In an era marked by polarized political landscapes, understanding the mechanisms of political socialization among emerging adults in Minnesota provides critical insights into the formation of political identities. This study explores political socialization among young adults in Minnesota, focusing on the impact of family, peers, and personal experiences across diverse social positionalities (i.e., race/ethnicity). Utilizing thematic analysis of 41 interviews (Mage = 21.8, 73.2% Female, 70.7% affiliated politically as Democrats), we identified key themes in political socialization for young adults in Minnesota, including familial transmission (i.e., from parent to child), trickle-up socialization, limited socialization and emphasis on values, reciprocal and selective peer socialization, and personalized political socialization processes. Highlighting the nuanced role of social positionality, the research underscores young adults’ active participation in shaping their political beliefs, suggesting the importance of inclusive and adaptable political engagement strategies to accommodate diverse experiences and perspectives in democratic participation.
AlodatA. M.Al-Qora’nL. F.HamoudM. A. (2023). Social media platforms and political prticipation: A study of Jordanian youth engagement. Social Sciences, 12(7), 1–18. https://doi.org/10.3390/socsci12070402
2.
AndolinaM. W.JenkinsK.ZukinC.KeeterS. (2003). Habits from home, lessons from school: Influences on youth civic engagement. PS: Political Science & Politics, 36(2), 275–280. https://doi.org/10.1017/S104909650300221X
3.
ArnettJ. J. (2000). Emerging adulthood: A theory of development from the late teens through the twenties. American Psychologist, 55(5), 469–480https://doi.org/10.1037/0003-066X.55.5.469
4.
BallardP. J.NiX.BrocatoN. (2020). Political engagement and wellbeing among college students. Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology, 71(5), 1–15. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.appdev.2020.101209
5.
BañalesJ.AldanaA.Richards-SchusterK.FlanaganC. A.DiemerM. A.RowleyS. J. (2021). Youth anti-racism action: Contributions of youth perceptions of school racial messages and critical consciousness. Journal of Community Psychology, 49(8), 3079–3100. https://doi.org/10.1002/jcop.22266
6.
BañalesJ.HopeE. C.RowleyS. J.Cryer-CoupetQ. R. (2021). Raising justice-minded youth: Parental ethnic-racial and political socialization and Black youth’s critical consciousness. Journal of Social Issues, 77(4), 964–986. https://doi.org/10.1111/josi.12486
7.
BohmanA.HjermM.EgerM. A. (2019). Politics and prejudice: How political discussion with peers is related to attitudes about Immigrants during adolescence. Frontiers in Sociology, 4(70), 1–11. https://doi.org/10.3389/fsoc.2019.00070
8.
CheckowayB.GutierrezL. (2006). Youth participation and community change. Haworth Press.
CollinsR. N.MandelD. R.SchywiolaS. S. (2021). Political identity over personal impact: Early U.S. reactions to the COVID-19 pandemic. Frontiers in Psychology, 12(1), 1–18. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.607639
11.
CreswellJ. W.PothC. (2018). Qualitative inquiry & research design: Choosing among five approaches (4th ed.). Sage Publications.
12.
DagaS. S.RavalV. V. (2018). Ethnic-racial socialization, model minority experience, and psychological functioning among south Asian American emerging adults: A preliminary mixed-methods study. Asian American Journal of Psychology, 9(1), 17–31. https://doi.org/10.1037/aap0000108
13.
De JongJ. C.MüggeL. M. (2023). Political representation and intersectionality: Perspectives of ethnically/racially minoritized citizens. Social Politics: International Studies in Gender, State & Society, 31(1), 151–177. https://doi.org/10.1093/sp/jxad020
14.
DiemerM. (2012). Fostering marginalized youths’ political participation: Longitudinal roles of parental political socialization and youth sociopolitical development. Society for Community Research and Action, 50(1–2), 246–256. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10464-012-9495-9
15.
DiemerM. A.PinedoA.BañalesJ.MathewsC. J.FrisbyM. B.HarrisE. M.McAlisterS. (2021). Recentering action in critical consciousness. Child Development Perspectives, 15(1), 12–17. https://doi.org/10.1111/cdep.12393
16.
DiemerM. A.WangQ.MooreT.GregoryS. R.HatcherK. M.VoightA. M. (2010). Sociopolitical development, work salience, and vocational expectations among low socioeconomic status African American, Latin American, and Asian American youth. Developmental Psychology, 46(3), 619–635. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0017049
17.
FloresA. R.MorrisonM. (2021). Potential differences between the political attitudes of people with same-sex parents and people with different-sex parents: An exploratory assessment of first-year college students. PLoS One, 16(2), 1–13. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0246929
18.
GodfreyE. B.CherngH. Y. S. (2016). The kids are all right? Income inequality and civic engagement among our nation’s youth. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 45(11), 2218–2232. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-016-0557-4
19.
GoldenA. R.AndersonR. E.CooperS. M.HopeE. C.KloosB. (2022). “With politics, it’s easier to talk to them about it”: Peer racial socialization and sociopolitical development among Black college students. Emerging Adulthood, 10(4), 938–951. https://doi.org/10.1177/21676968211040321
HelliwellJ. F.PutnamR. D. (1999). Education and social capital (Working paper 7121). National Bureau of Economic Research. https://doi.org/10.3386/w7121
22.
HessD.McAvoyP. (2020). The political classroom: Evidence and ethics in democratic education. Routledge.
JanmaatJ. G.HoskinsB. (2021). The changing impact of family background on political engagement during adolescence and early adulthood. Social Forces, 101(1), 227–251. https://doi.org/10.1093/sf/soab112
25.
JenningsM. K.StokerL.BowersJ. (2009). Politics across generations: Family transmission reexamined. The Journal of Politics, 71(3), 782–799. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0022381609090719
26.
KlofstadC. A. (2015). The effects of parents, the workplace, and peers on young adults’ political party identification. Political Behavior, 37(4), 869–895. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11109-014-9277-6
27.
KoskimaaV.RapeliL. (2015). Political socialization and political interest: The role of school reassessed. Journal of Political Science Education, 11(2), 141–156. https://doi.org/10.1080/15512169.2015.1016033
28.
LeeN. J.ShahD. V.McLeodJ. M. (2012). Processes of political socialization: A communication mediation approach to youth civic engagement. Communication Research, 40(5), 669–697. https://doi.org/10.1177/0093650212436712
McDevittM.ChaffeeS. (2002). From top-down to trickle-up influence: Revisiting assumptions about the family in political socialization. Political Communication, 19(3), 281–301. https://doi.org/10.1080/01957470290055501
31.
McIntoshH.HartD.YounissJ. (2007). The influence of family political discussion on youth civic development: Which parent qualities matter?PS: Political Science & Politics, 40(3), 495–499. https://doi.org/10.1017/s1049096507070758
32.
McIntoshH.YounissJ. (2010). Toward a political theory of political socialization of youth. In SherrodL. R.Torney-PurtaJ.FlanaganC. A. (Eds), Handbook of research on civic engagement in youth (pp. 23–41). John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. https://doi.org/10.1002/9780470767603.ch1
33.
MoshmanD. (2011). Identity, genocide, and group violence. In SchwartzS. J.LuyckxK.VignolesV. (Eds.), Handbook of identity theory and research (pp. 917–932). Springer.
OjedaC.HatemiP. K. (2015). Accounting for the child in the transmission of party identification. American Sociological Review, 80(6), 1150–1174. https://doi.org/10.1177/0003122415606101
36.
OwenD. (2008, September). Political socialization in the twenty-first century: Recommendations for researchers. Paper presented atThe Future of Civic Education in the 21st Century Conference,Montpelier, Vermont.
37.
PaizC. O.García BedollaL.GutiérrezK. D. (2023). Civics on the move: The politics of Latinx civic integration.The ANNALs of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, 705(1), 192–207. https://doi.org/10.1177/00027162231190530
QuintelierE. (2013). Engaging adolescents in politics: The longitudinal effect of political socialization agents. Youth & Society, 47(1), 51–69. https://doi.org/10.1177/0044118X13507295
41.
QuintelierE.StolleD.HarellA. (2012). Politics in peer groups: Exploring the causal relationship between network diversity and political participation. Political Research Quarterly, 65(4), 868–881. https://doi.org/10.1177/1065912911411099
42.
SmetanaJ. G.VillalobosM. (2009). Social cognitive development in adolescence. In LernerR. M.SteinbergL. (Eds.), Handbook of adolescent psychology, volume 1: Individual bases of adolescent development (pp. 187–228). John Wiley & Sons.
43.
TerriquezV.VillegasR.VillalobosR.XuJ. (2020). The political socialization of Latinx youth in a conservative political context. Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology, 70(2), Article 101188. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.appdev.2020.101188
44.
Umaña-TaylorA. J.QuintanaS. M.LeeR. M.CrossW. E.Rivas-DrakeD.SchwartzS. J.SyedM.YipT.SeatonE.& Ethnic and Racial Identity in the 21st Century Study Group. (2014). Ethnic and racial identity during adolescence and into young adulthood: An integrated conceptualization. Child Development, 85(1), 21–39. https://doi.org/10.1111/cdev.12196
45.
WasburnP. C.CovertT. J. A. (2017). Making citizens: Political socialization research and beyond. Springer.
46.
WongJ.TsengV. (2008). Political socialization in immigrant families: Challenging top-down parental socialization models. Journal of Ethics and Migration Studies, 43(1), 151–168. https://doi.org/10.1080/13691830701708742
47.
YounissJ.BalesS.Christmas-BestV.DiversiM.McLaughlinM.SilbereisenR. (2002). Youth civic engagement in the twenty-first century. Journal of Research on Adolescence, 12(1), 121–148. https://doi.org/10.1111/1532-7795.00027
Supplementary Material
Please find the following supplemental material available below.
For Open Access articles published under a Creative Commons License, all supplemental material carries the same license as the article it is associated with.
For non-Open Access articles published, all supplemental material carries a non-exclusive license, and permission requests for re-use of supplemental material or any part of supplemental material shall be sent directly to the copyright owner as specified in the copyright notice associated with the article.
