Socializing Youth for Citizenship. CIRCLE Working Paper 03.

Most researchers to date have theorized that programs to promote positive citizenship should begin with an opportunity for adolescents to participate in positive citizenship activities, such as community service or political volunteering. In the present study, we hypothesize that programs and policies to promote positive citizenship may need to begin by first focusing on informal interactions in youths’ lives, such as with parents and peers, and on the culture in which youth are raised. We hypothesize that these informal interactions socialize or “prime” youth to have the motivation and values that subsequently lead to positive citizenship behaviors. To examine this hypothesis, we analyzed a large, diverse, longitudinal survey. The data were collected during a historical period in which a major opportunity to participate in a positive citizenship activity, and one that was salient to a large percentage of the sample, was present: The Million Man March. Our subsequent findings contribute to the field of youth civic engagement by providing more concrete evidence for the unique effects that informal social interactions have on youth, above and beyond previous citizenship engagement, religiosity, parental education, ethnicity and gender. Furthermore, we found that early adolescents who have altruistic values Page 2 Socializing Youth for Citizenship and a motivation to better society are more likely to engage in citizenship activities later in adolescence. More specifically for African American youth, ethnic-related experiences and attitudes that are salient or matter to the youths’ self-concepts appear to be important predictors of later citizenship engagement. From this finding, we theorize the key component of ethnic socialization to be the salience of the socialization and the subsequent citizenship activity to the youth’s self-concept. The results are discussed with regard to program and policy development as well as future research directions. Page 3 Circle Working Paper 03: March 2003 Most researchers to date have theorized that programs to promote positive citizenship should begin with an opportunity for adolescents to participate in positive citizenship activities, such as community service or political volunteering. In the present study, we hypothesize that programs and policies to promote positive citizenship may need to begin by first focusing on informal interactions in youths’ lives, such as with parents and peers, and on the culture in which youth are raised. We hypothesize that these informal interactions socialize or “prime” youth to have the motivation and values that subsequently lead to positive citizenship behaviors. To examine this hypothesis, we use data from a large, diverse, regional longitudinal survey to test whether the relationship between social, familial and cultural factors and positive citizenship behaviors is mediated by the development of altruism and motivation to be a good person in order to benefit society. The implications of our findings will be discussed in the context of program and policy development and future research directions. Importance of Positive Citizenship Adolescents have the capacity to be positive citizens in their communities. They can act to make their homes, communities, schools, and/or society a better place by being environmentally active, volunteering in community or political organizations, and committing smaller prosocial acts such as helping someone across the street. Adolescent positive citizenship has the dual effect of providing needed services to the community and society, and promoting psychological, social, and intellectual growth for the young citizen (Aguirre International, 1999; Page 4 Socializing Youth for Citizenship Conrad & Hedin, 1982; Janoski, Musick & Wilson, 1998; Johnson, Beebe, Mortimer & Snyder, 1998). Unfortunately, relatively few youth participate in positive citizenship activities. For instance, although there is a trend toward greater youth participation in community service (Faison & Flanagan, 2001), fewer than 50% (and, depending on the data cited, closer to 30%) of youth actually participate in volunteer activities (e.g., Child Trends, 2002; Flanagan, Bowes, Jonsson, Csap, & Sheblanova, 1998; Harris Interactive, 2001; National Association of Secretaries of State, 1998; U.S. Department of Education, 1999; Zaff, Moore, Papillo & Williams, in press). The relatively low rates of volunteering are consistent with the low rates of another component of positive citizenship, political involvement. Recent data suggest a decrease in political involvement and an increasing cynicism among youth about the political process (Putnam, 2000). This is particularly important, considering, as de Tocqueville (1969) posited, that broad participation in the political process results in the strongest democracies. According to the National Election Studies, only 46% of voting eligible youth born in 1975 or later went to the polls in the 1996 presidential election, with a drop to 38% in the 2000 election. That percentage is significantly lower than for voters born between 1959 and 1974 (62%) and all other older Americans (over 80%). Non-presidential, federal election years give an even bleaker view of youth political involvement, with 20% and 15% of youth voting in 1994 and 1998, respectively. Political involvement can also take the form of political activism and club membership. Page 5 Circle Working Paper 03: March 2003 However, in one nationally representative study, only 14% of adolescents and young adults between 15 and 24 years of age reported ever participating in a club or organization that directly deals with politics or the government (National Association of Secretaries of State, 1998). These low rates of political and community involvement do not mean that adolescents are disengaged from the world. In fact, nearly 80% of youth report being members of clubs, such as sports teams or academic and arts clubs (Ehrle & Moore, 1999; National Association of Secretaries of State, 1998). The key issue, then, is not how to engage youth in general activities, but how to engage youth in positive citizenship activities. What Do We Know and What Still Needs to be Learned There has been a recent increase in efforts among social scientists, policy makers, and practitioners to improve rates of youth positive citizenship. The National Educational Goals for 2000, adopted by Congress, set forth youth community service participation as an objective for preparing the country’s young citizenry; the American Political Science Association has made youth civic education one of its major initiatives; and the Corporation for National and Community Service is a government entity that was created to fund volunteering and community service programs. Furthermore, several foundations and universities have developed centers and institutes assigned with the task of measuring and researching the antecedents of positive citizenship. Although there is a relative dearth of research on the predictors of youth Page 6 Socializing Youth for Citizenship citizenship behaviors, there is enough research, at least, to suggest important contributing factors in youths’ lives. Several researchers have taken the theoretical perspective that engaging youth in civic activities is the most effective way to promote positive citizenship identity formation and subsequent positive citizenship in adulthood (e.g., Youniss & Yates, 1999). However, the available research findings are subject to self-selection bias, and experimental research (the gold standard of proving causality) has not produced consistently positive results (e.g., The Center for Human Resources, 1999). In fact, according to Colby and Damon (1999), parents, peers, and culture and society socialize individuals to have a sense of morality (or lack of morality). Thus, theoretically, when presented with a given situation, an individual may respond in a different way than a person with a different sense of morality. For instance, one individual might have been socialized to have a moral commitment to making society a better place, while others may not. Based on this theory, there are factors within the youth, such as values, and external to the youth, such as socializing agents, that act to promote or deter civic engagement. We turn, then, to factors within youths’ lives that may promote positive citizenship. Family, peer and background variables. Parent, peer, gender, ethnicity, religious participation, and societal and cultural variables have all been found to be associated with positive citizenship behaviors such as volunteering and voting. For instance, parents who act as role models, who reinforce volunteering behavior in their children, and who participate in general activities with their children have children who are more likely to be involved in volunteering activities (Dunham & Bengston, 1992; Flanagan, Bowes, Jonsson, Csapo, & Sheblanova, 1998; Fletcher, Page 7 Circle Working Paper 03: March 2003 Elder, & Mekos, 2000; Hashway, 1998). Other relationships, such as with peers, can have similar implications (Wentzel & McNamara, 1999; Yates & Youniss, 1998). Females are generally more likely to participate in community service and to be more knowledgeable about politics (Flanagan et al., 1998; NCES, 1999) and Caucasian American youth are more likely to vote and to volunteer in community service than African American and Hispanic American youth (Johnston, Bachman & O’Malley, 1999). Participation in religious activities is also related to a greater likelihood of participating in community service activities (Serow & Dreyden, 1990; Youniss, McLellan, Su, & Yates, 1999). Finally, research suggests that events in society, such as a political campaign, can increase participation in civic activities (Sears & Valentino, 1997). Motivation and values. Much of the current research on positive citizenship has used cross-sectional research desi