Psychological inflexibility and political incivility during the 2021 General Elections

Abstract

The study aimed at investigating the impact of psychological inflexibility and political incivility during the 2021 general elections. The study adopted a correlation study design with a population of 60 employees from the entire organization. Simple random sampling technique was used to draw a sample of 52 respondents from the population. Data was collected from respondents using self-administered standard questionnaire and through Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) data was entered and analysed. Descriptive statistics showed that majority were aged between 20-29 years (59.2%) followed by 30-39 years (25.8%), then 50-59 years (2.5). Many of the respondents were students (31.1%) and the privately employed respondents (23.8%) followed. Furthermore, many of the respondents were from the central and neighbouring districts for example Kampala (37.0%) followed by Wakiso (22.6%). Results from Pearson product-moment correlation coefficient (r) further indicated that there is a positive significant relationship between psychological inflexibility and political incivility during the 2021 general elections since r = .196 and p = .029 (≤ 0.05). Thus, the findings of this study recommend leaders are encouraged to learn new skills and this can be achieved through workshops and conferences held on leadership skills improvement. Furthermore, politicians should through paying more attention to the present moment can improve their mental wellbeing. This includes thoughts and feelings, body and the world around them. Some people call this awareness "mindfulness". Mindfulness can help you enjoy life more and understand yourself better. It can positively change the way you feel about life and how you approach challenges.