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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
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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

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