Political dimensions and relative party positions: A factor analytical study of Swedish attitude data

Abstract.— The problems of this study were to describe dimensions and related party positions, representative of significant attitude differences in Swedish politics. A set of 97 attitude statements was answered by subjects representing the five largest Swedish political parties and rated for content validity by the subjects and an expert group of political scientists. The correlations of the attitude variables were analyzed by the principal factor method. Factor scores were computed by multiple regressions, relative party positions calculated as party means, and the differences tested by a multiple comparison procedure. Following the results of an initial analysis 42 marker variables were further analyzed. A dimensional description based on an oblique five‐factor solution is presented. The generality of obtained dimensions is commented by national and international comparisons.