Hostname: page-component-8448b6f56d-tj2md Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-04-20T01:22:05.986Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

The Influence of Family Political Discussion on Youth Civic Development: Which Parent Qualities Matter?

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 July 2007

Hugh McIntosh ,
Daniel Hart  and
James Youniss
Hugh McIntosh
Affiliation:
Independent Scholar
Daniel Hart
Affiliation:
Rutgers University
James Youniss
Affiliation:
The Catholic University of America
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Extract

Evidence suggesting that the growth of civic roots in adolescence may be crucial to the long-term development of citizenship has stimulated research into factors that might influence civic development during this time. One interesting finding to emerge from that exploration is the apparent importance of discussion to the development of civic competence. Adolescents who discuss politics and current events with their parents, peers, or teachers tend to score higher than other youth on measures of civic behaviors, attitudes, and skills. They develop higher levels of political knowledge, show greater intention to vote in the future, and do better on a range of civic outcomes from petitioning and boycotting to raising money for charities and participating in community meetings (Torney-Purta et al. 2001; Andolina et al. 2003).

Type
FEATURES
Information
PS: Political Science & Politics , Volume 40 , Issue 3 , July 2007 , pp. 495 - 499
Copyright
© 2007 The American Political Science Association

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Andolina, Molly W., Krista Jenkins, Cliff Zukin, and Scott Keeter. 2003. “Habits from Home, Lessons from School: Influences on Youth Civic Development.” PS: Political Science and Politics 36 (2): 275–80.Google Scholar
Barber, Benjamin R. 2003. Strong Democracy: Participatory Politics for a New Age. Berkeley: University of California Press.Google Scholar
Beane, James, Joan Turner, David Jones, and Richard Lipka. 1981. “Long-Term Effects of Community Service Programs.” Curriculum Inquiry 11 (2): 143–55.Google Scholar
Collins, Mary A., J. Michael Brick, Mary Jo Nolin, Nancy Vaden-Kiernan, Susan Gilmore, Kathryn Chandler, and Chris Chapman. 1997. National Household Education Survey of 1996: Data File User's Manual, Volume I (NCES 97-425). Washington, D.C.: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education.Google Scholar
Comber, Melissa K. 2006. “Group Discussion Skills and Civic Education Content.” Presented at the International Conference on Civic Education, Orlando, FL.Google Scholar
Dudley, Robert L., and Alan R. Gitelson. 2002. “Political Literacy, Civic Education, and Civic Engagement: A Return to Political Socialization?” Applied Developmental Science 6: 175–82.Google Scholar
Erikson, E. H. 1968. Identity: Youth and Crisis. New York: Norton.Google Scholar
Flanagan, Constance. A., and Lonnie R. Sherrod. 1998. “Youth Political Development: An Introduction.” Journal of Social Issues 54: 447–56.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gimpel, James G., J. Celeste Lay, and Jason E. Schuknecht. 2003. Cultivating Democracy: Civic Environments and Political Socialization in America. Washington, D.C.: Brookings Institution.Google Scholar
Hanks, Michael, and Bruce K. Eckland. 1978. “Adult Voluntary Associations and Adolescent Socialization.” Sociological Quarterly 19: 481–90.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hart, Daniel, Robert Atkins, Patrick Markey, and James Youniss. 2004. “Youth Bulges in Communities: The Effects of Age Structure on Adolescent Civic Knowledge and Civic Participation.” Psychological Science 15 (9): 591–7.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Haste, Helen, and Judith Torney-Purta. 1992. “ Introduction.” In The Development of Political Understanding: A New Perspective, eds. Helen Haste and Judith Torney-Purta. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 1–10.Google Scholar
Hess, Diana E. 2004. “Discussion in Social Studies: Is It Worth the Trouble?” Social Education 68 (2): 151–5.Google Scholar
Jennings, M. Kent, and Richard G. Niemi. 1974. The Political Character of Adolescence: The Influence of Families and Schools. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.Google Scholar
Jennings, M. Kent, and Richard G. Niemi. 1981. Generations and Politics: A Panel Study of Young Adults and Their Parents. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.Google Scholar
Ladewig, Howard, and John K. Thomas. 1987. Assessing the Impact of 4-H on Former Members. College Station: Texas A&M University.Google Scholar
Lake Snell Perry, and Associates. 2002. “Short-Term Impacts, Long-Term Opportunities: The Political and Civic Engagement of Young Adults in America.” Summary of report for the Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement. www.civicyouth.org/research/products/national_youth_survey.htm. Accessed May 22, 2006.Google Scholar
Mannheim, Karl. [1928] 1952. “The Problem of Generations.” In Essays on the Sociology of Knowledge. Trans. and ed. Paul Kecskemeti. New York: Oxford University Press, 276–322.Google Scholar
McDevitt, Michael, and Spiro Kiousis. 2004. “Education for Deliberative Democracy: The Long-Term Influence of Kids Voting USA.” CIRCLE Working Paper 22. www.civicyouth.org/research/products/working_papers.htm. Accessed July 11, 2006.Google Scholar
Nie, Norman H., Jane Junn, and Kenneth Stehlik-Barry. 1996. Education and Democratic Citizenship in America. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.Google Scholar
Niemi, Richard. G., and Jane Junn. 1998. Civic Education: What Makes Students Learn. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.Google Scholar
Otto, Luther B. 1976. “Social Integration and Status-Attainment Process.” American Journal of Sociology 81: 1360–83.Google Scholar
Saphir, Melissa N., and Steven H. Chaffee. 2002. “Adolescents' Contributions to Family Communication Patterns.” Human Communication Research 28 (1): 86–108.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Torney-Purta, Judith. 1992. “ Cognitive Representations of the Political System in Adolescents: The Continuum from Pre-Novice to Expert.” In The Development of Political Understanding: A New Perspective, eds. Helen Haste and Judith Torney-Purta. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 11–25.Google Scholar
Torney-Purta, Judith. 1995. “Psychological Theory as a Basis for Political Socialization Research.” Perspectives in Political Science 24 (1): 23–33.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Torney-Purta, Judith, Rainer Lehmann, Hans Oswald, and Wolfram Schulz. 2001. Citizenship and Education in Twenty-Eight Countries: Civic Knowledge and Engagement at Age Fourteen. www.wam.umd.edu/∼jtpurta/interreport.htm. Accessed July 7, 2006.Google Scholar
Verba, Sidney, Kay L. Schlozman, and Henry E. Brady. 1995. Voice and Equality: Civic Voluntarism in American Politics. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.Google Scholar
Youniss, James, Jeffrey A. McLellan, and Miranda Yates. 1997. “What We Know About Engendering Civic Identity.” American Behavioral Scientist 40: 620–31.CrossRefGoogle Scholar