Time matters: civic engagement and the development of anti-immigrant attitudes among adolescents

Erik Lundberg,Ali Abdelzadeh

doi:10.1057/s41269-021-00211-w

Abstract

A recurring claim in the literature is that civic engagement in voluntary associations is crucial for the formation of a variety of interpersonal attitudes, such as social trust, tolerance, and intolerance. In this article, we study the role of membership in voluntary associations and volunteer work in the development of anti-immigrant attitudes among adolescents. Using a four-wave longitudinal design with a target sample comprising approximately 2000 adolescents between the ages of 13 and 16 at the first measurement occasion, this study contributes to previous research by analysing the impact on anti-immigrant attitudes of different dimensions of membership in voluntary associations and volunteer work. The results showed that membership in voluntary associations and volunteer work over several years serve to decrease anti-immigrant attitudes among adolescents over time. In addition, volunteering over several years seems to have a somewhat stronger impact on anti-immigrant attitudes than do various aspects of membership in associations. Our study also shows that anti-immigrant attitudes become more firmly established with age and that membership in only certain types of voluntary associations relates to attitudes toward immigrants. In sum, this study contributes to previous research focusing on the role of civic engagement in the development of interpersonal attitudes.

Highlights

A recurring claim in the literature is that civic engagement in voluntary associations is crucial for the formation of a variety of interpersonal attitudes (Putnam et al 1994, pp. 88–89; Newton 1999; Putnam 2000, pp. 22, 288; Warren 2001)
We aim to answer the following question: To what extent do membership in voluntary associations and volunteer work influence the development of anti-immigrant attitudes among adolescents?
We posed the following research question: to what extent do membership in voluntary associations and volunteer work influence the development of anti-immigrant attitudes among adolescents? The question was answered by using a unique four-wave longitudinal data set from an extensive Swedish research project about young people’s socialization

Summary

Introduction

A recurring claim in the literature is that civic engagement in voluntary associations is crucial for the formation of a variety of interpersonal attitudes (Putnam et al 1994, pp. 88–89; Newton 1999; Putnam 2000, pp. 22, 288; Warren 2001). 1985) for example, social trust and tolerance), which are essential for the functioning of democratic society. In this regard, voluntary associations are assumed to have a socialization effect on the development of interpersonal attitudes (Newton 1999; Putnam 2000; Warren 2001; Morales and Geurts 2007; Cote and Erickson 2009). Some researchers argue that the development of civic attitudes such as social trust and tolerance is an unintended “by-product” of civil society (Baggetta 2009). Confidence in the role of voluntary associations has resulted in policymakers emphasizing their importance in the strengthening of social cohesion in societies characterized by increasing ethnic and cultural differences (e.g., European Economic and Social Committee 2020)

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