A panel model for political efficacy and responsiveness: an application of LISREL 7 with weighted least squares

An investigation of the stability of political efficacy in terms of its being a persistent orientation as opposed to a transient attitude. Two components of political efficacy are examined here: internal efficacy, which is considered a personal attribute; & responsiveness, identified as a system attribute. The stability of the two components is studied over a period of time using PRELIS & a LISREL 7 panel model. Estimates of the parameters of the model are based on polychoric correlations & on a weighted least squares model. The analysis described here uses Political Action Survey data for the US, collected by the Survey Research Center (Ann Arbor, Mich) in 1974 & 1981. Six efficacy items are measured on the two data sets. Results indicate stability rates higher than those shown in earlier research, & stability coefficients that show the personal component to be more stable than the system component. 10 Tables, 4 Figures, 34 References. Adapted from the source document.