FEATURED: Spiral of Rebellion: Conflict Seeking of Democratic Adolescents in Republican Counties
by Michael McDevitt
November 2009
A study of adolescents living in red and blue counties during the 2006 midterm elections shows a striking pattern of Democratic youth thriving in political expression and debate when exposed to Republican ideological climates. Democratic adolescents were more likely to talk with parents and friends about politics, disagree openly, test opinions, and listen to opponents if they lived in Republican counties compared with Democratic youth living in liberal or balanced counties. Compared to Republican youth residing in the same communities, Democratic youth in Republican counties were also more likely to engage in political discussion, to pay attention to news media, and to express confidence in their ability to comprehend campaign issues. The frequency of disagreeing in conversations predicted support for liberal activism. Disagreeing was a particularly strong predictor of supporting liberal activism for youth living in red counties.
These findings support the theory—proposed by McDevitt and colleagues in other studies—that young people sometimes express political identities through conflict and disagreement, not because they come to share the views of parents, teachers, or majorities in their communities. The research in summarized in CIRCLE Working Paper #68 “Spiral of Rebellion: Conflict Seeking of Democratic Adolescents in Republican Counties.”
The same pattern was not found for Republican youth in Democratic counties during the 2006 elections; they were not more politically expressive when exposed to hostile ideological climates. However, Republican identity (like Democratic identity) correlated with knowledge of the political parties. The results suggest that Democratic identity is frequently expressed in deliberative and conflict-seeking activities, while Republican identity is often grounded in knowledge. Overall, the study suggests the value of peer-centered, critical discussion as a strategy for youth political mobilization.
* Download CIRCLE Working Paper #68 “Spiral of Rebellion: Conflict Seeking of Democratic Adolescents in Republican Counties”
June 17th, 2010 at 6:29 am
Great post on plotics for young people.
June 19th, 2010 at 8:01 am
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June 20th, 2010 at 5:22 am
Selam Gavurlar Nasılsınız.Gavurlukta çok Para varmı La söylesin 😀
June 20th, 2010 at 5:22 am
June 21st, 2010 at 5:25 pm
This conflict won’t end soon.
June 27th, 2010 at 1:36 am
I cannot agree more to you thanks
I just simply love the post and the content written thanks and Regards
June 27th, 2010 at 8:54 am
anytime… everywhere… you will have a conflict between republicans and democrats.
June 29th, 2010 at 10:45 pm
I love interesting findings just like these. You can never really know what to make of it. Either way, thanks for the post!
June 30th, 2010 at 3:26 pm
Young people speak on the basis of what I really believe he’s right. Instead of listening to what older people like their parents tell them. That just shows that young people develop their attitudes in choosing the right decision for them.
July 2nd, 2010 at 1:29 pm
These results support the theory proposed by McDevitt and colleagues in other studies, that young people sometimes complain about political identities through conflict and disagreement, not because they come to share the views of parents, teachers, or the majority in their communities.
September 23rd, 2010 at 4:29 am
I don’t believe its a matter of not understanding politics as mentioned in some posts. I believe in what you sow you get policy. With the past we have given and the present we are giving to our youth, what else can we expect them to be. Then, on top of this, we want them to turn out like us. Strange. Like we’ve done a great job for this world and all. We are not exemplary, so why do want others to understand and be like what we are.
November 11th, 2010 at 6:41 am
Rebellion is at the heart of every political movement. You could argue that the first opposition party in every country is rooted in rebellion – that is why we have democracy, people rebel against the system, fight the system, create a new order, then others vote for it.