Psychological Factors Linked to Youth Civic and Political Engagement (original) (raw)
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Civic and Political Engagement Among Youth: Concepts, forms and factors
Youth Civic and Political Engagement, 2019
This chapter provides a guide to many of the concepts that are used in the study of youth civic and political engagement. It also outlines the various forms that youth civic and political engagement can take, summarises the principal findings that have emerged from recent studies into youth engagement, and discusses the numerous psychological, social, demographic and macro factors that are related to youth engagement. The inter-relationships between these various sets of factors are also discussed. It is argued that different forms of youth engagement are influenced by different subsets of factors.
Political Psychology, 2019
Prior research has identified political efficacy and political interest as strong predictors of political participation, but few studies have examined these two attitudes in tandem or compared their relative importance vis-à-vis political participation. Drawing on the expectancy-value model of motivation, we begin to address this research gap while also considering several related issues. Our sample includes a diverse group of high school students in grades 10, 11, and 12 (N = 422) from the midwestern United States. Through quantitative analyses of participants’ survey data, we found that political interest (a central aspect of value) and political efficacy (closely related to expectancy) predicted participants’ expected future political participation, controlling for background characteristics—and that political interest was a particularly strong predictor. In addition, we identified political-engagement differences on various demographic measures, such as grade level. We also found a significant interaction between political interest and internal political efficacy, suggesting that high levels of both attitudes can have an especially positive effect on adolescents’ political participation. We discuss the implications of these findings for researchers and educators interested in fostering political engagement among youth.
Civic and political engagement in youth: Findings and prospects
Zeitschrift für Psychologie, 2017
This paper reviews the research that has been conducted into youth civic and political engagement since 2010. We begin by noting the claim that youth are not sufficiently engaged either civically or politically. We argue that this claim is probably incorrect: rather than using conventional forms of political participation, youth today are often engaged through nonconventional and civic means instead. We also indicate at the outset some important cautions about the interpretation of research findings in this field, in particular the need to consider the kinds of political issues with which youth are involved, the moments in time at which they are involved, and the societal contexts in which their involvement occurs. We argue that these specificities mean that it might be difficult or even impossible to construct a unified model or comprehensive understanding of youth civic and political engagement. The review then considers recent research findings on the role of micro-, meso-, and macro-level factors in influencing youth engagement. Micro-level factors include political interest, efficacy, ideologies, values, and identity; meso-level factors include the family, school, peers, and the neighborhood; while macro-level factors include political, cultural, economic, legal, and institutional factors. We also review recent findings on the role of young people’s demographic positioning, the effects that social media might be playing in transforming youth engagement, and how political parties can actively mobilize youth. We conclude that young people are far from being apathetic and uninterested in politics, but that they need to find ways to be involved that are meaningful to them. We also indicate some possible future lines of research that could be profitably pursued.
Social And Demographic Factors Linked to Youth Civic and Political Engagement
Youth Civic and Political Engagement, 2019
This chapter explores the social and demographic factors that are linked to young people’s civic and political engagement. The chapter begins by discussing the social factors that are the closest to the developing individual, including both the family and the peer group, then moves outwards towards intermediate level social factors such as the neighbourhood, the school and youth organisations, before discussing the most distal social factors including both popular music and the mass media. The chapter concludes by discussing the relationship between demographic factors of socioeconomic status, gender and ethnic status and young people’s civic and political engagement.
Macro Contextual Factors Linked to Youth Civic and Political Engagement
Youth Civic and Political Engagement, 2019
This chapter explores the macro factors that are linked to young people’s civic and political engagement. These include: the broad patterns of political and civic engagement that occur among adults within a country; the historical, cultural, economic, institutional and legal characteristics of a country; public policies on young people’s active citizenship; the legally specified minimum age for voting; the provision of youth organisations; the availability of a youth parliament within a country; the education policies and regulations that determine the quality of the formal education that young people receive within a country; the role that digital technology, the Internet and social media play in youth civic and political engagement; and youth mobilisation by politicians and political parties.
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.
Political and civic engagement development in adolescence
Journal of adolescence, 2012
This study explored whether discussions about the media, when positively linked to interest in the news media, were related to adolescents' current and future civic engagement. A sample of 2638 adolescents (age M ¼ 17, SD ¼ 1.2), who participated in a school-based study on positive socialization, completed self-report measures on interest in the news media and discussions about the media with parents and friends. Current civic engagement was measured by involvement in volunteering and civic commitments. Future civic engagement was measured by intentions to participate in civic activities in the future. The results showed that more interpersonal discussions about the media and higher interest in the news media both predicted higher civic engagement. Positive links between discussions about the media and current civic engagement were partly mediated by interest in the news media. In addition, interest in the news media together with current civic engagement fully mediated a positive link between discussions about the media and future civic engagement. Moderating effects of gender were observed, with discussions about the media a better predictor of boys' interest in the news media, and current civic engagement a better predictor of girls' future civic engagement. Ó
Title: Psychological determinants of civic engagement
2019
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� The discussions mostly refer to young citizens, as they are the ones that determine the direction of changes� This article presents a study following the trend of searching for psychological determinants of young people's civic engagement� The researchers found that the determinants include two motivational variables: the sense of self-efficacy, and dispositional optimism� They also diagnosed the structure of values of individuals with different levels of civic engagement�
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.
International Politics Reviews, 2016
Over the past few decades, there has been an increasing interest in understanding youth political engagement. However, it has been argued that the instruments used to assess the concept often lack adequate validation, and this is important as this practice may result in biased statistical conclusions. Consequently, the main aim of the present study was to systematically review, summarize, and critique the extant research evidence on the development of psychometric instruments that assess young people's political engagement. Following a systematic review of the literature, seven instruments were identified that were both valid and reliable, but none explicitly assessed young people's political engagement. Instead, they considered broad concepts and/or dimensions related to political engagement. Emphasising the lack of statistically robust standardised measurement tools that empirically assess young people's political engagement, the available evidence confirms the pressing need to adopt a robust psychometric approach to assess political engagement in youth.