Meaningful Participation? Political Efficacy of Adolescents in 24 countries

This 24-nation European–US study (1999–2000) of the democratic political values, attitudes, and behavior of adolescents uncovers a generally high level of self-predicted future political participation as adults. Four of five14-year-olds regard themselves as future voters, and 61% predict involvement in protest activities. Moreover, law breaking as an act of protest is almost as attractive in theory as acting through representative institutions. A two-level, combined individualand country-level regression analysis of political efficacy made use of the new SEM analytic tools. Individual-level internal efficacy appears to play a major role in explaining the predicted participation intensity. At the country level, internal efficacy could above all explain the predicted participation in representative forums, but not a disposition to vote. In contrast to postmaterialistic theory adolescents of southern Europe self-predicted the widest range of political participation, while adolescents in the most post-materialistic countries, such as the Nordic countries, for whom voting is most important, predicted the narrowest. Through internal efficacy, two sets of contextual factors respectively erode and boost participatory motivations. Revealing the tensions existing between political institutions and civic norms is above all a clue to understanding what strengthens internal efficacy and makes political participation meaningful.