Beyond Gender: Exploring the Intersectional Dynamics in Political Interest Among Youth
One of the most persistent and puzzling inequalities across Western democracies is that women are less interested in politics than men. We know that political interest is developed—or not—at an early age, and that it becomes a key determinant of political involvement during adulthood. Due to its ear...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Cogitatio
2025-01-01
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| Series: | Politics and Governance |
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| Online Access: | https://www.cogitatiopress.com/politicsandgovernance/article/view/9286 |
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| author | Gema García-Albacete Lidia Núñez David Sánchez Simone Abendschön Philipp Kleer |
| author_facet | Gema García-Albacete Lidia Núñez David Sánchez Simone Abendschön Philipp Kleer |
| author_sort | Gema García-Albacete |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | One of the most persistent and puzzling inequalities across Western democracies is that women are less interested in politics than men. We know that political interest is developed—or not—at an early age, and that it becomes a key determinant of political involvement during adulthood. Due to its early development, recent research suggests focusing on gendered political socialization patterns to understand why women display lower levels of political interest than men. A recent systematic literature review on political interest confirms that the gap is already present at an early age. In addition, the review shows that research and evidence on the potential intersectionality of inequalities on young people’s political interest is surprisingly scarce. In this article we present novel evidence on the interaction of gender with an additional source of political inequality: immigration background. In doing so we use the Children of Immigrants Longitudinal Survey in Four European Countries (CILS4EU) dataset, a longitudinal survey that follows a sample of adolescents with foreign-born parents that can be compared to natives in four countries. The analyses follow the latest recommendations regarding the use of interactions to evaluate claims of intersectionality. The results of our preliminary tests indicate that girls with an immigrant background are more interested in politics than girls without personal or family immigration background. Furthermore, the results are compatible with an intersectional approach by which being both a girl and having an immigration background has an independent positive relationship with political interest. Finally, we do not find significant differences between first- and second-generation immigrant girls. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-a1f365fd8a68466595bce14e4e402eb6 |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 2183-2463 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-01-01 |
| publisher | Cogitatio |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Politics and Governance |
| spelling | doaj-art-a1f365fd8a68466595bce14e4e402eb62025-08-20T01:55:33ZengCogitatioPolitics and Governance2183-24632025-01-0113010.17645/pag.92863995Beyond Gender: Exploring the Intersectional Dynamics in Political Interest Among YouthGema García-Albacete0Lidia Núñez1David Sánchez2Simone Abendschön3Philipp Kleer4Department of Social Sciences, Universidad Carlos III de Madrid, Spain / Carlos III‐Juan March Institute, Universidad Carlos III de Madrid, SpainDepartment of Social Sciences, Universidad Carlos III de Madrid, Spain / Carlos III‐Juan March Institute, Universidad Carlos III de Madrid, SpainDepartment of Social Sciences, Universidad Carlos III de Madrid, Spain / Carlos III‐Juan March Institute, Universidad Carlos III de Madrid, SpainDepartment of Political Science, Justus Liebig University Giessen, GermanyDepartment of Political Science, Justus Liebig University Giessen, GermanyOne of the most persistent and puzzling inequalities across Western democracies is that women are less interested in politics than men. We know that political interest is developed—or not—at an early age, and that it becomes a key determinant of political involvement during adulthood. Due to its early development, recent research suggests focusing on gendered political socialization patterns to understand why women display lower levels of political interest than men. A recent systematic literature review on political interest confirms that the gap is already present at an early age. In addition, the review shows that research and evidence on the potential intersectionality of inequalities on young people’s political interest is surprisingly scarce. In this article we present novel evidence on the interaction of gender with an additional source of political inequality: immigration background. In doing so we use the Children of Immigrants Longitudinal Survey in Four European Countries (CILS4EU) dataset, a longitudinal survey that follows a sample of adolescents with foreign-born parents that can be compared to natives in four countries. The analyses follow the latest recommendations regarding the use of interactions to evaluate claims of intersectionality. The results of our preliminary tests indicate that girls with an immigrant background are more interested in politics than girls without personal or family immigration background. Furthermore, the results are compatible with an intersectional approach by which being both a girl and having an immigration background has an independent positive relationship with political interest. Finally, we do not find significant differences between first- and second-generation immigrant girls.https://www.cogitatiopress.com/politicsandgovernance/article/view/9286gender gapimmigration backgroundintersectionalitypolitical attitudespolitical interestyouth |
| spellingShingle | Gema García-Albacete Lidia Núñez David Sánchez Simone Abendschön Philipp Kleer Beyond Gender: Exploring the Intersectional Dynamics in Political Interest Among Youth Politics and Governance gender gap immigration background intersectionality political attitudes political interest youth |
| title | Beyond Gender: Exploring the Intersectional Dynamics in Political Interest Among Youth |
| title_full | Beyond Gender: Exploring the Intersectional Dynamics in Political Interest Among Youth |
| title_fullStr | Beyond Gender: Exploring the Intersectional Dynamics in Political Interest Among Youth |
| title_full_unstemmed | Beyond Gender: Exploring the Intersectional Dynamics in Political Interest Among Youth |
| title_short | Beyond Gender: Exploring the Intersectional Dynamics in Political Interest Among Youth |
| title_sort | beyond gender exploring the intersectional dynamics in political interest among youth |
| topic | gender gap immigration background intersectionality political attitudes political interest youth |
| url | https://www.cogitatiopress.com/politicsandgovernance/article/view/9286 |
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