What Matters? Changes in European Youth Participation

Authors

  • Simona Gozzo University of Catania
  • Rossana Sampugnaro University of Catania

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.1285/i20356609v9i3p748

Keywords:

Individualization, Participation, Association, Youth Involvement

Abstract

During the twentieth century, theoretical and empirical studies aimed to analyse changes in individual participation and in social and political dynamics. A great emphasis was attributed to the process of individualization. Young people were described as a generation with a limited political involvement, especially considering traditional forms of political participation, but more and more likely to search an “individualized” way towards the participation. Furlong and Cartmel bring back the youth identity to the thesis about the reflexive rebuilding of identity, according to which the individualization is a process due to some structural characteristics of post-industrial society. Employing data from European Values Study researches, we test if and how structural variables and contextual dynamics affect political involvement and its changes, with particular attention on youth involvement. Actually, participation takes the form of a multifaceted reality and youth individual profiles are heterogeneous. The process of individualization has, in this sense, different effects and various consequences on participation’s profiles. According to these considerations, this analysis shows the incidence of structural, contextual and cognitive dimensions on individual choices to participate, focusing on longitudinal plan and cohorts. A second step compares the causal importance of structural and cognitive dimension on different typologies of involvement.

Author Biographies

Simona Gozzo, University of Catania

Simona Gozzo is Assistant Professor of Sociology at the Department of Social and Political Sciences - University of Catania. She is author of two monographies focused on gender sensitive issues and on social cohesion emerging mechanisms. Member of the AIS (methodology and political sociology), she is cooperating with the Scientific Committee for section of methodology. She wrote different contributes on integration, social cohesion, political and social participation and cognitive dynamics. The methodological interests are oriented towards Network Analysis approach and Multilevel Regression models. She is also a member of “Laposs” centre of research. Currently she is writing about the behaviors of vulnerable social groups (young people, immigrants, women).

Rossana Sampugnaro, University of Catania

Rossana Sampugnaro PHd in Sociology, researcher in Political Sociology at Department of Political and Social Science, University of Catania and assistant professor in "Rights, political participation and gender inequalities". Since 2009, she is member of Scientific Committee of PHd in Political Science at University of Catania. She is referee of many scientific journals and member of editorial staff. She is member of scientific boards in academic associations (Political Sociology Section of Italian Sociology Association, Italian Political Communication Association). Now her research interests focus on political and social participation, with recent publications on participatory democracy in institutions, in parties and in movements.

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Published

19-01-2017

Issue

Vol 9, No. 3 (2016). Special Issue: Youth and the Reinvention of Politics

Section

Special Issue

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