This study investigates the effects of the three major political communication forms, including mass media news use, social network news use, and political discussion, on the relative size of political knowledge and participation gaps among AAPIs in the U.S. The results from a nationally representative survey of AAPIs from 13 national origin groups (N = 3,206) conducted before the 2016 U.S. national election suggest that using the three communication forms generally has strong leveling effects on political knowledge gaps. In contrast, using the same three communication forms has widening effects on participation gaps. Overall, this study supports that communication’s impact on political knowledge and participation varies significantly depending on certain key characteristics of information receivers. It identifies significant variables that substantially influence ethnic voters in democratic political processes. Implications for the field of strategic political communication are discussed, and cross-culturally sensitive insights are provided.

Keywords

political knowledge political participation political literacy mass media news use social network news use political discussion ethnic minority voters immigrants

Introduction

One of the significant demographic trends in the U.S. population is the increasing racial and ethnic diversity. As this trend extends to the electorate, it is crucial to understand ethnic voters to enhance engagement efforts and optimize strategic communication in political campaigns. According to the 2020 Census data, Asians alone (about 20 million people) and Asians in combination with another race (about 4 million people) make up about 7.2% of the population; and Native Hawaiians and other Pacific Islanders alone or in combination with another race make up about 0.5% of the population (Yam & Venkatraman, 2021). Asian Americans are the nation’s fastest-growing racial or ethnic group (Budiman & Ruiz, 2021; Montanaro, 2021; Yam & Venkatraman, 2021), and they are projected to grow to “35.8 million, more than triple their 2000 population” by 2060 (Budiman & Ruiz, 2021, para. 1).

Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (AAPIs) encompass a diverse group of people with ancestral roots in Asia and the Pacific Islands. Asian Americans alone come from more than two dozen, approximately, national origin groups in East, South, Southeast, and Central Asia, including Chinese, Indian, Filipino, Vietnamese, Korean, Japanese, Pakistani, Hmong, Cambodian, Thai, Taiwanese, Bangladeshi, Laotian, Burmese, Nepalese, Indonesian, Sri Lankan, Malaysian, Mongolian, Bhutanese, Okinawan, Uzbek, Kazakh, Mien, Singaporean, Sikh, and others (AAPI Data, 2022; Krogstad & Im, 2025). The first six groups account for roughly 83% to 86% of the Asian population in the U.S. (AAPI Data, 2022; Krogstad & Im, 2025). Similarly, Pacific Islanders in the U.S. come from the Pacific Islands, which include three regions—Polynesia, Micronesia, and Melanesia—and their national origin groups include Native Hawaiian, Samoan, Chamorro, Tongan, Fijian, Marshallese, and others (AAPI Data, 2022; USAFacts, 2023). Among these groups, the first three are the largest in the U.S. (USAFacts, 2023). According to a recent Pew survey of U.S. Asian adults, 52% say that they most often use their ethnicity alone or together with “American” to describe their identity, whereas 51% say that they most often use “American” alone, coupled with their ethnicity, or use the term “Asian American” (Ruiz et al., 2023). This tendency to adopt a dual or layered identity is also seen among Pacific Islanders—“many Pacific Islanders choose to have a transnational identity” (The General Commission on Religion and Race, n.d., para. 5). This pattern reflects the prevalence of complex self-identity formations among both groups in the U.S.

While Asian Americans are often labeled as the “model minority,” there remains a long-standing issue regarding their low political participation levels (see, e.g., Kim, 2017), which do not align with this stereotype. Additionally, AAPIs are frequently viewed as “perpetual foreigners” (Bharath, 2021; Dacanay, n.d.). As per the 2023 STAATUS Index (Social Tracking of Asian Americans in the U.S.) survey, Asian Americans were the least likely among all racial groups to feel belonging and acceptance in the U.S. (The Asian American Foundation, n.d.). Nonetheless, AAPI voters played a vital role in the recent U.S. presidential elections. According to recent U.S. Census data, Asian Americans had the largest increase in turnout rate of any racial or ethnic group between the 2016 and 2020 U.S. presidential elections (Montanaro, 2021). Over the last 20 years, particularly since 2020, Asian Americans have emerged as the fastest-growing group of eligible voters in the U.S., with the majority being naturalized citizens rather than U.S.-born (Budiman et al, 2024). AAPIs are predicted to gain even more strength in American politics (E. Lee, 2021; Montanaro, 2021). These changes will undoubtedly influence future elections. However, existing studies have not kept abreast of these changes in the current electorate. Political engagement, reflected through political literacy and participation, serves as a key indicator of immigrants’ acculturation to their host country. Research specifically focused on race and ethnicity in this area remains limited. To address this major void in the extant literature, therefore, the present study seeks to examine the gaps in political knowledge and participation among AAPI voters during their acculturation process.

The original conceptualization of the knowledge gap hypothesis proposed that “as the infusion of mass media information into a social system increases, segments of the population with higher socioeconomic status tend to acquire this information at a faster rate than the lower status segments, so that the gap in knowledge between these segments tends to increase rather than decrease” (Tichenor et al., 1970, pp. 159–160). That is, it predicts that the knowledge gap between the higher and lower socioeconomic status segments becomes wider with the increased spread of mass media information in a society because the former acquires this information faster than the latter. Research on political knowledge gaps over the past 50 years has extended the knowledge gap concept to participation gaps (see, e.g., Cho & McLeod, 2007; Eveland & Scheufele, 2000; S. Lee, 2019).

Specifically, this study investigates whether, and in what ways, gaps in political knowledge and participation among AAPIs in the U.S. are influenced by the interactions between three communication forms: mass media news use (consuming news through mass media), social network news use (consuming news via social networks), and political discussion (engaging in political discussions); and three receiver characteristics: an ability factor (education) and two motivational factors (political interest and ethnocultural identity). The focus of this study is on these interactions, as demonstrated by how the gaps increase, decrease, or remain constant. This study aims to clarify the roles of major forms of communication in acculturating AAPIs into American society, emphasizing how these forms either reinforce or mitigate inequalities in political knowledge and participation among AAPIs and how key receiver-specific factors influence this process. This study intends to help answer questions related to inclusive civic engagement in American democracy.

Literature Review

The theoretical framework of the present study integrates multiple theories and empirical findings from several streams of research. Because the core of this study lies in addressing political knowledge and participation disparities among AAPIs, the investigation is grounded in the knowledge gap hypothesis and participation gap research. It draws on the uses and gratifications theory to explain that AAPIs have considerable needs to use media as a means of acculturating to the U.S., and it reviews empirical studies on how mass media news use relates to political knowledge or participation. In addition to mass media, political information can also be obtained through interpersonal channels; therefore, this study also draws on the theory of the two-step flow of communication, the multiple-step flow theory, news diffusion research, and empirical studies on how social network news use or political discussion relates to political knowledge or participation. Finally, this study incorporates research on essential characteristics of AAPIs as information receivers that may influence the aforementioned relationships, contributing to both the widening and narrowing of gaps—rather than only widening, as conceptualized in the original knowledge gap hypothesis.

Communication Convergence, Acculturation, and Motivations for Media Consumption

Media and communication convergence has transformed the media landscape, which has accordingly altered the way media and communication should be studied. “When words, images and sounds are transformed into digital information, we expand the potential relationships between them and enable them to flow across platforms” (Jenkins, 2001, p. 93). As Straubhaar and LaRose (2002) argued, “It is no longer as meaningful as it once was to talk about the various media of communication—books, newspapers, magazines, radio, television, film, telephones, and computers—as though they were completely distinct entities” (p. 3). Rapid technological advancement has brought about the merging of different kinds of media. The lines between various traditional and online media and communication forms have blurred. In this digital media age, media and communication across different genres are ubiquitous in people’s lives. Many structural, technical, and aesthetic features, as well as a range of content offered by different types of online and offline media and communication, overlap significantly and are interchangeable for most audiences. They serve similar, cumulative, supplementary, and complementary functions for various purposes, including political learning and participation.

The information-seeking, social interaction, and personal identity motivations in the uses and gratifications theory (Katz et al., 1973, 1974; McQuail et al., 1972, as cited in Katz et al., 1974) could help understand AAPIs’ media consumption behaviors. The theory assumes that people purposefully use media to gratify their needs. With their immigrant background, AAPIs’ needs arise from their social situations; they need to acculturate to the host country fast, so they turn to media to fulfill these needs. They then use what they learn from media to surveil their surroundings and keep up with what is happening that may impact them, and connect and socialize with other people. Besides, they also use media for constructing personal identity (McQuail et al., 1972, as cited in Katz et al., 1974), which includes “personal reference, reality exploration, and value reinforcement” (Katz et al., 1974, p. 23). Enhancing their knowledge and understanding of the self and the world, as well as contact and affiliation with other people, could definitely hasten their acculturation process.

Mass Media News Use and Political Knowledge and Participation

Research generally provides evidence showing that news media use can contribute to political knowledge and participation, and most studies in this area assess the effects of newspapers and TV. Research has found that newspaper use contributes to political knowledge (e.g., Druckman, 2005; Kwak et al., 2005; Moy et al., 2004; Scheufele & Nisbet, 2002; Sotirovic & McLeod, 2004), and so does TV news use (e.g., Moy et al., 2004; Sotirovic & McLeod, 2004; Weaver & Drew, 2001). Norris and Sanders (2003) concluded that political campaign learning is similar among different types of media, including TV news, newspapers, and party websites, so it is the message, not the medium that matters. Research has also found that newspaper use contributes to political participation (e.g., Kwak et al., 2005; McLeod et al., 1996; Scheufele & Nisbet, 2002; Sotirovic & McLeod, 2004; Weaver & Drew, 2001). Research has often found that TV news use and political participation are not related. When such a relationship is found, some studies report that it is positive (e.g., Sotirovic & McLeod, 2004), whereas others report that it is negative (e.g., McLeod et al., 1996).

Whether internet media use contributes to political knowledge and participation/voting is an unsettled research topic, given the complex and constantly evolving nature of the medium. Drew and Weaver (2006) found that exposure/attention to campaign news on the internet is a positive predictor of campaign issue knowledge but not the likelihood of voting. In another study (Weaver & Drew, 2001), they found these forms of internet use did not predict either. Scheufele and Nisbet (2002) found that seeking political information on the internet is not related to political knowledge and participation. Sotirovic and McLeod (2004) found that internet campaign information use is positively related to political knowledge. Dimitrova et al. (2014) examined the use of different digital media types, including online news sites, political party websites, and social media, and concluded that their effects on political knowledge and participation are generally limited.

Social Network News Use, Political Discussion, and Political Knowledge and Participation

The flow of political information could come from multiple sources besides mass media. In Tichenor et al.’s (1970) initial explanation of the knowledge gap hypothesis, one of the five major factors influencing the gap between high and low socioeconomic status groups is the role of social contacts and reference groups within an individual’s social networks. The theory of the two-step flow of communication, the multiple-step flow theory, and the news diffusion research all assert that some segments of the public rely on interpersonal influences to learn about news. From this perspective, both getting political news from interpersonal networks and discussing politics with other people undoubtedly play important roles in the political information transmission process. The theory of the two-step flow of communication (Katz & Lazarsfeld, 2006) suggests that mass media has a limited direct influence on people because most people are influenced by mass media indirectly through two steps. Building upon the two-step flow theory, the multiple-step flow theory (see, e.g., Straubhaar & LaRose, 2002; Weimann, 1994; Wilcox et al., 2015) specifies a greater range of transactions among opinion leaders, mass media and other information sources, and audiences in the process of which information and/or influence radiate outward in the population. In both theories, opinion leaders are in a person’s own social circles of families, friends, coworkers, acquaintances, or members of other social groupings. Furthermore, the news diffusion research (Larsen & Hill, 1954; Rogers, 2000; also see Savage, 1981) suggests that interpersonal communication plays an important role in disseminating news and information.

Empirical research has shown that interpersonal channels, such as interpersonal political discussions, are also important information sources of political news. According to Eveland et al. (2005a, 2005b), mass media use and interpersonal political discussion have a close connection, and both can bring about an increase in political knowledge. Research generally finds that the more frequently people discuss politics or news through traditional offline or some unspecified means, the more informed they are about politics (e.g., Eveland, 2004; Eveland & Hively, 2009; Kwak et al., 2005), and the more likely they are to participate in politics (e.g., Eveland & Hively, 2009; Kwak et al., 2005).

Education, Political Interest, and Ethnocultural Identity

Education, which is commonly considered a proxy for cognitive ability and used as a crucial indicator of socioeconomic status, is a powerful predictor of political knowledge in many knowledge gap studies (e.g., Dalisay & Liu, 2015; Eveland & Scheufele, 2000; Liu & Eveland, 2005; Wei & Hindman, 2011). The research examines how news media use increases or decreases the political knowledge gap between groups with more and less education. Kleinnijenhuis (1991) argued that for less educated people, acquiring political knowledge from TV news is more efficient than from newspapers, whereas it is the opposite for higher-educated people. Studies have found that newspaper use widens the gap between these groups (e.g., Liu & Eveland, 2005), but TV news use narrows it (e.g., Eveland & Scheufele, 2000; Kwak, 1999; Liu & Eveland, 2005). Studies have also found that newspaper use closes the knowledge gap (e.g., Eveland & Scheufele, 2000). The notion of TV possessing a leveling effect in this line of research supports Tichenor et al.’s (1970) proposition that “since television use tends to be less correlated with education, there is a possibility that television may be a ‘knowledge leveler’ in some areas” (p. 170). Wei and Hindman (2011) found that when internet news use increases, the more educated learn much more than the less educated, widening the political knowledge gap between them.

Political interest is typically a predictor of political knowledge and political participation. Research has found that people with more political interest have more political knowledge and participation (Eveland & Scheufele, 2000; McLeod et al., 1979). Conducting 50 comparisons across ten independent variables about media sources and five criterion variables about electoral participation, including political knowledge and participation, McLeod et al. (1979) concluded that widening the gap is much more likely than closing the gap when analyzing political interest as the moderator in these relationships. Liu and Eveland (2005) found that campaign interest moderates the relationship between TV news use and issue stance knowledge; more specifically, the knowledge gap between the more and less interested is closed by TV news use. S. Lee (2019) found that the more social media use, the smaller the political knowledge gap and the larger the protest participation gap between high and low political interest groups; the former is driven by a decrease in knowledge among those with high interest, whereas the latter is driven by an increase in participation among those with high interest.

Ethnocultural identity is an important receiver characteristic, especially among people with immigrant backgrounds. Distinctiveness theory (McGuire, 1984; McGuire et al., 1978) posits that the trait that makes numeric minority members (e.g., being AAPI) distinctive from numeric majority members (e.g., being White) is highly salient to minority members; or more salient to them than more common traits possessed by others in the environment. Unlike education and political interest, which research consistently finds to be predictors of political knowledge and participation (e.g., McLeod et al., 1979), ethnocultural identity has remained an understudied factor in existing knowledge- and participation-gap research, with limited literature, particularly concerning AAPI voters. The present study proposes that AAPIs’ ethnocultural identity plays a significant role in what they know about politics and how actively they participate in political activities.

Presumably, AAPIs’ sense of self or identity in American society is heavily influenced by their race, ethnicity, and culture to varying degrees. As indicated by research, ethnocultural identity can be multifaceted, and multiple cultural identities can coexist harmoniously within a person. The orthogonal cultural identification theory asserts that identifying with one culture is independent of identifying with any other (Oetting & Beauvais, 1990–1991). According to Gudykunst (2001), “the extent to which Asian Americans identify with their ethnic groups (i.e., the strength of their ethnic identities) influences the degree to which they think and act as members of their ethnic groups” (p. 89). Also, they “identify to some extent with the mainstream U.S. culture (i.e., they have cultural identities)” (Gudykunst, 2001, pp. 89–90). Research suggests that Asian Americans benefit from having both strong Asian and strong American identities (Cheryan & Tsai, 2006). In a broader sense, research suggests that people's racial and ethnic identities can influence their political lives (T. Lee, 2008) and their understanding of political news (Crowder-Meyer & Ferrín, 2021).

In sum, the audiovisual technologies available through various mass-mediated and interpersonal communication channels in today’s converged and interconnected media and communication environment can facilitate learning for the less educated. Behavioral change is a more challenging communication goal than mere learning, and the changes in the media and communication environment do not necessarily make the less educated more behaviorally engaged in political activities. Therefore, based on this logic and existing literature, the following hypotheses were posed:

Based on existing literature, the following hypotheses were posed:

H1a: The relationships between the three communication forms and political knowledge will be stronger among those with less education than those with more education.

H1b: The relationships between the three communication forms and political participation will be stronger among those with more education than those with less education.

H2a: The relationships between the three communication forms and political knowledge will be stronger among those with higher political interest than those with lower political interest.

H2b: The relationships between the three communication forms and political participation will be stronger among those with higher political interest than those with lower political interest.

Beyond the conventional education- and political interest-based analyses, this study also assesses ethnocultural identity as an additional moderator. Due to limited research in this area, the following research question was posed:

RQ1: Whether and in what ways do variations in ethnocultural identity account for the variations in the relationships between the three communication forms on the one hand, and political knowledge and participation on the other?

Method

Data Source

Data for this study were acquired from the National Asian American Survey (NAAS) 2016 Pre-Election Survey (Ramakrishnan et al., 2018) conducted before the 2016 national election in the United States. This cross-sectional survey, with a response rate of 21.8%, contained individual interviews with 4,787 respondents, who were adult U.S. residents self-identifying as Asian or Asian American, Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander, White, African American or Black, Hispanic or Latino, Native American or American Indian, and multiracial. All the interviews were conducted by telephone using the respondents’ preferred languages from August to October 2016. Geographically, the sampling frame covered the entire country. The sample analyzed in the present study is comprised of 3,206 respondents who considered their background to be Asian or Asian American (2,872 respondents) or Pacific Islander (334 respondents). The former included Cambodian, Chinese, Filipino, Hmong, Indian, Japanese, Korean, Laotian, Vietnamese, and Taiwanese, whereas the latter included Native Hawaiian, Samoan, Fijian, and Tongan. 71.6% of them were born in other countries, and 93.6% of them were U.S. citizens. They were living in 46 states in the U.S.

Measures

Independent Variables

There are three forms of communication, including mass-mediated sources and interpersonal sources of political information. Mass media news use was constructed from the five items asking respondents’ attention to U.S. political news from magazines (M = 0.91, SD = 1.12, range = 0–4), newspapers (M = 1.37, SD = 1.33, range = 0–4), radio (M = 1.24, SD = 1.24, range = 0–4), television (M = 2.27, SD = 1.28, range = 0–4), and the internet and social media (M = 1.76, SD = 1.47, range = 0–4, α = .61). News from social networks was constructed from the two items asking respondents’ attention to U.S. political news from friends and family (M = 1.49, SD = 1.23, range = 0–4) and organizations and leaders in their community (M = 0.99, SD = 1.20, range = 0–4, r = .53). Political discussion was an average of two items: whether respondents discussed politics with their family and friends (M = 0.60, SD = 0.49, range = 0–1) and whether they posted or commented about politics on any of the several popular social media sites (M = 0.17, SD = 0.38, range = 0–1, r = .24) in the last 12 months.

Moderating Variables

By asking respondents to provide the highest degree or level of schooling they had completed, education was measured as an ordinal variable with six categories ranging from no schooling completed to a graduate or professional degree (Mdn = 4 [some college, but no degree]). Political interest was measured by asking respondents how interested they were in politics (M = 2.58, SD = 1.02, range = 1–4). Ethnocultural identity was constructed from three items asking respondents how important being a member of their race (M = 2.84, SD = 0.98, range = 1–4), ethnicity (M = 2.95, SD = 0.98, range = 1–4), and American (M = 3.01, SD = 0.91, range = 1–4), respectively, was to their identity (α = .75).

Control Variables

Gender was coded with female as 0 (52%) and male as 1 (48%). Respondent birth year was recoded to age, which ranged from 18 to 97 years old (M = 57.10, SD = 18.46). Income was measured as an ordinal variable with seven categories ranging from up to $20,000 to $250,000+ (Mdn = 3 [$50,000–$75,000]).

Dependent Variables

Political knowledge was constructed from the three items eliciting the respondents’ knowledge about the political party that currently had the most members in the U.S. House of Representatives, the political office that Joe Biden currently held, and the political office that the leader of the respondents’ birth country held. Respondents were given one point if their answer was correct, and “don’t know” and “refused” were treated as incorrect answers. Responses to the three items were totaled and used to form a percentage index (M = 47.65, SD = 32.33, range = 0–100, α = .57). Political participation was constructed from 11 items asking respondents whether they were involved in various political and civic activities offline and/or online in the last 12 months, including contributing money to campaigns, contacting U.S. government officials, and voting in primaries or caucuses earlier in the year, among others. A “yes” response to any of these items was given one point, whereas a “no” response earned no points, and “don’t know” and “refused” were handled as missing values. Responses to the 11 items were totaled and used to form a percentage index (M = 21.37, SD = 20.67, range = 0–100, α = .77).

Data Analysis

The knowledge gap can be tested by analyzing either longitudinal data on a single topic to inspect changes in the size of the gap as publicity of this topic in the media changes over time or cross-sectional data on topics with different levels of publicity in the media at a given point in time (Tichenor et al., 1970). Additionally, the third approach gauges the impact of media publicity by analyzing cross-sectional data on individuals’ use of certain information sources to inspect the gap at a given point in time. The present study followed the third approach employed by previous research on knowledge and participation gaps (Dalisay & Liu, 2015; Eveland & Scheufele, 2000; Kwak, 1999; Liu & Eveland, 2005) to investigate whether there were statistical interactions between the communication forms and the receiver characteristics in predicting political knowledge and participation. Thus, the moderated multiple regression approach using a series of ordinary least squares (OLS) regression models was performed by using SPSS Statistics 28. Preliminary analyses using scatter plots indicated that bivariate linearity existed between the components of the interaction terms and the dependent variables. To lessen the concern about multicollinearity, the three interaction terms were entered into the regression equations one at a time. All the numeric differences in political knowledge and participation were calculated by 1 SD above the mean subtracting 1 SD below the mean; percentage increase and decrease were calculated based on the absolute values. The figures of statistically significant interaction effects were also drawn as such.

Results

The relationships among the primary predictors and the main effects of those predictors in the models were examined first before delving into the interaction effects. The zero-order correlations reported in Table 1 indicate that education and political interest were positively related to the three communication forms. Ethnocultural identity was positively related to social network news use but negatively related to political discussion. Ethnocultural identity, however, was unrelated to mass media news use. Moreover, the three communication forms had positive relationships with each other. Individuals with higher education levels had higher political interest but lower ethnocultural identity, and vice versa.

Table 1.

Correlations Between Education, Political Interest, Ethnocultural Identity, Mass Media News Use, Social Network News Use, and Political Discussion.

	Education	Political interest	Ethnocultural identity	Mass media news use	Social network news use	Political discussion
Education	—	.16***	−.22***	.32***	.20***	.41***
Political interest	—	—	.04	.25***	.12***	.20***
Ethnocultural identity	—	—	—	−.02	.08***	−.10***
Mass media news use	—	—	—	—	.52***	.29***
Social network news use	—	—	—	—	—	.28***
Political discussion	—	—	—	—	—	—

Note. Values are Pearson correlation coefficients of the political knowledge models and the political participation models.

***

p < .001, two-tailed test.

Furthermore, Tables 2 to 4 show that men and older people were more likely to be more knowledgeable than women and younger people. Education and political interest were significant positive predictors of political knowledge, whereas ethnocultural identity was a significant negative predictor of political knowledge. The three receiver characteristics were all positively associated with political participation. Also, mass media news use and political discussion were significant positive predictors of political knowledge. By contrast, social network news use was a significant negative predictor of political knowledge. In the political participation models, social network news use and political discussion were positive predictors. Mass media news use did not predict political participation.

Table 2.

Regression Analyses of Political Knowledge and Participation by News Use, Political Discussion, and Education.

	Political knowledge			Political participation
	Mass media model	Social networks model	Discussion model	Mass media model	Social networks model	Discussion model
Block 1
Age	.25***	.25***	.25***	−.04^#	−.04^#	−.04^#
Gender (male)	.14***	.14***	.14***	.04	.04	.04
Income	.11***	.11***	.11***	.10***	.10***	.10***
Education	.26***	.26***	.26***	.11***	.11***	.11***
Political interest	.07**	.07**	.07**	.12***	.12***	.12***
Ethnocultural identity	−.08**	−.08**	−.08**	.08***	.08***	.08***
Mass media news use	.11***	.11***	.11***	−.02	−.02	−.02
Social network news use	−.08**	−.08**	−.08**	.18***	.18***	.18***
Political discussion	.11***	.11***	.11***	.40***	.40***	.40***
R²	.29***	.29***	.29***	.39***	.39***	.39***
Adjusted R²	.28***	.28***	.28***	.38***	.38***	.38***
Block 2
Education*Mass media news use	−.04^#(p = .066)	—	—	.03	—	—
Education*Social network news use	—	−.06*(p = .014)	—	—	.05*(p = .035)	—
Education*Political discussion	—	—	−.06*(p = .015)	—	—	.06*(p = .012)
R²	.29***	.29***	.29***	.39***	.39***	.39***
Adjusted R²	.28***	.28***	.28***	.38***	.38***	.38***

Note. Values are standardized regression coefficients. Variables in Block 1 do not control for those in Block 2. Variables in Block 2 control for those in Block 1 and for one another.

p < .10, *p < .05, **p < .01, ***p < .001, two-tailed test.

Table 3.

Regression Analyses of Political Knowledge and Participation by News Use, Political Discussion, and Political Interest.

	Political knowledge model			Political participation model
	Mass media model	Social networks model	Discussion model	Mass media model	Social networks model	Discussion model
Block 1
Age	.25***	.25***	.25***	−.04^#	−.04^#	−.04^#
Gender (male)	.14***	.14***	.14***	.04	.04	.04
Income	.11***	.11***	.11***	.10***	.10***	.10***
Education	.26***	.26***	.26***	.11***	.11***	.11***
Political interest	.07**	.07**	.07**	.12***	.12***	.12***
Ethnocultural identity	−.08**	−.08**	−.08**	.08***	.08***	.08***
Mass media news use	.11***	.11***	.11***	−.02	−.02	−.02
Social network news use	−.08**	−.08**	−.08**	.18***	.18***	.18***
Political discussion	.11***	.11***	.11***	.40***	.40***	.40***
R²	.29***	.29***	.29***	.39***	.39***	.39***
Adjusted R²	.28***	.28***	.28***	.38***	.38***	.38***
Block 2
Interest*Mass media news use	.05*(p = .047)	—	—	.05*(p = .012)	—	—
Interest*Social network news use	—	−.02	—	—	.02	—
Interest*Political discussion	—	—	−.00	—	—	.10***(p < .001)
R²	.29***	.29***	.29***	.39***	.39***	.40***
Adjusted R²	.28***	.28***	.28***	.38***	.38***	.39***

Note. Values are standardized regression coefficients. Variables in Block 1 do not control for those in Block 2. Variables in Block 2 control for those in Block 1 and for one another.

p < .10, *p < .05, **p < .01, ***p < .001, two-tailed test.

Table 4.

Regression Analyses of Political Knowledge and Participation by News Use, Political Discussion, and Ethnocultural Identity.

	Political knowledge model			Political participation model
	Mass media model	Social networks model	Discussion model	Mass media model	Social networks model	Discussion model
Block 1
Age	.25***	.25***	.25***	−.04^#	−.04^#	−.04^#
Gender (male)	.14***	.14***	.14***	.04	.04	.04
Income	.11***	.11***	.11***	.10***	.10***	.10***
Education	.26***	.26***	.26***	.11***	.11***	.11***
Political interest	.07**	.07**	.07**	.12***	.12***	.12***
Ethnocultural identity	−.08**	−.08**	−.08**	.08***	.08***	.08***
Mass media news use	.11***	.11***	.11***	−.02	−.02	−.02
Social network news use	−.08**	−.08**	−.08**	.18***	.18***	.18***
Political discussion	.11***	.11***	.11***	.40***	.40***	.40***
R²	.29***	.29***	.29***	.39***	.39***	.39***
Adjusted R²	.28***	.28***	.28***	.38***	.38***	.38***
Block 2
Identity*Mass media news use	.05*(p = .033)	—	—	.02	—	—
Identity*Social network news use	—	.06*(p = .010)	—	—	−.02	—
Identity*Political discussion	—	—	.05*(p = .031)	—	—	.01
R²	.29***	.29***	.29***	.39***	.39***	.39***
Adjusted R²	.28***	.28***	.28***	.38***	.38***	.38***

Note. Values are standardized regression coefficients. Variables in Block 1 do not control for those in Block 2. Variables in Block 2 control for those in Block 1 and for one another.

p < .10, *p < .05, **p < .01, ***p < .001, two-tailed test.

Table 2 shows a marginally significant negative interaction effect between mass media news use and education (β = −.04, p = .07), and significant negative interaction effects between social network news use and education (β = −.06, p < .05) and between political discussion and education (β = −.06, p < .05). Except for Figure 2, as Figures 1 and 3 reveal, the forms of interactions are consistent with the hypothesis. The difference in political knowledge between the more educated and the less educated decreased by about 29% from 19.77 to 14.04, about 36% from 20.83 to 13.30, and about 40% from 20.40 to 12.27, respectively. These suggest that the political knowledge gaps were less likely to occur among those who used mass media news or social network news more frequently or discussed politics more often. These patterns of interactions indicate that the relationships between mass media news use and political knowledge and between political discussion and political knowledge were stronger among those with less education than those with more education. That is, mass media news use and political discussion had a greater impact on political knowledge among those with lower levels of education. In a different interaction pattern, the relationship between social network news use and political knowledge was stronger among those with more education than among those with less education. In other words, social network news use had a greater impact on political knowledge among individuals with higher levels of education. H1a is, therefore, mostly supported.

Figure 1.

Interaction of mass media news use and education predicting political knowledge.

Figure 2.

Interaction of social network news use and education predicting political knowledge.

Figure 3.

Interaction of political discussion and education predicting political knowledge.

Although mass media news use did not interact with education, Table 2 indicates significant positive interaction effects between social network news use and education (β = .05, p < .05) and between political discussion and education (β = .06, p < .05). The interactions were of the form predicted in H1b, as illustrated in Figures 4 and 5. The difference in political participation between the more educated and the less educated increased by about 130% from 3.29 to 7.58 and about 176% from 3.16 to 8.72, respectively. These suggest that the political participation gaps were more likely to occur among those who more frequently used news from social networks or discussed politics. These patterns of interactions indicate that the relationships between social network news use and political participation and between political discussion and political participation were stronger among the more educated than the less. That is, the impact of the two communication forms on political participation was stronger among those with more education than among those with less education. Therefore, these findings mostly support H1b.

Figure 4.

Interaction of social network news use and education predicting political participation.

Figure 5.

Interaction of political discussion and education predicting political participation.

Table 3 shows partial support for H2a. The results indicate that a significant positive interaction consistent in form with H2a (see Figure 6) was found between mass media news use and political interest in predicting political knowledge (β = .05, p < .05). The difference in political knowledge between the more politically interested and the less politically interested increased by about 370% from 1.48 to 6.95. This suggests that the political knowledge gap was more likely to occur among individuals who consumed mass media news more frequently. The positive relationship between mass media news use and political knowledge was more pronounced among those with higher political interest than among those with lower interest. That is, mass media news use had a greater impact on political knowledge among those with more interest in politics. H2a also predicted interactions between social network news use and political interest and between political discussion and political interest. Table 3 indicates that they were not significant.

Figure 6.

Interaction of mass media news use and political interest predicting political knowledge.

Table 3 shows significant positive interaction effects between mass media news use and political interest (β = .05, p < .05) and between political discussion and political interest (β = .10, p < .001). The interactions were of the form predicted (see Figures 7 and 8). The difference in political participation between high- and low-interest groups increased by about 171% from 2.69 to 7.29 and about 14,983% from 0.06 to 9.05. These suggest that the political participation gaps were more likely to occur among those who more frequently consumed news from mass media or discussed politics. These interaction patterns indicate that the relationships between mass media news use and political participation and between political discussion and political participation were stronger among those more politically interested than those less interested. That is, the two communication forms had greater relationships with political participation among those with higher political interest compared to those with lower interest. However, there was no significant interaction between social network news use and political interest. H2b is, therefore, mostly supported.

Figure 7.

Interaction of mass media news use and political interest predicting political participation.

Figure 8.

Interaction of political discussion and political interest predicting political participation.

Table 4 indicates statistically significant positive interaction effects between mass media news use and ethnocultural identity (β = .05, p < .05), social network news use and ethnocultural identity (β = .06, p < .05), and political discussion and ethnocultural identity (β = .05, p < .05) in predicting political knowledge. As Figures 9 and 11 reveal, the forms of interactions are similar to those in Figures 1 and 3. The form of interaction shown in Figure 10 is similar to that in Figure 2. The difference in political knowledge between those with higher ethnocultural identity and those with lower ethnocultural identity decreased by about 76% from 8.08 to 1.95, 86% from 8.53 to 1.19, and 76% from 8.39 to 2.05, respectively. These suggest that the political knowledge gaps were less likely to occur among those who more frequently used mass media news or social network news, or discussed politics. These patterns of interactions mean that the relationships between mass media news use and political knowledge and between political discussion and political knowledge were stronger among those with a higher ethnocultural identity than those with a lower sense of identity. That is, mass media news use and political discussion had a greater impact on political knowledge among those with higher levels of ethnocultural identity. In a different interaction pattern, the relationship between social network news use and political knowledge was stronger among those with a lower ethnocultural identity than those with a higher sense of identity. That is, social network news use had a greater impact on political knowledge among individuals with lower levels of ethnocultural identity. No significant interaction was found in the political participation models. With the presence of significant interactions, the results provide evidence for RQ1.

Figure 9.

Interaction of mass media news use and ethnocultural identity predicting political knowledge.

Figure 10.

Interaction of social network news use and ethnocultural identity predicting political knowledge.

Figure 11.

Interaction of political discussion and ethnocultural identity predicting political knowledge.

Discussion

This study uncovers important variables that significantly influence AAPI voters’ acculturation to American society by addressing gaps in two important indicators of political engagement: knowledge and participation. The study findings indicate strong evidence that communication reduces inequalities in political knowledge. However, there is also evidence suggesting that communication exacerbates inequalities in political participation. By expanding on and advancing previous research, this study makes a number of important theoretical and practical contributions to the field of strategic political communication. For real-world applications, this study provides cross-culturally sensitive insights intended to help communicators better understand these disparities and opportunities, and to develop effective communication strategies that foster a politically informed and engaged citizenry. The key findings and their important implications are discussed below.

First, this study found that the political knowledge gaps between AAPI groups with more and less education, as well as high and low ethnocultural identity, decrease with greater use of the three communication forms. The gaps are leveled, and the leveling processes occur through different mechanisms. Specifically, the gaps between these groups narrowed among those with high levels of mass media news use or political discussion. The gaps are mainly narrowed upward from a greater increase in political knowledge among individuals with lower education (Figures 1 and 3) or those with a stronger ethnocultural identity (Figures 9 and 11), who use the two communication forms to compensate for the unevenness. These findings also suggest that consuming news about politics from various mass media channels or engaging in discussing politics with others help AAPIs learn about politics regardless of their education or identity levels. Therefore, these two communication forms, generally aligning with the theoretical expectations outlined earlier in this article, help AAPIs—especially those with lower education or a stronger ethnocultural identity—in the acculturation process by reducing inequalities in political knowledge.

Second, this study found that AAPIs’ social networks are not effective channels for acquiring political knowledge. Regardless of the levels of education or ethnocultural identity, the more people tune in to political news from their family, friends, and community leaders and organizations, the less political knowledge they have. The knowledge gaps between AAPI groups with more and less education, as well as high and low ethnocultural identity, narrowed among those with increased use of social network news. Nonetheless, the gaps are mainly narrowed downward due to a greater decrease in knowledge among individuals with higher education (Figure 2) or a weaker ethnocultural identity (Figure 10). This is different from what was found for the other two forms of communication discussed earlier, where the leveling effects were primarily driven by a greater increase in knowledge among those with lower education or a stronger identity. While the narrowing of the gaps suggests that consuming news from social networks can foster equality in political knowledge, it’s important to note that both groups experience a decline in knowledge when consuming more news from their social networks. Therefore, AAPIs may not benefit from using news shared within their social networks, as it could hinder their acculturation process.

This finding may have negative implications for democracy and could potentially challenge the mediating role of interpersonal influencers in the theory of the two-step flow of communication, the multiple-step flow theory, and the news diffusion research. Several possible explanations exist for why AAPIs’ social networks may not contribute to the gain of their factual general political knowledge. One possible explanation is that the political news in AAPIs’ social networks may predominantly feature news about their ethnic groups. Another possible explanation is the lack of reliable sources or the presence of misinformation within their social networks, as merely paying attention—without engaging higher-level cognitive abilities such as reflection or elaboration—may be insufficient. A third explanation is the media displacement theory (see, e.g., Xie, 2016), which posits that expending time on one medium or communication activity reduces time available for other media or communication activities. AAPIs’ access to other news channels may be displaced when relying on social networks for political news. This could also create a mistaken perception that they are learning about political issues when, in reality, this learning is inadequate. This may be particularly discouraging for individuals with higher education or a weaker ethnocultural identity because their political knowledge base may be greatly diminished by relying on social network news when they could have otherwise expanded their knowledge by using other communication forms. To address this issue, communicators might focus on helping AAPIs discern reliable sources within their social networks and develop critical thinking skills for consuming news.

Third, consistent with prior research indicating that the more educated and politically interested individuals are, the more politically knowledgeable they tend to be, AAPIs show a similar pattern. That said, the findings related to a relatively new moderator on this topic—ethnocultural identity—are noteworthy and warrant closer examination. Based on the results, as mentioned earlier in this section, increased engagement with news through mass media or interpersonal discussion enhances AAPIs’ political knowledge, particularly among those with a stronger ethnocultural identity, thereby narrowing the gaps (Figures 9 and 11). The results also indicate that ethnocultural identity does influence AAPIs’ political learning, with weak identifiers being more politically knowledgeable than strong identifiers. A possible explanation is based on the Identity Driven Information Ecosystem (Hiaeshutter-Rice et al., 2024), which emphasizes the crucial role that people’s identities play in shaping their information selection, exposure, and processing; it looks at how people are likely to seek information and communication sites that are consistent with their identities. From this perspective, the finding that AAPIs with strong ethnocultural identification possess less political knowledge might be due to the possibility that too strong an identity leads to selective exposure and biased information processing, thus hindering learning and resulting in less factual and accurate political knowledge gain. Given the abundance of diverse political news sources and digital technologies in today’s media and communication environment, AAPIs with a stronger ethnocultural identity can easily selectively seek only the content related to their identity or aligned with their identity-related interests or interpret it from their identity-related viewpoints while disregarding or being less open to broader political news or other perspectives. For this reason, it is important to note that, while ethnocultural identity can motivate political learning among AAPI voters, excessive identification may obstruct the comprehension of political facts, which is crucial for strengthening democracy. Developing communication strategies that balance identity with political facts might be the best path forward.

Fourth, in addition to discovering multiple equalizing effects on the knowledge gaps, this study also found one widening effect: the knowledge gap between the politically interested and the less interested increased among those with high levels of mass media news use. Although mass media news use doesn’t negatively affect those with less interest, the gap is mainly widened upward from a larger growth in political knowledge among the more interested (Figure 6). Furthermore, the findings regarding political participation gaps generally also suggest widening effects, with multiple instances of these effects observed, which contrast notably with the predominantly equalizing effects found in knowledge gaps. More specifically, the participation gaps between AAPIs with more and less education widened among those with high levels of social network news use or political discussion. The gaps are mainly widened upward from a greater increase in participation among the more educated (Figures 4 and 5). In similar patterns, the participation gaps between AAPIs with high and low political interest widened among those who had high levels of mass media news use or political discussion. The gaps are mainly widened upward from a greater boost in participation among the more interested (Figures 7 and 8). Overall, these findings suggest that the widening gaps in political knowledge or participation among AAPI groups, with differences in levels of education or political interest, result from the three communication forms in general, which disproportionately benefit those who already have higher levels of knowledge or participation—that is, the more educated or politically interested. In other words, these communication forms exacerbate existing inequalities in political knowledge or participation.

Therefore, to bridge these gaps, communicators could explore how enhancing a receiver characteristic can amplify the effects of a communication form, or vice versa, with both potentially mutually reinforcing one another, thereby making the use of the communication form more effective in boosting political knowledge or participation. Specifically, to bridge the education-based political participation gaps via social network news or online and offline discussions, communicators could simplify complex mobilizing information (Lemert, 1984) by using easier-to-understand language and incorporating various types of visual aids, and they could also help sharpen the news literacy skills of the less educated, both aimed at enhancing their ability and confidence. Communicators could also address other socioeconomic status-related factors that prevent the less educated from participating by using these communication forms to emphasize ways to reduce both monetary and non-monetary costs associated with participation. To bridge the political-interest-based gaps in political knowledge and participation via mass media news or online and offline discussions, communicators could employ strategies aimed at increasing political interest among the less interested, such as promoting their political efficacy to foster a sense of relevance and empowerment, minimizing feelings of apathy and disconnection, using more inclusive and tailored language, and presenting content in more relatable and engaging ways. Furthermore, challenges related to English proficiency in these forms of communication may limit AAPIs’ capacity to acquire political knowledge and participate in political activities. Therefore, to assist the less educated or the less interested, communicators could collaborate with opinion leaders and influencers who share AAPIs’ race or ethnicity and leverage ethnic media to reduce language barriers.

The fifth category of research findings pertains to nonsignificant interactions, suggesting that the effect of a communication form on political knowledge or participation remains equivalent across varying levels of a receiver characteristic. In predicting political knowledge, no interaction was found: social network news use (–) × political interest (+) and political discussion (+) × political interest (+). In predicting political participation, no interaction was found: mass media news use (ns) × education (+), social network news use (+) × political interest (+), mass media news use (ns) × ethnocultural identity (+), social network news use (+) × ethnocultural identity (+), and political discussion (+) × ethnocultural identity (+). Here, “+” denotes a significant positive main effect, “–” denotes a significant negative main effect, and “ns” indicates a non-significant main effect. The results indicate that the statistical significance of all main effects discussed in this section remains consistent across models with and without the interaction term.

Three main areas emerge, offering insights for communicators on bridging potential gaps. First, communicators could focus solely on optimizing the use of communication forms to address potential gaps. The findings collectively suggest that for AAPIs, across levels of the three receiver characteristics, more two-way, interpersonally oriented communication forms—such as social network news use and political discussion—may be more effective in mobilizing political participation than mass media news use. Participating in political activities, as opposed to merely understanding the issues, requires specific mobilizing information about these activities. It is possible that these interpersonal channels are more effective at conveying such information compared to the overly cluttered environment of mass media news channels, where such information may easily be overlooked. Thus, while social network news might be less effective as a channel for AAPIs to acquire political knowledge, it can serve as a powerful tool for encouraging their political participation. Second, the results indicate that ethnocultural identity and political participation are positively correlated across all the three ethnocultural identity models. This finding suggests that communicators could incorporate ethnoculturally specific cues (see, e.g., Appiah & Liu, 2009) or messages highlighting societal norms or values, such as those within the individualism-collectivism cultural dimension (see, e.g., Hofstede, 2011), both of which are designed to activate the ethnocultural identities of AAPIs and may thereby encourage political participation among them in general. Future research could further investigate how ethnocultural identity influences AAPIs’ engagement in political activities.

The final main area in this category highlights the findings that both political discussion and political interest independently contribute to political knowledge, whereas social network news use and political interest, social network news use and ethnocultural identity, and political discussion and ethnocultural identity each contribute to political participation independently of each other. This suggests that to bridge potential gaps, communicators could develop strategies based on either of these communication forms or receiver characteristics separately, without needing to integrate both categories of factors. Strategies focusing on either of the two communication forms alone might involve a deeper understanding of AAPIs’ channel-specific political news engagement behaviors and skills, encouraging more frequent political news engagement, improving accessibility to political news, and delivering quality content in optimal formats. Similarly, strategies could center solely on enhancing AAPIs’ political interest or cultivating their ethnocultural identification, and some ideas about these strategies have been explored earlier in this section. When implemented together, these two separate sets of strategies could reinforce each other, resulting in additive or complementary effects rather than interactive ones, ultimately achieving a comprehensive impact.

Limitations of the Study and Future Research

This study certainly has limitations, and therefore, some directions for future research are suggested below. First, the survey assessed general political knowledge. Future research could also assess a broad spectrum of political knowledge, such as political candidates’ or leaders’ stances on various political issues, to gain a more thorough understanding of AAPIs’ acquisition of political knowledge. Second, another limitation is the marginally reliable alpha score for the political discussion measure. While the reliability score of this index was not ideal, this index falls into the type of index in which lower reliability scores may be acceptable. As Eveland and Hively (2009) argued, this type of index is “more of a count of behaviors that are functional alternatives rather than a series of behaviors that each tap the same underlying construct” (p. 221). This study is secondary research that analyzes existing data that are collected for multiple purposes, so the statistical analyses are bound by the available items at hand. Future research could explore additional indices to further enrich our understanding of political discussion.

Third, although slowly, AAPI voters continue to acculturate to the U.S., and the composition of this group continues to evolve. Future research could analyze subsequent national elections within the framework of this study and conduct longitudinal comparisons alongside demographic shifts to identify cross-year trends and develop longer-term campaign communication strategies. Fourth, AAPI communities vary from place to place in the U.S., not to mention that AAPIs are not a monolithic racial and ethnic group. AAPI communities include about 50 ethnic subgroups, which have different cultures and speak different languages. Research (Liu, 2012, 2019) has shown that the geographical contexts in which people are conditioned influence how they engage with and respond to political campaigns. Future research would benefit from incorporating the geographical-contextual dimension into investigations. Relevant factors may include racial composition, ethnic heterogeneity, campaign intensity, and social network-related variables. Fifth, whether the findings are generalizable to other ethnic minority groups remains to be decided. For instance, no single ethnic group constitutes a majority of AAPIs, while Mexican Americans account for nearly 60% of the Hispanic and Latino American population. These differences certainly need to be considered when applying the findings to other ethnic groups or countries facing similar diversity challenges and could be factored into future research on this topic.

Conclusion

The increasingly pivotal role of AAPI voters in recent national elections continues to challenge theorists and practitioners, highlighting the need for deeper insights into how to communicate with and engage this demographic. This study offers ways to examine ethnic voters in election campaigns by providing a fresh perspective and a theoretical tool to better understand them. This study clarifies how mass media news, social network news, and political discussion shape AAPIs’ political knowledge and participation within the context of their acculturation to the U.S., and how key characteristics of AAPIs as information receivers influence these dynamics, as reflected in whether the political gaps are narrowing or widening. According to the findings, mass media news and political discussion can help acculturate AAPIs, especially those with lower education or a stronger ethnocultural identity, resulting in the narrowing of the knowledge gaps. On the contrary, AAPIs’ social networks do not appear to be a beneficial channel for their acculturation in terms of acquiring political knowledge. Nonetheless, the findings suggest that more two-way, interpersonally oriented forms of communication, such as social network news use and political discussion, may be more effective than mass media news use in mobilizing AAPIs to participate in politics. This study also provides evidence that ethnocultural identity influences AAPIs’ political knowledge and participation, and that excessive identification has been found to hinder the acquisition of political knowledge. Different from the overwhelmingly equalizing effects found in knowledge gaps, the findings regarding participation gaps generally suggest widening effects. Among these widening effects, the three communication forms, overall, unequally benefit those who already have higher levels of knowledge or participation, that is, the more educated or politically interested.

This study extends existing theoretical frameworks on political knowledge and participation gaps by examining how the effects of the three distinctive forms of communication vary as a function of the three receiver characteristics that are particularly important for ethnic voters, bringing about changes in these gaps. It offers a more comprehensive and updated understanding of these theories in today’s complex media and communication environment and is especially relevant to the increasingly diverse American electorate. The findings have practical implications for AAPIs themselves and for anyone who wishes to communicate with AAPIs to help bridge political gaps. AAPIs should actively increase their knowledge of the U.S. political system and participate in politics. Being more politically engaged not only helps them acculturate more quickly to American society but also ensures that their collective rights and interests are adequately represented across civic and political arenas. By doing so, they can establish mutual trust with other groups in the U.S. and help diminish the “foreigner” label, co-creating a democratic society that values diversity and inclusion.

Footnotes

I used OpenAI’s ChatGPT-4 Mini to proofread and edit some sentences in the manuscript,asking it to retain my original sentences as much as possible. The reason for using it was to ensure my sentences were grammatically correct and the meaning was clear.

ORCID iD

Yung-I Liu

Ethical Considerations

The research method used in this study is secondary data analysis,with the original dataset available on ICPSR. That is,the data file analyzed in this study is an existing file that was released and published by the original researchers for the purpose of being used by other researchers. In my manuscript,I explained the source of the data file in the method section and provided the citation both in the method section and in the references section. Ethical considerations are not relevant to this type of study.

Consent to Participate

The research method used in this study is secondary data analysis,with the original dataset available on ICPSR. That is,the data file analyzed in this study is an existing file that was released and published by the original researchers for the purpose of being used by other researchers. In my manuscript,I explained the source of the data file in the method section and provided the citation both in the method section and in the references section. Issues regarding informed consent to participate are not relevant to this type of study.

Funding

The authors disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research,authorship,and/or publication of this article: Funding for the publication of this article was provided by California State University,East Bay,University Libraries' Open Access Publishing Fund.

Declaration of Conflicting Interests

The author declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research,authorship,and/or publication of this article.

Data Availability Statement

The dataset is available on ICPSR and is cited in the manuscript.

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Impact of Communication on Political Knowledge and Participation Gaps Among AAPIs in the U.S.: The Roles of Education,Political Interest,and Ethnocultural Identity

Abstract

Keywords

Introduction

Literature Review

Communication Convergence, Acculturation, and Motivations for Media Consumption

Mass Media News Use and Political Knowledge and Participation

Social Network News Use, Political Discussion, and Political Knowledge and Participation

Education, Political Interest, and Ethnocultural Identity

Method

Data Source

Measures

Independent Variables

Moderating Variables

Control Variables

Dependent Variables

Data Analysis

Results

Discussion

Limitations of the Study and Future Research

Conclusion

Footnotes

ORCID iD

Ethical Considerations

Consent to Participate

Funding

Declaration of Conflicting Interests

Data Availability Statement

References