Watergate and Preadults' Attitudes Toward the President

Abstract

This study investigates preadults' perceptions of Watergate using questionnaires from a stratified random sample of grades 2 through 12 in Florida. Watergate is related more strongly to differences in attitudes toward the president than to other political orientations. As Greenstein suggests, the strongest finding is that those who consider Watergate important are much less likely to view the president as responsive. Age and partisanship are the most important mediators of the respondents' concern about Watergate. The influence of salient events on political attitudes is discussed, and possible effects of respondents' perceptions of Watergate on the political system are explored.