| Socio-background |
| Gender |
Male 1, female 0 |
| Age |
Years old |
| Education |
8-categories from lower 1 (none) to higher 8 (university degree) |
| Marital status |
Married or living with a partner 1, other 2 |
| Situation (labour market) |
Employed 1, unemployed 0 |
| Main job |
Public sector 1, other 0 |
| Habitat |
5- categories from lower 1(less than 2000 inhabitants) to higher 5 (more than 300,000 inhabitants) |
| Region |
Coast 1, interior 0 |
| Political attitudes |
| Political interest |
“What is your degree of interest in politics?” 4-categories from lower 1 (no interest) to higher 4 (high interest) |
| Internal efficacy |
“To what extent do you agree or disagree of the following statement: Politics is a very complicated subject, only specialists can understand it.” 4-categories from higher 4 (completely disagree) to lower (completely agree) |
| Exposure to TV news |
“How frequently do you follow political events through the media? Television.” 5-categories from lower 1 (never) to higher 5 (every day) |
| Left-right self-placement |
“In politics, people sometimes talk about ‘left’ and ‘right’. Card n° 11 defines this situation: 0 - stands for someone whose views are entirely to the ‘left’; 10 - for someone whose views are entirely to the ‘right’. Of course, there are intermediate positions to the degree that defines one's views as being more or less to the ‘left’ or to the ‘right’. When you think about your own ideas on this, where would you place yourself on this scale?” |
| Salience of left-right self-placement |
Self-placement in left-right scale 1, no self-placement in left-right scale 0 |
| Post-materialist values |
To what extent do you agree or disagree of the following statements: a) Stronger measures should be enforced to protect the environment; b) Immigrants are beneficial to Portugal's economy; c) Women should be free to decide about abortion; d) Marriage between individuals from the same sex should be allowed by law. The variable is the result of the sum of affirmative answers to each one of these items (completely agree + agree) |
| Attitudes towards parties |
| Diffuse support for parties |
“To what extent do you agree with the following statements: a) Without parties there can be no democracy; b) Thanks to parties people can participate in political life”. This variable is composed by the combination of answers to these two questions, and was recoded into the following: If respondents disagree with both statements, we can say we are before “anti-partisan” attitudes. If respondents agree with both statements, then we are before “pro-partisan” attitudes. Finally, if respondents agree to one statement and disagree with the other, we are before “neutral” attitudes. After the recoding, the variable was divided in two categories: Pro-partisan attitudes 1, Other 0 |
| Specific support for parties |
“To what extent do you agree with the following statements: a) Parties are only good to divide people; b) Parties criticize each other often, but in reality they are all the same”. This variable is composed by the combination of answers to these two questions, and was recoded into the following: If respondents disagree with both statements, we can say we are before “pro-partisan” attitudes. If respondents agree with both statements, then we are before “anti-partisan” attitudes. Finally, if respondents agree to one statement and disagree with the other, we are before “neutral” attitudes. After the recoding, the variable was divided in two categories: Pro-partisan attitudes 1, other 0 |
| Party identification |
“Is there a party you feel more identified with?” Yes 1, no 0 |
| Proximity to the ruling party |
“Did you vote for the party currently in government in the last legislative elections?” Yes 1, no 0 |
| Political and economic performance |
| Trust in political institutions |
“What is the degree of your trust in each of the following institutions?” “Government, Parliament, courts and public administration” 4-categories from lower 1 (no trust) to higher (high trust) |
| Opinion about politicians |
“To what extent do you agree with the following statement: Politicians don't care about what people like me think” 4-categories from lower 1 (completely disagree) to higher 4 (totally agree) |
| Assessment of government performance |
“Thinking of the general performance of the current government, how do you assess its performance?” Categories from lower 1 (very poor) to higher 4 (very good). [Inversion of the scale] |
| Assessment of the state of the economy |
“What do you think of the state of economy in Portugal?” 5-categories from lower 1 (very poor) to higher 5 (very good) [Inversion of the scale] |
| Social capital |
| General trust |
“In general terms, do you think that most people can be trusted or that you can never be too careful”. Most people can be trusted 1, You can never be too careful 0 |
| Member of voluntary associations |
Are you a member of any of the organizations or associations here mentioned: a) unions; b) employers’ organizations; c) socio-professional associations; d) religious organizations; e) social organizations; f) civic action organizations; g) cultural organizations; h) sports clubs; i) recreational associations and clubs. The variable is composed by the sum of the answers to these items: Yes, I am a member 1, No, I am not a member 0 |
| Social and civic activism |
“Do you actively and regularly participate in any of the organizations where you are a member: a) unions; b) employers’ organizations; c) socio-professional associations; d) religious organizations; e) social organizations; f) civic action organizations; g) cultural organizations; h) sports clubs; i) recreational associations and clubs. The variable is composed by the sum of the answers to these items: Yes, I am a member 1, No, I am not a member 0 |
