Studying the relation between social factors and census participation <sup/>

In this paper, we explore the relation between social factors and census participation. In a previous study, we explored the social-economic-political construct of survey participation. However, we did not have good measures to fully study the social aspect of this construct. Recently, we had the opportunity to obtain better measures as part of the 2020 Census Tracking Survey, a nationally representative survey conducted by contractor Team Y&amp;R on behalf of the U.S. Census Bureau that tracked public awareness of the 2020 U.S. Census. Respondents were asked about their plans to participate in the 2020 Census, as well as a variety of other questions. In addition to their attitudes on the current economic and political environment in the U.S., they were asked about their social engagement, such as religious service attendance and volunteerism. Using 2020 Census Tracking Survey data, we modeled whether a respondent reported planning to participate or having participated in the 2020 Census on known and hypothesized factors of census participation. Our findings support a complex social-economic-political model of survey participation, with social factors being among the important indicators.