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

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.