Understanding the costs and benefits of politics among adolescents within a sociocultural context

Abstract

Politics entails personal costs and benefits, which may differ for youth from different sociocultural backgrounds. The at-stake hypothesis proposes that politically marginalized youth experience greater costs (e.g., stress, conflict) and benefits (e.g., empowerment) related to politics, whereas the at-risk hypothesis proposes that politically marginalized youth experience greater costs but lower benefits. In Study 1, we examined the factor structure of a new political costs and benefits measure among youth (N = 1,056, Mage = 15.91 years) and tested mental health and demographic correlates. Consistent with the at-stake hypothesis, marginalized youth experienced greater political costs and benefits than non-marginalized youth, although findings were nuanced. In Study 2, a sub-sample of participants (N = 191, Mage = 16.05 years) were recontacted from Study 1 to provide written explanations for why specific findings emerged. Adolescents' reasons indicated that laws and policies disproportionately affect youth from marginalized populations, thus producing both negative and positive political experiences