The Transition from Student to Adult Politics

This study is the second follow-up of 1960s civil rights activists. It examines the long-term effects of political activism. Consistent with Mannheim's thesis we find that the former activists are a distinctive intragenerational unit that differ significantly from two control groups. We also find control groups becoming more politically active with age. This provides limited support for a maturation effect. Finally, all three groups became more conservative in their political attitudes during the 1980s, demonstrating a period effect. The 1960s social movements generated voluminous research on the causes of political protest. In contrast there has been little empirical research on the consequences of these movements for the participants. The empirical studies (Fendrich 1977; Fendrich Fendrich Hoge Jennings 1987; Marwell, Aiken Nassi Whalen Lipset Weil 1987). The objective of the present study is to overcome the limitations of previous work. Twenty-five years have now elapsed since the subjects were students and 15 since our last follow-up study. This time span should be sufficient to begin to adjudicate between Mannheim's theory of intragenerational units, political maturation, and period effects. *This research was partially funded by a Summer Grant from Florida State University. We appreciate the editorial assistance and comments of Susan Carlson, the anonymous referees, and the outside readers Russell Dalton, Richard Flacks, M. Kent Jennings, Robert J. S. Ross, and Ed Walsh. Direct correspondence to James Max Fendrich, Department of Sociology, Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL 32306. ?D 1989 The University of North Carolina Press