A descriptive study of voters support or nonsupport of the Equal Rights Amendment

This was a quantitative descriptive study relating the sociodemographic variables of sex, age, race and educational background to support or nonsupport of the Equal Rights Amendment. A random systematic sampling procedure was used to determine which residents of Memphis census tract 70 would be contacted for the study. The researcher conducted a questionnaire interview of 80 respondents during January and February 1979. The data collected was coded for computer analysis on the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (Spss) . All respondents remained anonymous.

The major findings revealed that a relationship existed between a respondent's support or nonsupport of the Equal Rights Amendment and race. A relationship also existed between a respondent's support or nonsupport of the Equal Rights Amendment and age. No relationship existed between a respondent's support or nonsupport of the Equal Rights Amendment and sex. No relationship existed between a respondent's support or nonsupport of the Equal Rights Amendment and education.

Conclusions suggested supporters of the Equal Rights Amendment in census tract 70 of Memphis, Tennessee were Black and between 18 and 35 years of age. . More males than females supported passage of the Equal Rights Amendment.

Respondents over 65 years of age did not support passage of the Equal Rights Amendment. Supporters of the Equal Rights Amendment were more informed of ramifications of that amendment than were nonsupporters.