Developmental trajectories of civic engagement across adolescence: Disaggregation of an integrated construct

Abstract

Using longitudinal data from Grades 8 to 11 of the 4-H Study of Positive Youth Development, a longitudinal study involving U.S. adolescents, we examined the developmental trajectories of multiple components of civic engagement, and the effects of youth development program participation and participation in another major domain of youth engagement (religious activity) on these trajectories. A set of two-level, hierarchical linear models (time-varying measures of civic engagement at level 1 and covariates at level 2) were conducted. Results indicated that the components of civic engagement have different starting points and growth rates during adolescence and that the contextual factors have differing effects dependent on the civic engagement component. By understanding how the components of civic engagement develop during adolescence, and the contextual factors that affect those trajectories, practitioners can gain more nuanced insights into how and when to effectively encourage youth civic engagement.