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Kim EJ, Le TU, Johnson SK, Lerner JV. Longitudinal Associations between Adolescents' Character Attributes and Civic Actions. J Youth Adolesc 2024:10.1007/s10964-024-02074-8. [PMID: 39249617 DOI: 10.1007/s10964-024-02074-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/22/2024] [Accepted: 08/20/2024] [Indexed: 09/10/2024]
Abstract
Research suggests that character attributes may enable youth to envision and perform civic actions that benefit society, but few studies have examined the longitudinal associations between character attributes and civic actions. As a response to this gap, this study investigated how specific character attributes (purpose, future mindedness, humility, and moral courage) may be differently linked to various civic actions (community service, political activities, social activism) cross-sectionally and longitudinally. Survey data were collected from 521 adolescents (Mage = 14.44, SD = 1.92, 58.5% girls, 60.8% White). Structural equation models demonstrated that purpose and future mindedness were positively associated with all three civic actions at Time 1, but not at Time 2. Humility was not associated with any Time 1 civic actions, but was negatively associated with Time 2 political activities. Moral courage was positively associated with Time 1 social activism and Time 2 political activities. Results illuminate the short-term interplay between character attributes and civic actions and point to internal resources that may promote different forms of youth civic action.
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Affiliation(s)
- Erin J Kim
- Department of Counseling, Developmental, and Educational Psychology, Boston College, Chestnut Hill, MA, USA.
| | - Trang U Le
- Department of Counseling, Developmental, and Educational Psychology, Boston College, Chestnut Hill, MA, USA
| | - Sara K Johnson
- Eliot-Pearson Department of Child Study and Human Development, Tufts University, Medford, MA, USA
| | - Jacqueline V Lerner
- Department of Counseling, Developmental, and Educational Psychology, Boston College, Chestnut Hill, MA, USA
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Wray-Lake L, Dunn D, Freund V, Kloska DD. The contribution of community service during the transition to adulthood to health in adulthood. JOURNAL OF RESEARCH ON ADOLESCENCE : THE OFFICIAL JOURNAL OF THE SOCIETY FOR RESEARCH ON ADOLESCENCE 2024. [PMID: 38378910 PMCID: PMC11333734 DOI: 10.1111/jora.12922] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/15/2023] [Revised: 01/03/2024] [Accepted: 01/15/2024] [Indexed: 02/22/2024]
Abstract
Prior studies have linked young people's community service to indicators of health, yet little research takes the long view by connecting youth's community service to health in the next decade of life. Using a lifespan developmental lens, this study examined community service over the transition to adulthood and uses change over time in community service to predict indicators of behavioral, physical, and psychological health at ages 35 and 40. Data were taken from Monitoring the Future U.S. national multi-cohort data spanning ages 18-40 in high school cohorts from 1976 to 1995 for age 40 (N = 4300) and 1976 to 2000 for age 35 (N = 5879). Models estimated a growth curve model for community service from ages 18 to 30 and found that the slope for community service was associated with alcohol use, binge drinking, marijuana use, healthy behaviors, and life satisfaction at ages 35 and 40, with cigarette use at age 35 only, and with self-esteem and depressive symptoms at age 40 only. Less decline in community service over the transition to adulthood was associated with lower substance use, more healthy behaviors, and higher psychological well-being in adulthood. This study contributes evidence that community service and health are linked across the lifespan and suggests the value of examining the long-term implications of developmental change across adolescence and the transition to adulthood.
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Affiliation(s)
- Laura Wray-Lake
- Department of Social Welfare, University of California, Los Angeles, California, USA
| | - Danielle Dunn
- Department of Social Welfare, University of California, Los Angeles, California, USA
| | - Valerie Freund
- Department of Psychology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA
| | - Deborah D Kloska
- Institute for Social Research, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA
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Suzuki S, Hoyt LT, Yazdani N, Kornbluh M, Hope EC, Hagan MJ, Cohen AK, Ballard PJ. Trajectories of sociopolitical stress during the 2020 United States presidential election season: Associations with psychological well-being, civic action, and social identities. COMPREHENSIVE PSYCHONEUROENDOCRINOLOGY 2023; 16:100218. [PMID: 38023737 PMCID: PMC10654137 DOI: 10.1016/j.cpnec.2023.100218] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/01/2023] [Revised: 10/29/2023] [Accepted: 10/30/2023] [Indexed: 12/01/2023] Open
Abstract
Sociopolitical stress arises in reaction to awareness of, exposure to, and/or involvement in political events. Among a longitudinal cohort of 628 college students from 10 universities across the U.S., we explored trajectories of sociopolitical stress during the 2020 United States presidential election season and examined relationships to psychological well-being. Growth mixture modeling classified our sample into four subgroups each with distinct trajectories of sociopolitical stress: High and Decreasing, Moderate and Increasing, Consistently Low, and High-to-Low. Participants with lower levels of sociopolitical stress expressed higher psychological well-being (high flourishing, high optimism, low anxiety symptoms, low depressive symptoms). The High and Decreasing subgroup was associated with the highest levels of civic action. Participants in the High and Decreasing trajectory were 20 times more likely to identify as LGBQ+, and 4 times more likely to be a woman or a transgender/gender diverse student, compared to participants in the Consistently Low subgroup.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sara Suzuki
- CIRCLE (Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement), Tisch College of Civic Life, Tufts University, 419 Boston Avenue, Medford, 02155, MA, United States
| | - Lindsay Till Hoyt
- Fordham University, 441 East Fordham Road, Bronx, 10458, NY, United States
| | - Neshat Yazdani
- Fordham University, 441 East Fordham Road, Bronx, 10458, NY, United States
| | - Mariah Kornbluh
- University of Oregon, 1585 East 13th Avenue, Eugene, 97403, OR, United States
| | - Elan C. Hope
- Policy Research Associates, Inc., 433 River Street, Suite 1005, Troy, NY, 12180 United States
| | - Melissa J. Hagan
- San Francisco State University, 1600 Holloway Avenue, San Francisco, 94132, CA, United States
| | - Alison K. Cohen
- University of California, San Francisco, 550 16th Street, 2nd Floor, San Francisco, 94158, CA, United States
| | - Parissa J. Ballard
- Wake Forest University School of Medicine, 475 Vine Street, Winston-Salem, 27101, NC, United States
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Fenn N, Yang M, Pearson-Merkowitz S, Robbins M. Civic engagement and well-being among noncollege young adults: Investigating a mediation model. JOURNAL OF COMMUNITY PSYCHOLOGY 2023; 51:2667-2685. [PMID: 36943410 PMCID: PMC10629573 DOI: 10.1002/jcop.23033] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/14/2022] [Revised: 02/08/2023] [Accepted: 03/10/2023] [Indexed: 06/18/2023]
Abstract
Young adults may benefit from civic engagement as a health promotion tool, as civic engagement is generally associated with positive well-being. However, more information is needed to examine civic engagement among lesser-educated young adults who are least likely to civically engage, and more likely to demonstrate mental health needs. We surveyed noncollege young adults (N = 621) to measure their civic engagement, meaning, civic efficacy, well-being, and sociodemographic factors. Using an a priori model, direct, indirect, and full effects path analyses were conducted across men and women, and then the entire sample. The full effects model best fit the data with mediation by civic efficacy and meaning (χ2 (2) = 0.59, p = 0.74; comparative fit index = 1.0; root mean square error of approximation = 0.00, 90% confidence interval [0.00-0.06]; R2 = 0.42). Types of engagement (civic, electoral, activism, and online) demonstrated differing relationships with well-being. Stakeholders should resource young adults with civic skills and coping strategies to address the many challenges that civic experiences often elicit.
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Affiliation(s)
- Natalie Fenn
- Department of Psychology, University of Rhode Island
- Department of Psychiatry & Human Behavior, Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University
| | - Manshu Yang
- Department of Psychology, University of Rhode Island
| | | | - Mark Robbins
- Department of Psychology, University of Rhode Island
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