Political media use, civic knowledge, civic self-efficacy, and gender: measuring active citizenship in Turkey

Abstract

Despite many extensive and fruitful studies, assessing and analysing active citizenship behaviours in various cultural contexts remains a topic of research interest. A significant proportion of citizenship studies rely on evidence from adolescents, with their expected participation as the dependent variable rather than the actual civic engagement of adults. Prior research has also neglected to examine the internal civic self-efficacy of adult citizens, particularly concerning gender differences. Based on new data obtained from 731 Turkish citizens over eighteen, this study examines the effects of political media use, civic knowledge, civic self-efficacy, and gender, along with other demographic variables, on civic engagement and participation. We investigate research evidence that women’s tendency to interest in unconventional activities at a higher rate than men would make a difference and enhance their civic self-efficacy. Findings indicate that, at the empirical level, active citizenship is a multidimensional and interrelated concept with dimensions of civic knowledge, civic self-efficacy, engagement, and participation. Civic self-efficacy was found to be a psychological construct that predicts adult citizens’ active citizenship behaviours. Contrary to our hypothesis, gender differences in civic self-efficacy in community engagement closely related to daily life remain present, although women are expected to prefer greater participation than men. Only education indicated some equalising effect. Based on our findings, we suggest that research on citizenship should consider not only whether society values what women do, but also whether it promotes what they value.