Individual Differences in Adolescents’ Civic Engagement: The Role of Civic Discussions with Parents and Environmental Sensitivity

Abstract

The main goal of the current study was to examine the direct and moderating effects of civic discussions with parents and environmental sensitivity using both the total score and its specific dimensions (i.e., Aesthetic Sensitivity, AES; Ease of Excitation, EOE; Low Sensitivity Threshold, LST) on youth civic engagement (attitudes and behaviours). The empirical analysis relied on a questionnaire-based survey conducted on a sample of 438 adolescents (30% males), aged between 14 and 18 years (M = 16.50, SD = 1.36). We used a structural equation model (SEM) with latent variables and the latent moderated structural equation (LMS) method to test our hypotheses. Our results showed that civic discussions with parents were positively and significantly associated with general environmental sensitivity and with AES and predicted both civic attitudes and civic behaviours; EOE was negatively and significantly related to civic behaviours; AES was positively and significantly related to civic attitudes; and LST was not significantly related to either civic attitudes or behaviours. Contrary to our expectations, environmental sensitivity did not moderate the relationship between civic discussions with parents and civic engagement. Our study further highlights the relevance that parents have in shaping their children’s civic engagement and makes a novel contribution regarding how differences in perceiving and processing environmental stimuli can affect beliefs and behaviours toward community issues among young individuals.