Black Lives Matter — Cross-Year Comparison

A Politico-Psychological Analysis Across Waves (Single Item)

Report generated

March 23, 2026

1 Items: Black Lives Matter

Note

Single-item measure. This construct is measured by a single item, so internal consistency (e.g., Cronbach’s alpha) cannot be assessed. Cross-year comparisons should be interpreted with particular attention to any changes in the item wording or response scale across waves.

Warning

Unverified items: The items file does not specify which years these items apply to. Please add a data-years attribute (e.g., data-years="2016,2018,2020") to the item container in items/black.html to confirm item equivalence across waves.

Warning

Measurement note: In 2016, this item used a 9-point rating scale (Extremely positive to Extremely negative). In 2018 and 2020, it used a 0-100 feeling thermometer. Raw values are not directly comparable across waves; standardised coefficients and correlations remain meaningful.

2 Study Overview

Sample sizes and descriptive statistics for Black Lives Matter by year
year N N (valid facet) Mean SD
2016 1500 1500 4.41 2.81
2018 2759 2759 54.09 33.94
2020 2000 2000 55.36 37.66

2.0.1 2016 Sample

2.0.2 Sample

N=1500

To conduct a exploratory and a confirmatory large surveys during the general election, we hired a professional survey firm (SSI, a US-based market research company that recruits participants from a panel of 7,139,027 American citizens; more information can be found at www.surveysampling.com (now https://www.dynata.com/) to recruit a nationally representative sample of 1,500 Americans (50.7% women) who completed study materials during the general election from August 16-September 9, 2016. (Information about sampling and exclusion criteria is included in the Supplement). The age distribution was as follows: 18-24 (12.9%), 25-34 (17.6%), 35-44 (17.5%), 45-54 (19.5%), 55-65 (15.6%) and older than 65 (16.9%). The ethnic breakdown was: White/European American (82.5%), Black/African American (7.7%), Latino (5.9%) and “Other” (4.0%). Concerning religion, 67.6% identified as Christian, 17.1% as religiously affiliated but not Christian, and 15.3% as Atheist/Agnostic. With respect to education 35.1% indicated “high school only or lower,” 31.4 % indicated “some college,” and 33.6% indicated having received a “Bachelor” or “Graduate” degree. 2424 participants were directed to the survey, 1885 of which finished the survey (attrition rate 22%).

We followed recommendations to minimize the problem of careless responding in online studies. Specifically, we employed 10 random attention questions and time controls to check for data quality. There were 385 participants who failed more than one attention check or finished the survey in under ~22 minutes and were therefore excluded from the sample. For the 1500 participants who successfully finished the survey, completion time was 67 minutes on average (MD: 51min).

2.0.3 2018 Sample

2.0.4 Sample

N=TBD

Sample description for the 2018 PPBS CINT Post-election study to be added.

2.0.5 2020 Sample

2.0.6 Sample

N=TBD

Sample description for the 2020 PPBS CINT study to be added.

3 Descriptives

Descriptive statistics for Black Lives Matter by year
year N Mean SD Median Min Max Skewness Kurtosis
2016 1500 4.41 2.81 5 1 9 0.21 -1.31
2018 2759 54.09 33.94 54 0 100 -0.21 -1.23
2020 2000 55.36 37.66 59 0 100 -0.24 -1.47

4 Demographics

4.1 Sex

4.1.1 Pooled Model with Year Interaction

Black Lives Matter ~ Sex * Year
  Black Lives Matter
Predictors Estimates CI p
(Intercept) 4.91 2.71 – 7.10 <.001
Sex [Male] -1.02 -4.14 – 2.11 .523
year [2018] 54.03 51.29 – 56.76 <.001
year [2020] 51.35 48.45 – 54.24 <.001
Sex [Male] × year [2018] -8.61 -12.50 – -4.73 <.001
Sex [Male] × year [2020] -0.82 -4.95 – 3.32 .698
Observations 6259
R2 / R2 adjusted .331 / .330

4.1.2 Raincloud by Year

4.2 Age

4.2.1 Pooled Model with Year Interaction

Black Lives Matter ~ Age * Year
  Black Lives Matter
Predictors Estimates CI p
(Intercept) 5.35 1.07 – 9.63 .014
Age25-34 years -0.18 -5.81 – 5.45 .950
Age35-44 years -0.85 -6.48 – 4.78 .767
Age45-54 years -1.29 -6.80 – 4.23 .647
Age55-64 years -1.05 -6.83 – 4.73 .722
Age [65+] -2.07 -7.75 – 3.60 .474
Age [65+ years] -25.36 -30.23 – -20.49 <.001
year [2018] 61.51 56.01 – 67.02 <.001
year [2020] 68.77 62.98 – 74.55 <.001
Age25-34 years:year2018 -5.73 -12.86 – 1.40 .115
Age35-44 years:year2018 -10.58 -17.76 – -3.40 .004
Age45-54 years:year2018 -18.06 -25.14 – -10.98 <.001
Age55-64 years:year2018 -14.71 -21.99 – -7.44 <.001
Age [65+ years] × year
[2018]
6.90 0.45 – 13.36 .036
Age25-34 years:year2020 -10.95 -18.48 – -3.41 .004
Age35-44 years:year2020 -15.26 -22.84 – -7.68 <.001
Age45-54 years:year2020 -22.36 -29.86 – -14.86 <.001
Age55-64 years:year2020 -28.62 -36.31 – -20.92 <.001
Observations 6259
R2 / R2 adjusted .355 / .354

4.2.2 Raincloud by Year

4.3 Income

4.3.1 Pooled Model with Year Interaction

Black Lives Matter ~ Income * Year
  Black Lives Matter
Predictors Estimates CI p
(Intercept) 4.97 0.42 – 9.52 .032
Income [$15,000-$24,999] -0.11 -6.53 – 6.30 .973
Income [$25,000-$34,999] -0.57 -7.02 – 5.88 .861
Income [$35,000-$49,999] -0.65 -6.72 – 5.43 .835
Income [$50,000-$74,999] -0.59 -6.36 – 5.18 .841
Income [$75,000-$99,999] -0.72 -7.03 – 5.60 .824
Income
[$100,000-$149,999]
-0.87 -7.48 – 5.74 .796
Income [$150,000 +] -1.38 -9.09 – 6.33 .725
year [2018] 56.98 51.27 – 62.68 <.001
year [2020] 53.64 47.57 – 59.70 <.001
Income [$15,000-$24,999]
× year [2018]
-1.70 -9.85 – 6.45 .683
Income [$25,000-$34,999]
× year [2018]
-5.95 -14.17 – 2.28 .156
Income [$35,000-$49,999]
× year [2018]
-8.50 -16.20 – -0.80 .030
Income [$50,000-$74,999]
× year [2018]
-11.49 -18.74 – -4.24 .002
Income [$75,000-$99,999]
× year [2018]
-7.64 -15.52 – 0.24 .057
Income
[$100,000-$149,999] ×
year [2018]
-7.96 -16.04 – 0.11 .053
Income [$150,000 +] ×
year [2018]
-10.62 -19.70 – -1.53 .022
Income [$15,000-$24,999]
× year [2020]
-2.55 -11.32 – 6.21 .568
Income [$25,000-$34,999]
× year [2020]
-0.87 -9.66 – 7.93 .847
Income [$35,000-$49,999]
× year [2020]
-3.49 -11.71 – 4.72 .404
Income [$50,000-$74,999]
× year [2020]
-4.49 -12.21 – 3.24 .255
Income [$75,000-$99,999]
× year [2020]
-3.45 -11.88 – 4.98 .423
Income
[$100,000-$149,999] ×
year [2020]
-2.30 -10.81 – 6.22 .597
Income [$150,000 +] ×
year [2020]
-2.26 -11.75 – 7.24 .641
Observations 6259
R2 / R2 adjusted .329 / .326

4.4 Ethnicity

4.4.1 Pooled Model with Year Interaction

Black Lives Matter ~ Ethnicity * Year
  Black Lives Matter
Predictors Estimates CI p
(Intercept) 4.02 2.38 – 5.65 <.001
Ethnicity [Black/African
American]
3.20 -2.41 – 8.81 .264
Ethnicity [Latino] 1.56 -4.79 – 7.91 .630
Ethnicity [Asian/Pacific
Islander]
1.40 -9.41 – 12.20 .800
Ethnicity [Native
American]
0.44 -15.60 – 16.48 .957
Ethnicity [Other] 1.65 -12.01 – 15.31 .813
Ethnicity [White] 11.23 -6.42 – 28.88 .212
Ethnicity
[Hispanic/Latino]
31.01 12.39 – 49.63 .001
Ethnicity [Middle
Eastern]
36.92 6.55 – 67.29 .017
Ethnicity [Middle
Eastern]
27.70 -16.62 – 72.03 .221
year [2018] 26.23 7.05 – 45.41 .007
year [2020] 34.78 17.27 – 52.29 <.001
Ethnicity [Black/African
American] × year [2018]
45.57 25.49 – 65.65 <.001
Ethnicity [Asian/Pacific
Islander] × year [2018]
21.96 -0.85 – 44.76 .059
Ethnicity [Native
American] × year [2018]
21.45 -7.85 – 50.76 .151
Ethnicity [Other] × year
[2018]
32.99 16.30 – 49.68 <.001
Ethnicity [White] × year
[2018]
5.58 -2.49 – 13.65 .175
Ethnicity [Black/African
American] × year [2020]
37.40 18.74 – 56.07 <.001
Ethnicity [Asian/Pacific
Islander] × year [2020]
26.03 4.72 – 47.34 .017
Ethnicity [Native
American] × year [2020]
15.84 -12.73 – 44.40 .277
Observations 6259
R2 / R2 adjusted .396 / .394

4.5 Area

4.5.1 Pooled Model with Year Interaction

Black Lives Matter ~ Area * Year
  Black Lives Matter
Predictors Estimates CI p
(Intercept) 4.79 2.87 – 6.72 <.001
Area [Rural] -1.07 -4.27 – 2.13 .512
Area [Suburban] -10.36 -13.49 – -7.23 <.001
year [2018] 60.12 57.18 – 63.06 <.001
year [2020] 60.11 56.95 – 63.27 <.001
Area [Rural] × year
[2018]
-18.78 -23.31 – -14.25 <.001
Area [Suburban] × year
[2018]
-1.84 -5.99 – 2.32 .386
Area [Rural] × year
[2020]
-19.30 -24.28 – -14.31 <.001
Observations 6259
R2 / R2 adjusted .351 / .350

5 Political Orientation

5.1 Fixed-Effects Regression: Ideology ~ Construct * Year

5.1.1 Regression Table

  Black Lives Matter → Ideology (Pooled) Black Lives Matter → Ideology (2016) Black Lives Matter → Ideology (2018) Black Lives Matter → Ideology (2020)
Predictors Estimates CI p Estimates CI p Estimates CI p Estimates CI p
(Intercept) 7.41 4.25 – 10.57 <.001 7.27 6.84 – 7.69 <.001 73.49 69.27 – 77.72 <.001 76.56 71.93 – 81.19 <.001
facet -0.38 -0.79 – 0.03 .068 -0.45 -0.48 – -0.41 <.001 -0.42 -0.45 – -0.39 <.001 -0.45 -0.48 – -0.42 <.001
year [2018] 67.33 64.52 – 70.13 <.001
year [2020] 67.82 64.83 – 70.80 <.001
Age25-34 years 0.55 -1.57 – 2.66 .612 -0.28 -0.66 – 0.10 .150 -0.39 -4.14 – 3.36 .840 2.32 -1.89 – 6.53 .280
Age35-44 years 1.33 -0.84 – 3.49 .230 -0.22 -0.61 – 0.18 .285 1.58 -2.26 – 5.43 .419 1.68 -2.62 – 5.98 .444
Age45-54 years 2.88 0.73 – 5.04 .009 -0.09 -0.47 – 0.30 .652 3.75 -0.09 – 7.59 .056 4.20 -0.12 – 8.52 .057
Age55-64 years 3.52 1.33 – 5.71 .002 0.25 -0.16 – 0.65 .234 6.00 2.17 – 9.84 .002 2.44 -1.93 – 6.81 .274
Age [65+] 2.78 -0.67 – 6.22 .114 0.83 0.43 – 1.23 <.001
Age [65+ years] 3.20 0.96 – 5.44 .005 4.43 0.72 – 8.15 .019 3.17 -1.03 – 7.37 .139
Inc 0.20 -0.08 – 0.48 .165 0.04 -0.02 – 0.10 .211 0.81 0.33 – 1.29 .001 -0.50 -1.06 – 0.06 .080
Edu -1.04 -1.67 – -0.40 .001 -0.08 -0.19 – 0.04 .181 -2.04 -3.09 – -0.98 <.001 -0.14 -1.63 – 1.35 .857
facet × year [2018] -0.05 -0.46 – 0.36 .813
facet × year [2020] -0.06 -0.47 – 0.35 .772
Observations 6259 1500 2759 2000
R2 / R2 adjusted .541 / .540 .318 / .315 .261 / .259 .314 / .311

5.1.2 Scatter Plots by Year

5.1.3 Forest Plot: Meta-Analytic Pooling

5.2 Social Ideology

  Social Ideology (Pooled) Social Ideology (2016) Social Ideology (2018) Social Ideology (2020)
Predictors Estimates CI p Estimates CI p Estimates CI p Estimates CI p
(Intercept) 7.12 4.85 – 9.40 <.001 7.12 6.90 – 7.35 <.001 73.25 71.26 – 75.24 <.001 76.19 74.10 – 78.27 <.001
facet -0.50 -0.93 – -0.06 .025 -0.50 -0.54 – -0.46 <.001 -0.45 -0.48 – -0.41 <.001 -0.47 -0.50 – -0.44 <.001
year [2018] 66.13 63.29 – 68.96 <.001
year [2020] 69.06 66.11 – 72.02 <.001
facet × year [2018] 0.05 -0.38 – 0.49 .813
facet × year [2020] 0.03 -0.41 – 0.46 .907
Observations 6259 1500 2759 2000
R2 / R2 adjusted .492 / .491 .258 / .258 .221 / .221 .307 / .307

5.3 Economic Ideology

  Economic Ideology (Pooled) Economic Ideology (2016) Economic Ideology (2018) Economic Ideology (2020)
Predictors Estimates CI p Estimates CI p Estimates CI p Estimates CI p
(Intercept) 7.72 5.54 – 9.90 <.001 7.72 7.51 – 7.93 <.001 78.53 76.66 – 80.40 <.001 79.60 77.54 – 81.66 <.001
facet -0.51 -0.93 – -0.09 .017 -0.51 -0.55 – -0.47 <.001 -0.45 -0.48 – -0.42 <.001 -0.46 -0.49 – -0.42 <.001
year [2018] 70.81 68.09 – 73.52 <.001
year [2020] 71.88 69.06 – 74.71 <.001
facet × year [2018] 0.06 -0.36 – 0.47 .790
facet × year [2020] 0.05 -0.36 – 0.47 .802
Observations 6259 1500 2759 2000
R2 / R2 adjusted .541 / .540 .296 / .296 .250 / .249 .297 / .296

6 Party Identity Analyses

6.1 Party Identity (7-Point ANES) by Year

6.2 Party Identity Raincloud

6.3 Party Identity Regression with Year Interaction

  Party ID (Pooled) Party ID (2016) Party ID (2018) Party ID (2020)
Predictors Estimates CI p Estimates CI p Estimates CI p Estimates CI p
(Intercept) 1.93 1.89 – 1.97 <.001 1.93 1.89 – 1.97 <.001 1.86 1.83 – 1.89 <.001 1.90 1.87 – 1.93 <.001
facet -0.10 -0.11 – -0.09 <.001 -0.10 -0.11 – -0.09 <.001 -0.01 -0.01 – -0.01 <.001 -0.01 -0.01 – -0.01 <.001
year [2018] -0.07 -0.12 – -0.02 .005
year [2020] -0.03 -0.08 – 0.02 .187
facet × year [2018] 0.09 0.08 – 0.10 <.001
facet × year [2020] 0.09 0.08 – 0.10 <.001
Observations 6259 1500 2759 2000
R2 / R2 adjusted .312 / .312 .303 / .303 .292 / .292 .340 / .340

6.4 Forest Plot: Party ID Regression

7 Correlation Comparison

7.1 Cleveland Dot Plot: Correlations by Year

7.2 Forest Plots: Key Correlations

7.2.1 Support for Feminism

7.2.2 Support for LGBTQ+

7.2.3 Party ID [G.O.P.]

7.2.4 Support for Civil Rights

7.2.5 Ideological Self-placement [Left-Right]

7.2.6 Ideological Self-placement [Economic]

7.3 Correlation Table by Year

Spearman correlations with Black Lives Matter by year
label 2016 2018 2020
Age -0.226 -0.175 -0.235
Anti-Pluralism [Populist Attitudes] -0.204 -0.217 -0.223
Blind Patriotism 0.178 -0.268 -0.375
Economic System Justification -0.469 -0.472 -0.539
Education -0.023 0.039 -0.023
General System Justification -0.079 -0.278 -0.529
Ideological Self-placement [Economic] -0.552 -0.490 -0.542
Ideological Self-placement [Left-Right] -0.545 -0.498 -0.556
Ideological Self-placement [Social] -0.511 -0.465 -0.553
Income -0.107 -0.095 -0.026
Male -0.183 -0.143 -0.031
Party ID [G.O.P.] -0.554 -0.531 -0.570
Religiosity -0.234 -0.116 -0.250
Right Wing Authoritarianism -0.509 -0.423 -0.596
Rural Area -0.183 -0.210 -0.189
Social Dominance Orientation -0.416 -0.437 -0.442
Support for Blue Lives Matter -0.169 -0.088 -0.286
Support for Civil Rights 0.546 0.529 0.553
Support for Environmentalism 0.515 0.528 0.526
Support for Feminism 0.566 0.636 0.635
Support for LGBTQ+ 0.567 0.542 0.650