How Do Young People Become Politically Engaged?

Australian young people's perspectives about the political determinants of the climate crisis

ISSUE ADDRESSED

There has been little focus on young people's views about the political determinants of the climate crisis. As young people are likely to be the group most impacted by political decisions relating to the climate crisis, it is essential to understand their views about government decision-making.

METHODS

A qualitatively-led online survey of n = 500 young Australians aged 15-24 years. Open text questions sought young people's views about current government climate policies, perceptions about policy effectiveness, and how governments could improve their climate responses. Reflexive thematic analysis was used to interpret and construct themes from the data.

RESULTS

Young people perceived that governments were not taking serious action on the climate crisis. They stated that climate policies were largely influenced by economic imperatives, rather than concern for the wellbeing of current and future generations. They perceived that governments had a duty of care to protect them from the climate crisis, and needed to engage young people in climate discussions and decision-making.

CONCLUSIONS

Young people's perspectives about the political determinants of the climate crisis provides information about their understanding of government policies and their recommendations for action. There is a need for collaboration between young people and decision-makers to urgently develop effective climate policies. SO WHAT?: Young people understand key issues relating to the political determinants of the climate crisis. The health promotion community has a role in advocating for structural changes in policymaking processes to ensure young people have a seat at the decision-making table.

Growing up amid conflict: Implications of the Developmental Peacebuilding Model

Worldwide, 420 million children are affected by conflict and over half of all children experience violence every year. Thus, youth are unarguably affected by war and settings of persisting societal violence. Despite often being conceptualized as either powerless victims or violent perpetrators, recent advances in research and international policy recognize young people as key change agents in transforming adverse settings into positive environments. Framed by the Developmental Peacebuilding Model, this paper focuses on predictors, outcomes and intervention points within the family for youth peacebuilding. Recent advances of family-based interventions in diverse, non-WEIRD samples will be highlighted. Rooted in existing knowledge, we conclude with concrete suggestions on how to use secondary data to investigate youth peacebuilding across the globe.

From home to the streets: Can cultural socialization foster Latinx youths' social responsibility?

Grassroots movements such as Poder Quince exemplify how Latinx youth intertwine their cultural heritage and traditions with civic action to create positive change within their communities. Parents' cultural socialization messages have been shown to instill cultural pride and encourage prosocial behaviors (e.g., helping others, caring for younger siblings). However, there is a dearth of research on the sociopolitical discussions Latinx adolescents have with their parents and the mechanisms by which cultural socialization encourages prosocial civic development. Drawing on data from a sample of 269 self-identified Latinx youth from three Midwestern US schools, the present study explored the direct links between parental cultural socialization and adolescents' sense of social responsibility (i.e., concern for others and caring for community) as well as the potential indirect associations via sociopolitical and civic socialization at home. Our findings suggest direct associations between cultural socialization and caring for their communities. Additionally, we observed indirect associations between cultural socialization and youths' social responsibility via family civic socialization practices and engagement in sociopolitical discussions taking place in the home.

The politics of depression: Diverging trends in internalizing symptoms among US adolescents by political beliefs

Adolescent internalizing symptoms (e.g. depressive affect) have increased over the past decade in the US, particularly among girls. The reasons for these increases are unclear. We hypothesize that increasing exposure to politicized events has contributed to these trends in adolescent internalizing symptoms, and that effects may be differential by political beliefs and sociodemographic characteristics. We analyzed nationally-representative data from 2005 to 2018 Monitoring the Future annual cross-sectional samples of 12th-grade students (N = 86,138). We examined self-reported political beliefs, sex, and parental education as predictors of four internalizing symptom scales over time, including depressive affect. From 2005 to 2018, 19.8% of students identified as liberal and 18.1% identified as conservative, with little change over time. Depressive affect (DA) scores increased for all adolescents after 2010, but increases were most pronounced for female liberal adolescents (b for interaction = 0.17, 95% CI: 0.01, 0.32), and scores were highest overall for female liberal adolescents with low parental education (Mean DA 2010: 2.02, SD 0.81/2018: 2.75, SD 0.92). Findings were consistent across multiple internalizing symptoms outcomes. Trends in adolescent internalizing symptoms diverged by political beliefs, sex, and parental education over time, with female liberal adolescents experiencing the largest increases in depressive symptoms, especially in the context of demographic risk factors including parental education. These findings indicate a growing mental health disparity between adolescents who identify with certain political beliefs. It is therefore possible that the ideological lenses through which adolescents view the political climate differentially affect their mental wellbeing.

Adolescents' views of defunding the police, abolishing the police, and "The Talk"

INTRODUCTION

Definitions regarding defunding or abolishing the police are highly contested in the United States. Moreover, adolescents' definitions and how socialization processes shape their definitions are unclear.

METHODS

Within a national sample of 822 adolescents ages 13-17 (49.69% female; 63.22% White, 16.93% Black/African American, 11.01% Hispanic/Latinx) surveyed in July 2020, this study examined how youth define defunding versus abolishing the police, how much parents talk to youth about the police (i.e., "the Talk"), and whether relations emerged between defunding/abolishing the police and "the Talk."

RESULTS

Youth supported defunding more than abolishing (d = 0.57). Support for abolishing was higher for youth who frequently received "the Talk" (b = 0.25). Differences by race and gender were uncovered in how frequently youth received "the Talk."

CONCLUSIONS

Police must recognize that coercion, fear, and biased policing breed discontent and promote families to engage in protective parenting strategies including engaging in "the Talk."

The presidential election of the human body: applying contextual learning to promote connections between the student and the curricular content

Using real-world situations to engage students in learning specific content is advocated by educational research as an effective strategy. However, motivating students to establish personal and emotional connections with the curricular content is challenging. We presented a didactic strategy named "the presidential election of the human body," created to use the presidential election context to engage students in studying cell function and structure using role-playing and appropriation of scientific concepts. Four groups of students (n = 124) of the science and mathematics teacher training program chose a cell of the human body to impersonate, they studied the biology of their cell, and they ran in a presidential election campaign. They created slogans, videos, and materials for their campaign, and on the day of the election the group of students voted for the best slogan. The didactic strategy was capable of stimulating the appropriation of the characteristics of the cells they represented. The majority (75%) of the elected candidates represented cells that are linked to the nervous system. Musicality and humor were the most frequent styles that appeared in the slogans. Students strongly agreed that they enjoyed the activity and considered it valuable for contextualizing the learning of anatomy and physiology. Thus, the activity is a didactic resource to stimulate the students to embrace the content they are learning in the contextualized momentum of a presidential election.

Intersectional Activism Among Black Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer or Questioning Young Adults: The Roles of Intragroup Marginalization, Identity, and Community

Research around the importance of activism for positive development has been primarily focused on a single identity, missing the ways in which race and sexual orientation intersect to influence the communities young adults advocate for. The current study assesses how Black lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer or questioning (LGBTQ) young adults’ experiences of discrimination, identity, and community predict involvement in intersectional activism (e.g., activism for LGBTQ communities of color). With a sample of 216 Black LGBTQ young adults from the Social Justice Sexuality project, we used hierarchical linear regression to examine relationships between intragroup marginalization, identity, community involvement, and intersectional activism. While all three constructs explained a significant variance in intersectional activism, only racial marginalization within the LGBTQ community and involvement in LGBTQ communities of color were positively associated with intersectional activism. These findings demonstrate that experiences of intragroup marginalization and connection to communities that center both race and sexual orientation may be important in fostering activism among Black LGBTQ young adults.

Culturally informed shift-&-persist: A higher-order factor model and prospective associations with discrimination and depressive symptoms

OBJECTIVES

Based on the conceptual overlap between shift-&-persist (S&P) and culturally based strategies (critical civic engagement [CCE] and spiritually based coping), this study tests whether associations between these three previously disparate strategies are attributable to the existence of a higher-order coping construct: culturally informed S&P.

METHODS

Among 364 diverse minoritized youth (Mage = 18.79, 85.2% female), we tested for the existence of this higher-order factor through confirmatory factor analysis.

RESULTS

We found theoretical and empirical support for the existence of a higher-order factor structure and for our higher-order factor-culturally informed S&P. Culturally informed S&P promotes fewer depressive symptoms as a main effect in addition to completely protecting against the negative impact of discrimination on depressive symptoms when culturally informed S&P is high.

CONCLUSIONS

The current study illustrates relations between three previously distinct coping strategies through their association with culturally informed S&P. Results highlight culturally informed S&P's promotive and protective effects in the face of ethnic-racial discrimination. Implications for subsequent study of culturally based coping are discussed. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).

Pathways to Civic Engagement Among Urban Youth of Color

Through civic engagement, adolescents can increase community vitality, challenge injustices, and address social problems. Positive youth development (PYD) theory and research has generated knowledge of ecological assets (resources and supports in everyday environments) that foster youth civic engagement. Yet, assets and opportunities are not equally available to all youth. Youth of color in urban high-poverty neighborhoods merit more concerted attention in research on civic development to inform theory, policy, and practice. A primary goal of this monograph is to broaden academic and public discourse about what civic engagement looks like and how it develops for urban youth of color who live in high-poverty neighborhoods. We conducted one time, face-to-face interviews and brief quantitative surveys with 87 youth of color (90% Black and Black multiracial; 59.8% male; ages 12-19) recruited from five youth centers in Rochester, New York, from 2015 to 2016. Interviews elicited youth's perspectives on how they define and experience civic engagement, community problems, connections and discussions to community, and adult supports. We used an inductive qualitative methodology. In Chapter I, we review what is known about civic engagement among urban youth of color. We lay out evidence for ecological assets that support youth civic engagement, aligned with a PYD perspective, and articulate ways to expand beyond PYD to understand youth empowerment and urban contexts. In Chapter II, we summarize national and local contexts that may shape the experiences of urban youth of color in our study. To set the stage for the empirical chapters that follow, we describe our sample, study design, and methodology. In Chapter III, we examine how urban youth of color in Rochester experience community violence and discuss the implications of these experiences for civic development. Youth articulated violence as a serious community problem and powerfully discussed frequent, personal, direct and indirect exposures to violence. Due to fear and lack of safety, some youth strategically disconnected from community and relationships and experienced disempowerment. Others reacted to violence with a tendency toward self-protection. For some, community violence was a catalyst for civic action. In Chapter IV, we investigate how youth defined and experienced civic engagement. Youth's civic participation spanned helping community, engaging politically, participating in school or community organizations, engaging in social and leisure activities, and taking personal responsibility. Youth's civic actions were largely informal and localized. Some civic participation was contextualized as a response to community violence, such as intervening to protect peers from harm. Some youth were not civically engaged. In Chapter V, we map out what civic empowerment looks like for these youth and how civic empowerment links to civic action. Supporting prior theory, we found evidence for emotional, relational, and cognitive dimensions of civic empowerment and experiences of civic disempowerment. Emotional empowerment was most closely aligned with civic action, although any expressions of civic empowerment suggest youth are developing building blocks for civic participation. In Chapter VI, we investigate ecological assets that support youth's civic development. Safe community spaces such as youth centers provided familiarity and comfort, opportunities to forge connections with others, and places to help and be helped. Adults supported youth by enabling youth to feel heard, not judging them, serving as role models, and offering guidance and support. Youth were equally articulate about how adults fail to support or empower them. We conclude that some assets generally support positive development and others specifically foster civic development. In Chapter VII, we integrate findings across chapters into a conceptual model of four distinct pathways of civic development. We systematically examined differences among youth who are disengaged, personally responsible, safely engaged, and broadly engaged. All pathways are adaptive, and youth found different ways to navigate community violence and other adversities. As summarized in Chapter VIII, our study informs theory and future research on civic engagement among urban youth of color in contexts of adversity. We put forward four important elements needed for theory of civic development to be relevant for urban youth of color. Then we offer policy and practice recommendations: (a) investment in safe spaces and violence-reduction policies should be a top priority; (b) youth should be involved in decision-making about solutions to issues of concern to them; (c) civic engagement programs and opportunities should center on local issues and allow for multiple forms of engagement; (d) all youth should be heard and taken seriously by the adults in their lives.

Adolescents' Evaluations of Political Leaders: The Case of President Donald Trump

The current study explored youths' views of President Donald Trump using quantitative ratings and open-ended responses from a diverse sample of 1,432 U.S. adolescents from three geographic regions. Adolescent demographic characteristics (i.e., gender, race, geographic location) were systematically associated with their views about Trump. Open-ended responses demonstrated substantial variability in youths' rationales for approving or disapproving of the president. Adolescents' attitudes were informed by knowledge of the president's leadership attributes, political views and policies, and their own experiences. Findings indicate that adolescents draw upon and synthesize a broad range of information when formulating their political views and coordinate this knowledge with their own opinions and experiences when evaluating political figures.