Social networks and the development of political interest

The recent decline in voter turnout, a trend largely attributed to lack of youth participation, has focused the attention of many scholars on the study of young people and politics. While great strides have been made in understanding youth disengagement, one dimension of the field that remains understudied is the development of political interest. This research begins to address this gap by evaluating one specific influence, the social network. Using a panel of 499 Quebec teenagers surveyed annually for three years, this study considers how political interest is affected by political discussion among a teenager's parents, friends and teachers. As one might expect, analysis of the data confirmed that parents who often discuss politics have children who are more interested in politics and who are more likely to develop political interest. The effect of other agents of socialization, however, should not be underestimated. Friends were often found to be on par with parents concerning their influence on change in political interest, and results concerning teachers suggest that some classes, history in this case, can play an important civic role.