“If It Helps, I’ll Carry On”: Factors Supporting the Participation of Native and Immigrant Youth in Belgium and Germany

In this article we propose looking into some factors for Civic Participation and the intention to continue to participate among local (Study I) and immigrant (Study II) young people living in Belgium and Germany. In Study I, 1,079 young people (Mage = 19.23, 44.9% males) completed a self-report questionnaire asking about their Civic Participation. Multiple linear regressions reveal (a) evidence of a pool of variables significantly linked to Civic Participation: Institutional Trust, Collective-Efficacy, Parents’ and Peers’ Support, Political Interest, Motivations and (b) that Civic Participation, along with the mediation of the Participation's Efficacy, explains the Intention to Continue to Participate. An explanatory model was constructed on participation and the Intention to Continue to Participate on behalf of the native youth. This model is invariant between the two countries. In Study II, 276 young Turkish immigrants (Mage = 20.80, 49.3% males) recruited in Belgium and Germany filled out the same questionnaire as in Study I. The same analysis was conducted as for Study I, and they provided the same results as the native group, highlighting the invariance of the model between natives and immigrants. Applicative repercussions are discussed.