Adolescent Civic Engagement and Adult Outcomes: An Examination Among Urban Racial Minorities

Abstract

Civic engagement in adolescence is encouraged because it is hypothesized to promote better civic, social, and behavioral outcomes. However, few studies have examined the effects of civic engagement on youth development over time. In particular, the long-term association between adolescent civic engagement and development among racial minority youth who are exposed to high levels of risk factors is understudied. Using data from the Chicago Longitudinal Study (CLS; N = 854; 56.6% were female; 93% were African Americans and 7% were Latinos), this study examined the associations between civic engagement in adolescence and outcomes during emerging adulthood among racial minority youth. Regression analyses found that civic engagement in adolescence is related to higher life satisfaction, civic participation, and educational attainment, and is related to lower rates of arrest in emerging adulthood. The findings suggest that adolescent civic engagement is most impactful in affecting civic and educational outcomes in emerging adulthood. The present study contributes to the literature by providing support for the long-term associations between adolescent civic engagement and multiple developmental domains in adulthood among an inner-city minority cohort.

An examination of ethnic identity as a mediator of the effects of community participation and neighborhood sense of community on psychological empowerment among urban youth of color

“…This view of community participation highlights its role as a predictor of PE and a potential contributor in the empowerment process (Eisman et al, 2016;Speer et al, 2012). Nonetheless, community participation comes in a variety of forms, which include engaging in substance abuse prevention activities (Reid, Forenza, Lardier, & Garcia-Reid, 2017), volunteering, engaging in school activities, or taking part in other organizational or civic activities, such as writing a letter to a newspaper (Chan, Ou, & Reynolds, 2014) or improving the physical conditions of the environment (Wandersman & Florin, 2000).…”

“…Youth with opportunities to engage in community activities (e.g., advocacy, beautification projects) tend to experience positive developmental outcomes (Chan et al., ). For instance, in a participatory study, Zimmerman, Stewart, Morrel‐Samuels, Franzen, and Reischl () revealed that adolescents who took part in community‐based activities, such as beautification projects (e.g., developing a community garden and creating a mural against community violence) and violence‐prevention efforts with adult‐mentors, reported higher levels of empowerment and greater community connectedness.…”

Motivating Political Participation Among Youth: An Analysis of Factors Related to Adolescents’ Political Engagement

“…To strengthen democratic engagement-and ultimately democracy itself, it is important to foster broad political engagement and to develop a better understanding of how to support such engagement. Adolescence can be a vital stage in life to shape individuals' long-term participatory habits (Chan, Ou, & Reynolds, 2014;Jennings & Stoker, 2004;McAdam, 1988), so examining how to strengthen political engagement among youth could provide valuable insights. There are many programs that aim to foster political engagement among youth-some more successful than others (Levy, Solomon, & Collet-Gildard, 2016;Manning & Edwards, 2014), so research into the attitudes that are most central for such development could help these programs achieve their goals.…”

Trajectories of organized activity participation among urban adolescents: Associations with young adult outcomes

“…Past research mostly included nationally representative samples, which may not face the same challenges to postsecondary education as youth from urban, disadvantaged areas (Gardner et al., ). Another explanation for the divergent findings may be that past researchers focused on a specific type of participation (e.g., civic participation) that may be more predictive of educational outcomes in adulthood (Chan, Ou, & Reynolds, ). This suggests that specific types of participation may be more predictive of later educational attainment rather than participation across multiple contexts, and that our results may be most generalizable to lower income urban youth.…”