Developmental Contexts in the Political/Civic Action Pathways of Latinx and Black American Young People

• In Event: 2-004 - Insights into Civic Engagement From Multiple Data Sources

Abstract

Secondary analysis of existing data sets from substantial samples of youth has untapped potential for studying developmental contexts related to their political action. Previous research suggests Latinx and Black American adolescents are engaged politically off and online and that critical consciousness (CC) informs their expected political behaviors (Diemer & Rapa, 2015; Hope, Keels, & Durkee, 2016). However, an empirical gap exists in understanding associations between CC and political action among slightly older Latinx and Black Americans (who are eligible to vote). The current research addresses whether these young people's critical reflection, (i.e., perceptions of societal inequality) and voting likelihood (conceived as an aspect of political efficacy) are related to their traditional political action (e.g. campaign participation) and social media engagement (e.g., sharing articles on social/political issues online).
The data came from a nationally representative sample of young people from the Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement (CIRCLE) 2016 Pre-Election Millennial Poll. Data from 354 Latinx (Mean Age = 26.08, SD = 5.03) and 160 Black youth (Mean Age = 25.84, SD = 4.98) were analyzed.
To determine measurement suitability for both racial/ethnic groups, measurement invariance tests were pursued and indicated differences in the measurement of study constructs. Therefore, separate confirmatory factor analyses (CFAs) and structural equation models (SEMs) were examined for each group. CFAs suggested observed items adequately represented latent constructs for both ethnic/racial groups (Latinx: RMSEA = .08, CFI = .98; Black: RMSEA = .06, CFI = .93). The SEMs fit the data well for both groups (Latinx: RMSEA = .03, CFI = .96; Black: RMSEA = .05, CFI = .93). Latinx and Black young people's level of critical reflection positively predicted likelihood of voting and traditional political action. For Latinx individuals, critical reflection negatively predicted social media engagement. However, voting likelihood partially mediated a positive relation between critical reflection and social media engagement. In other words, those who intended to vote and were critically reflective were more likely to engage with media (Figure 2 contains SEM results). An alternative model indicated that participation in traditional political action predicted likelihood to vote for Latinx individuals but not for Black individuals.
Political action pathways differ for Latinx and Black young people. However, fostering critical reflection has the potential to stimulate political action among both groups. This has implications for investment in the development of political action among young people of color.

Authors

• Josefina Banales, University of Michigan
  Presenting Author

• Channing Mathews, University of Michigan

• Noorya Hayat, Research staff at Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement

• Nkemka Anyiwo, University of Michigan

• Matthew A Diemer, University of Michigan