Pathways to Active Citizenship in Adolescence and Young Adulthood

Abstract

Considering the importance of active citizenship, the goal of the present research was to identify meaningful predictors of intentions to participate in politics in adolescence (Study 1) and young adulthood (Study 2). Based on the assumptions of the civic voluntarism model, three main predictors were examined: Resources (educational level), experiences in social networks (club membership, important others’ attitudes toward political behaviors, political discussions), and individual characteristics (attitudes toward political behaviors, internal political efficacy). Despite the differences in age, both studies identified a strikingly similar pattern of results: Especially experiences in social networks predicted changes in young people’s intentions to participate in politics. These effects, however, were mediated by the examined individual characteristics. While the effect of political discussions was largely mediated by the young people’s sense of internal political efficacy, the effect of important others’ attitudes was mediated by their own attitudes toward political behaviors