Title: Psychological determinants of civic engagement (original) (raw)
Related papers
Psychological Determinants of Civic Engagement
Athenaeum, 2017
An integral part of social discourse is discussions concerning the issue of how to motivate citizens to actively build civil society. Scholars search for the factors that develop and promote pro-civic attitudes. Th e discussions mostly refer to young citizens, as they are the ones that determine the direction of changes. Th is article presents a study following the trend of searching for psychological determinants of young people's civic engagement. Th e researchers found that the determinants include two motivational variables: the sense of self-effi cacy, and dispositional optimism. Th ey also diagnosed the structure of values of individuals with diff erent levels of civic engagement.
Psychological Factors Linked to Youth Civic and Political Engagement
Youth Civic and Political Engagement, 2019
This chapter explores the psychological factors that are linked to young people’s civic and political engagement. These psychological factors are often better predictors of different types of civic and political activity than either social or demographic factors. They have also been found to mediate the relationship between macro, demographic and social factors and young people’s civic and political activity. This chapter reviews these psychological factors in detail. The specific factors that are examined are the following: political knowledge; political attentiveness; political interest; political efficacy; the perceived effectiveness of participatory actions; personal, social and collective identities; trust; values; and emotions.
Young adults and civic behavior: the psychosocial variables determining it
Journal of prevention & intervention in the community, 2012
The present work has a two-fold aim: (a) to verify the difference in civic behavior enacted by socially engaged young people in a lasting and structured form, sealed by membership in an organization, on the one hand, and in non-engaged young people, on the other hand; (b) to identify a pattern of characteristics (personal, social, and familial) able to explain civic behavior. Participants, 577 young adults from ages 19 to 29, filled out a self-report questionnaire. The results of the t test for independent samples confirm the presence of the difference between means of scores on the civic behavior. Moreover, data confirm a model in which civic behavior is predicted by personal identity, engagement values, family discussion of current events, the quality of previous membership experiences in socially oriented groups (membership), and finally, in a mediator position, by sense of community. The present study has many implications for researchers and practitioners.
Civic Attitudes and Engagement Framework
Springer eBooks, 2023
Similar to previous IEA studies of civic and citizenship education, ICCS places great emphasis on the measurement of affective-behavioral aspects with student questionnaire items. These measures are regarded as important learning outcomes and have a similar standing in the process of development, analysis, and reporting as cognitive measures of students' civic knowledge. Student attitudes, perceptions, and behaviors relevant to civic and citizenship issues are organized according to two affective-behavioral areas which are elaborated in the sections which follow: Affective-behavioral area 1: Attitudes (e.g., judgements in relation to ideas, people, objects, events or situations) Affective-behavioral area 2: Engagement (e.g., interest in, and expectations of, civic engagement through civic action and future political participation) Aspects relating to these domains are measured with the international or regional ICCS 2022 student questionnaires using items that do not require correct or incorrect responses (typically with Likert-type item format), indicating for example the extent to which respondents agree or disagree with a given statement. While most constructs or aspects are measured as an integral part of the international student questionnaire, others are included as international options or in the regional student questionnaires for Europe and Latin America. It should be noted that, the inclusion of topics in regional instruments was determined by region-specific interests expressed by countries in each geographic region and does not mean that they are deemed as unimportant in other countries.
The concept and determinants of civic engagement
Human Affairs, 2017
Civic engagement plays a prominent role in sustaining a strong civil society and a vibrant democracy. However, it is a complex multidimensional concept, taking multiple forms and encompassing a variety of behaviours and actions related to both political and social aspects. Drawing on the relevant literature the paper attempts to clarify and pinpoint the notion, specifying its dimensions and mapping out its determinants. Then, focusing on university students, it moves to examine youth civic engagement in Greece, examining the extent of their civic participation and its determinants. After controlling for sociodemographic factors it finds that interpersonal trust, religiosity and political ideology affect students’ likelihood to be civically engaged.
Adolescents' expected civic participation: The role of civic knowledge and efficacy beliefs
Journal of Adolescence, 2014
In the present study we examined the role of civic knowledge and efficacy beliefs as factors that can promote adolescents' expectations to participate in civic activities, while also taking into consideration the influences of socio-economic background and gender differences. Structural equation modelling techniques were used to examine data from the International Civic and Citizenship Study, collected from 3352 eighth grade Italian students. Gender was found to significantly moderate some relationships between the variables, while efficacy beliefs, rather than civic knowledge, positively influenced expected civic participation. Socio-economic background influenced all the variables included in the study, but it had a very small direct influence on adolescents' expected civic participation. It therefore appears that adolescents' expected civic participation can be encouraged by making them more confident about their civic and political abilities. These results extend our understanding of civic engagement in adolescents, and can inform policies aiming to promote it. Ó
How is civic engagement developed over time? Emerging answers from a multidisciplinary field
Journal of Adolescence, 2012
Insights into the development of civic values, attitudes, knowledge, skills and behaviours are greatly demanded by adults worried about a seemingly steady decline in the societal interest of their offspring. Hence, the collection of studies in this special issue on civic engagement in adolescence is not only timely and enlightening, but it also has the potentials to contribute to research in different disciplines on various dimensions, mechanisms and normative models of civic engagement. The studies reveal some promising attempts to bring civil themes into the field of adolescent development. However, to overcome some conceptual, methodological and empirical shortcomings, future developmental studies in the area need to be substantially improved by considering cultural and institutional conditions, by focussing on processes across various everyday life contexts, by merging theories from different disciplinary fields, by conceptualizing adolescents as changeable subjects, and by delineating untested and unwarranted normative assumptions.
Developmental Psychology, 2017
This study investigated the effects of internal and demographic variables on civic development in late adolescence using the construct civic purpose. We conducted surveys on civic engagement with 480 high school seniors, and surveyed them again two years later. Using multivariate regression and linear mixed models, we tested the main effects of civic purpose dimensions (beyond-the-self motivation, future civic intention), ethnicity, and education on civic development from Time 1 to Time 2. Results showed that while there is an overall decrease in civic engagement in the transition out of high school, both internal and social factors protected participants from steep civic decline. Interaction effects varied. Ethnicity and education interacted in different ways with the dimensions of civic purpose to predict change in traditional and expressive political engagement, and community service engagement.
A Combined Measure of Civic Engagement for Use Among Emerging Adults
Journal of the Society for Social Work and Research
Civic engagement during emerging adulthood (18-25 years) has been found to be a protective factor for mental illness and substance abuse. However, few measures to assess behaviors and attitudes related to civic engagement among emerging adults are available. This study investigates the factorial validity of a combined measure of civic behavior and attitudes in a sample of undergraduate college students. Method: Two samples of first-year undergraduate students at a private university completed an online survey during fall and spring terms. We investigated the factor structure of the Civic Mindedness and Civic Acts measures in two steps: (a) exploratory factor analysis (EFA; n 5 226), and (b) confirmatory factor analysis (CFA; n 5 352). Results: EFA revealed a 4-factor, 15-item structure that aligned with the original Civic Mindedness and Civic Acts measures; all factor loadings were greater than .40. CFA found the 4-factor structure to have marginally acceptable fit with no modifications (v 2 (84) 5 225.99, p < .05; RMSEA 5 .07 [.06-.08]; CFI 5 .92). Conclusions: We provide preliminary evidence for factorial validity of a combined measure of civic engagement. Implications for future research to confirm whether this measure is appropriate for broad use during emerging adulthood are discussed.
Conceptual and analytic development of a civic engagement scale for pre-adolescents
This paper presents the conceptual basis and statistical assessment of the Pre-Adolescent Civic Engagement Scale (PACES), a civic engagement measure developed for use with middle childhood and early adolescent young people. We expand the current work on civic engagement measures by contributing a parsimonious measure that has been subjected to more rigorous statistical assessments than other measures developed for pre-adolescents. Results of factor analyses, both exploratory and confirmatory, conducted with two samples (n=136; n=151) of children and youth (aged 7 to 14 years), yielded an 11-item, two-component scale assessing foundation for civic ethics and community connection among pre-adolescents.