DETERMINANTS OF POLITICAL PARTICIPATION OF RURAL YOUTH IN MENOUFIA GOVERNORATE

Abstract

This study aimed at identifying level of political knowledge and some aspects of political participation of the rural youth, and determining variables that are proposed to relate and explain the variance of degree of political knowledge and political participation of the rural youth. The most important results of this study could be summarized as following. The majority of rural youth had a low level of political knowledge. The most important variables affecting degree of youth’s political knowledge were youth’s follow-up to political news in the media and internet, youth’s job, education level, participation in opinion, informal social participation, cultural cosmopliteness, geographical cosmopliteness and monthly income. These eight significant independent variables explained about 55% of the total variance of the youth’s political knowledge degree. The majority of rural youth had a medium level of political participation. The most important variables affecting degree of youth’s political participation were youth’s participation in the social organizations, political knowledge degree of the rural youth, youth's feeling of community satisfaction, family’s education level, youth’s education level. These five significant independent variables explained about 15% of the total variance of the youth’s political participation degree. The most important discriminating variables between participant youth and nonparticipant youth were political knowledge, youth education level, youth follow-up to political news in the media and internet, social and political socialization of youth, youth’ community satisfaction, youth participation in social organizations, family education level, These seven significant independent variables explained about 23% of the discrimination between participants and non-participants politically.