The Effect of a Campaign Internship on Political Efficacy and Trust

This study examines the effect of a 10-week campaign internship course on political efficacy and trust. We compared changes in these key political attitudes between a group of 33 undergraduate students in a campaign internship course and a control group of 65 students taking government courses. A multiple regression analysis indicates that participation in the campaign internship was associated with statistically significant increases in internal efficacy and trust in government. Although intern students reported reduced levels of external efficacy over the course of the internship, participation in the internship did not have a statistically significant effect on external efficacy when other intervening variables were taken into account. Overall, our findings provide additional support for the argument that internships can change the way that young people view political institutions and their role in the political system.