Suchergebnisse

This study examined the effects of school climate (open classroom and positive student relationships) and personality dispositions (shyness and need for cognition) on adolescents' political self-efficacy. Data were collected in 2014 from 1,954 Czech ninth- and tenth-graders (mean age = 15.60). A multilevel analysis showed that school-level political self-efficacy predicted self-efficacy for local politics. However, schools and classrooms were rather homogeneous in terms of students' mean political self-efficacy and students' self-reported acquisition of civic skills at school. Hence, school characteristics had only limited associations with adolescents' political self-efficacy. At the same time, students' political efficacy had a considerable association with lower shyness and higher need for cognition. These results suggest that the development of political efficacy at school goes beyond simple general influences of school environment and individual differences between students must be considered.

This study examined the effects of individual, school-level and country-level variables and their interactions on two components of adolescents' active European citizenship: trust in European institutions and participation at the European level. For comparison, country-related institutional trust and participation were also predicted. Using multilevel regression models, we re-analysed a subsample of survey data from the International Civic and Citizenship Education Study, collected from 14-year-old students (n = 72,466) in 22 European countries in 2009. Results showed that higher cognitive engagement with politics (e.g., political interest), more opportunities for learning about Europe at school, and country wealth and social equality were positively associated with both aspects of adolescents' active European citizenship. In contrast to country-related participation, the participatory dimension of active European citizenship was also positively related to a higher socioeconomic status of adolescent's classroom and family, an association that was more pronounced in less wealthy and post-communist countries.

This article investigates the effects of political discussions with parents, political discussions with peers and exposure to political news during an election campaign on the voting intentions and behaviour of first-time voters. Longitudinal data collected in the Czech Republic are employed in the main analysis (N=223). Results show that young people who frequently discuss politics with their peers are characterized by higher voting intentions and subsequent electoral participation. On the other hand, political discussions with parents and exposure to political news have no such effects. Furthermore, although it does not have an impact on voting intentions, more frequent political discussions with parents predict increased frequency of political discussions with peers. Overall, our results underscore the importance of peers in late adolescents' political socialization.

This study examined whether people who prefer online over offline civic participation differ from those who participate in both environments, who prefer offline participation, or do not participate. Using a cross-sectional sample of young adults (age 18-28) recruited in the Czech Republic (N = 720), we compared these four groups (defined by their types of civic participation) regarding their socio-demographic profiles, trust (social, individual, and in the media), relationship to politics (political interest, exposure to politics in the media, and internal political efficacy), and political ideology (left-right orientation, concern with environmental issues, and support for immigrants' rights). Results showed that people who prefer online participation adhere to conservative political ideologies than people with other types of participation. Their relationship to politics is as positive as in the case of people active in both environments. No substantial differences in trust and socio-demographics were found.

This study examined the predictors of political trust in late adolescence. Three waves of longitudinal data (ages 11, 15, and 17) from 1116 Czech adolescents (346 participated at least in the first and last wave) were analyzed using structural equation modeling. Results showed that high verbal cognitive ability in early adolescence predicted greater political trust in late adolescence. This effect was explained by adolescents' greater cognitive political engagements, but not by their more positive relationships with authorities (e.g., school or parents) during adolescence. Next, early adolescents who perceived more parental warmth demonstrated greater political trust when they reached late adolescence. These results suggest that some young people might enter adulthood more skeptical regarding politics based on their abilities and early nonpolitical experiences.

This study investigated whether adolescents' readiness for non-normative political participation (i.e., readiness to confront social rules for political reasons) was predicted by their interpersonal problems (with parents, teachers, and classmates), low optimism, and political beliefs (political self-efficacy and distrust in public institutions). A structural equation model using two-wave longitudinal data from Czech high school students (N = 768; 54% females; age range at T1 = 14–17, M = 15.97; T2 data collected 1.5 years later) showed that the changes in adolescents' readiness for non-normative participation were predicted by their lower institutional trust. Interpersonal relationships or optimism had no cross-sectional or longitudinal effect on the readiness for non-normative participation. These results suggest that the main source of adolescents' readiness for non-normative political actions lies in their political beliefs, while the effect of adolescents' interpersonal problems is less clear.

Research on the political behavior of young people often approaches psychological factors such as political efficacy or interest as antecedents of political participation. This study examines whether efficacy and interest are also outcomes of participation and if this effect differs across three types of political participation. Data from a two-wave longitudinal survey of 768 Czech adolescents (aged 14–17 years at Time 1, 54% females) was used. Findings support the proposition that psychological factors are affected by participatory experiences. Cross-lagged models showed longitudinal effects from participation to changes in psychological factors, but not effects in the opposite direction. Protest participation predicted higher interest and internal political efficacy, but lower external political efficacy, volunteering predicted higher external political efficacy, and representational participation had no effects on psychological factors. Overall, our findings point out the formative role of participatory experiences in adolescence and the diverse effects of different types of political participation on political development.

The study examined the relation between adolescents' interparental conflict perceptions and their political efficacy regarding local issues. Longitudinal data (age 15 and 17) from 444 adolescents were analyzed using structural equation modeling. Results showed that young people experiencing frequent interparental conflict reported an increase in depressive mood during late adolescence, which was associated with lower level of political efficacy. Moreover, adolescents who felt more efficacious when dealing with fighting parents felt more efficacious in local politics, even when controlling for personality traits and depressive mood. One possible explanation is that family perceptions generalize to politics because both contexts share certain similar features. Our results underscore that also seemingly nonpolitical experiences can matter in adolescents' civic and political development.

The study examined whether adolescents' tendency to employ informational, or normative identity-processing style predicts their perceived effectiveness of different political activities. Data were taken from the broader longitudinal study conducted in the Czech Republic, and included reports from 179 participants (Time 1 = age 17; Time 2 = age 19). Path analyses suggested that adolescents who sought information tended to perceive non-traditional political activity (e.g., in civic organizations) as effective, while participants' normative conformism predicted disbelief in direct activity (e.g., petitions). Perceived effectiveness of traditional activity (e.g., voting) reflected adolescents' actual political trust rather than their identity-processing styles. These results complement previous findings on the correlates of identity-processing styles and adolescents' political thinking.

After a long history, research on the relation between participative and communicative practices was revived in the late 1990s because of the proliferation of new media. New studies have taken into account both online and offline participation and the ability of new media to provide citizens with easier access to information and a broader repertoire of actions. In this article, which is based on a representative survey of the adult Czech population and a survey of Czech adolescents, we address participative and communicative practices as intertwined sets that are typically preferred by certain groups of citizens. As media-related and political practices usually vary due to generational and historical experience, the aim is to discover whether people with similar generational backgrounds and with similar repertoires of action manifest similar sets of commu- nication practices, i.e. similar media ensembles. Hence, we build this study on the assumption that the politi- cal- and media-related agencies are structured by historical experience as well as by biographical experience linked with life-cycle phases. Using cluster analysis, we focus on the various participative and communicative practices employed by three distinct adult generational groups and by contemporary adolescents, all of whom experienced the process of socialization in their own specific historical contexts.

Families and schools are traditionally seen as substantial socialization agents forming adolescents' social values and their views of society. Special attention is paid to the question whether the relative importance of these influences remains stable in times of major social changes. In this study, two different generations of Czech middle adolescents are compared: (a) the "post-totalitarian" generation that grew up in the last decade of the communist regime and entered adolescence during the time of rapid political and socioeconomic changes (data collected in 1995) and (b) the current generation without personal experience with the communist regime, raised in a stable democratic society (data collected in 2010). Both groups of participants (total N = 2,127, aged from 14 to 17 years) were administered an identical questionnaire. First, we examined the changes in adolescents' perception and evaluation of the society over the last 15 years. Today's adolescents perceive society more as a community and their future orientations are more focused on materialistic and less on environmental values. While the emotional relationship between the children and parentsremains the same, adolescents learn a somewhat different message in the family, emphasizing self-reliance. School environment is perceived more as positive and engaging than 15 years ago. Second, we predicted adolescents' social views and values from their assessment of family and school environment. Our results show that the effect of parental values on adolescents' value orientations is higher in the current generation. Positive school environment contributes to the development of socially responsible orientations despite the changes in society.

Abstract: Young people's authoritarianism is usually associated with lower tolerance toward immigrants. This study tests several alternative pathways through which authoritarianism translates into intolerance. Besides perceived threat from immigration and political alienation, trust in alternative media, which often express anti-immigration sentiments, are considered as potential mediators. Structural equation modeling was used to analyze two-wave longitudinal questionnaire data from Czech adolescents and young adults (aged 15–25; N = 1,346). The results showed that authoritarianism longitudinally predicted perceived threat, which in turn mediated the negative effect of authoritarianism on tolerance. Authoritarianism also predicted higher trust in alternative media, but alternative media trust did not translate into young people's tolerance. Despite their cross-sectional correlations, no longitudinal effects of authoritarianism on political alienation were found.

AbstractAlthough civil liberties are considered to be one of the pillars of democracy, their support among people is far from unconditional. The aim of this article is to examine the predictors of people's willingness to trade off their civil liberties for a more restrictive form of government. We hypothesize that civil liberties trade‐off is positively predicted by individuals' authoritarianism and national identity and that the effects of both variables are mediated by perceived threat. Our sample came from the Czech Republic and consisted of 309 respondents who participated in an online survey. Data were analyzed using structural equation modeling. Our results supported all of our hypotheses. Perceived threat had the strongest effect on civil liberties trade‐off. At the same time, perceived threat partially mediated the effect of authoritarianism and completely mediated the effect of national identity on civil liberties trade‐off.

This study focuses on the role of online civic participation in the civic development of adolescents. We build on the assumption that online civic participation differs from more traditional offline civic participation in several key characteristics, namely lacking proximity to other actors, possible disconnection between civic actions and their outcomes, and a reduced hierarchy within the online environment. Considering these specifics, the study examined the longitudinal effect of online participation on the development of civic identity, political self-efficacy, and attitudes toward social authorities. Concurrently, we contrasted the impact of online participation with the impact of offline civic participation. Data from a survey-based two-wave panel study conducted in Spring 2014 and Autumn 2015 in the Czech Republic were utilized. The sample comprised 768 adolescents (aged 14-17 in T1; 54% females). The results showed that online participation predicted increased challenging attitudes towards social authorities, while offline participation had the opposite effect. Furthermore, online participation had no effect on political self-efficacy or civic development, but offline participation positively predicted civic identity. The findings are discussed with regard to the specific benefits and limits of online civic participation.