Meirick, PatrickWoodall, Ant2024-05-222024-05-222024-05-10https://hdl.handle.net/11244/340390Much work has been done to capture people’s discomfort with talking about politics. Previous research suggests people are uncomfortable with political conversations for a variety of reasons, though little has been done to synthesize these ideas together. This dissertation continues a research agenda from other graduate students around the United States by working towards a measure of political communication apprehension. Based on existing literature, I propose that political communication reflects a relational behavior as much as a political one and should be measured with both of these contexts in mind. To do so, I offer a review of literature surrounding the philosophies and issues that shape our discomfort with political conversations. I then talk through three studies: Study One builds a scale and tests in exploratory fashion with human respondents. Study Two refines the scale and tests it as a hypothesized model of measurement. Study Three takes the final measurement model and applies it to several hypothesized relationships about political communication apprehension and political behavior. I conclude with discussion about the cultural and relational factors that shape our political communication apprehension and what it means to study it.political communicationcommunication apprehensioncivic engagementwell-being