The moderating role of political interest: Investigating involvement in institutional and non-institutional political participation among young adults in Sweden

Abstract

Abstract

Many efforts have been made to explain variations in political participation. One such effort was made by Gamson, who hypothesized that different combinations of political efficacy and trust will generate different kinds and intensity of involvement in political activity. This study tests this hypothesis on a broad variety of political activities, while at the same time including the potentially moderating effect of people’s political interest. Using data from a longitudinal study in Sweden (2009-2015), this study shows that different combinations of efficacy-trust do indeed generate distinct patterns of participation for young adults. By adding political interest to the model, the effect of certain efficacy-trust combinations on political participation is present foremost among politically interested citizens. Hence, the hypothesis requires to be complemented by political interest to more accurately understand under which circumstances people engage in various political activities.

Keywords: political participation, the Gamson hypothesis, political trust, political efficacy, political interest, young adults

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Bibliography: Dahl, Viktor/Abdelzadeh, Ali/Sohl, Sofia: The moderating role of political interest: Investigating involvement in institutional and non-institutional political participation among young adults in Sweden, PCS, 1-2-2016, pp. 157-181. https://doi.org/10.3224/pcs.v7i1-2.09