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Engaging Youths across the Education Divide: Is There a Role for Social Capital?

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 August 2019

Livianna Tossutti
Livianna Tossutti*
Affiliation:
Department of Political Science, Brock University, St. Catharines, ON, L2S 3A1
*
*Corresponding author. E-mail: ltossutti@brocku.ca
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Abstract

This study draws on the 2013 General Social Survey to investigate whether social capital is positively associated with the political participation and engagement of 15- to 24-year-old Canadians. It also assesses whether social capital can help overcome the participation gap between youths with different educational qualifications. Trust in family was the only social tie that was positively associated with the turnout of eligible voters in federal and municipal elections. Associational involvements and generalized trust in strangers were more frequently related to informal political activism and an interest in politics. Online social connections were unrelated to any measure of participation and engagement. Some forms of social capital can help address the marginalization of youths from formal and informal politics, but tertiary education is most closely associated with voting.

Résumé

La présente étude s'appuie sur l'Enquête sociale générale de 2013 pour déterminer si le capital social est associé positivement à la participation et à l'engagement politiques des Canadiens âgés de 15 à 24 ans. Elle évalue également s'il peut aider à combler l'écart de participation entre les jeunes ayant des niveaux d'éducation différents. La confiance dans la famille était le seul lien social associé positivement au taux de participation des électeurs admissibles aux élections fédérales et municipales. Les engagements associatifs et la confiance généralisée envers les étrangers étaient plus souvent liés au militantisme politique informel et à l'intérêt pour la politique. Les liens sociaux en ligne n'étaient liés à aucune mesure de la participation et de l'engagement. Certaines formes de capital social peuvent contribuer à atténuer la marginalisation des jeunes par rapport à la politique formelle et informelle, mais l'enseignement supérieur est plus étroitement associé au vote.

Keywords

social capitalyouthspolitical engagementvoluntary associationsonline social networks
Type
Research Article/Étude originale
Information
Canadian Journal of Political Science/Revue canadienne de science politique , Volume 52 , Issue 3 , September 2019 , pp. 501 - 520
Copyright
Copyright © Canadian Political Science Association (l'Association canadienne de science politique) and/et la Société québécoise de science politique 2019 

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