Agenda Setting in Civic Development

This study examines the role of agenda setting in affecting voter turnout using panel data of adolescents in Arizona, Florida, and Colorado from 2002 and 2004. Specifically, a model is developed probing the multiple influences of interactive civic instruction, media attention, and discussion on the following sequence of outcomes: perceived issue importance, opinion strength, political ideology, and finally voter turnout. The results suggest that agenda setting serves as a critical intrinsic process in political socialization contributing to the crystallization of political predispositions, which lead to electoral participation. The implications of the findings are discussed.