Does family experience influence political beliefs? Relation between interparental conflict perceptions and political efficacy in late adolescence

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Authors

ŠEREK Jan LACINOVÁ Lenka MACEK Petr

Year of publication 2012
Type Article in Periodical
Magazine / Source Journal of Adolescence
MU Faculty or unit

Faculty of Social Studies

Citation
Web http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.adolescence.2011.10.001
Doi http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.adolescence.2011.10.001
Field Psychology
Keywords Political efficacy; Civic development; Interparental conflict; Depressive mood
Attached files
Description 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.
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