Dealigned but mobilized? Insights from a citizen science study on youth political engagement

Abstract

Existing research on youth political engagement indicates that adolescents have become dealigned from politics. However, according to cognitive mobilization theories, adolescents may not have turned away from politics per se, but found new avenues for political engagement. We involved adolescents in a citizen science project and investigated the roles of different societal actors in providing such new avenues. A total of 67 adolescents searched for political participation calls in their environment (N = 285). They documented and evaluated each observation via an online coding tool. As each observation is nested within individuals, we ran multilevel regressions. In line with the dealignment hypothesis, the participants rated participation offers from political candidates and parties as least interesting and least identified with such actors. By contrast, they highly identified with citizen movements and perceived their issues as most relevant. High identification with the actor and perceived issue relevance significantly increased the likelihood of participation. In line with cognitive mobilization, adolescents may thus not lack political motivation. However, traditional actors fail to respond to their identity needs and interests.