Predictors and gender differences in intention to vote among Malaysian undergraduate students

Abstract

This paper investigates predictors and gender differences in voting intention among Malaysian undergraduate students, building upon the Theory of Reasoned Action (TRA) and the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB). Data were collected from 422 students from Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM) using a structured questionnaire that assessed six predictors: candidate perception, pre-election perception, subjective norms, persuading methods, awareness, and social network engagement. Descriptive analysis was conducted to determine the levels of predictors and intention to vote, while an independent sample t-test examined the effect of gender. Findings revealed generally positive perceptions toward all predictors, with the highest mean recorded for candidate perception (M=6.25) and awareness (M=5.9). However, gender differences were statistically insignificant (p>0.05). These results, when compared with prior studies using structural equation modeling (SEM), reinforce the importance of socio-psychological and contextual factors in shaping youth voting intention. The findings contribute to understanding the political behaviour of Malaysian youth under the Undi18 policy and highlight implications for civic education and digital political literacy.

Keywords: Voting intention, youth voters, gender, political engagement, Malaysia, Undi18