The Partisan Child: Developmental Provocation as a Model of Political Socialization

While recent research highlights the child’s active role in her own political socialization, this study represents the first test of the premise that political identification proceeds as adolescents prompt feedback from parents. I propose a model of developmental provocation in which adolescents’ interest in an election campaign, once stimulated by news media use, motivates them to engage parents in political conversations. By initiating discussion, adolescents can generate information from parents as a basis for comparison, contrast, reflection, and debate—all of these activities might foster party and ideological identity. Results from survey panel data support the model. The field setting is Lubbock, Texas, during the final weeks of the 2000 presidential campaign. The stunning aftermath of the election, including the dispute over ballot recounts in Florida, provided a unique opportunity to examine political socialization. Child-initiated discussion generated both parental encouragement and defensive admonitions, reflecting structural changes in family communication patterns. Despite controls for demographics and parent-initiated discussion, child-initiated conversation and the resulting feedback predicted an increase in the likelihood that an adolescent would adopt a political identity.