“If It Helps, I’ll Carry On”: Factors Supporting the Participation of Native and Immigrant Youth in Belgium and Germany

In this article we propose looking into some factors for Civic Participation\r\nand the intention to continue to participate among local (Study I) and immigrant (Study II)\r\nyoung people living inBelgium and Germany. In Study I, 1,079 young people (Mage =19.23,\r\n44.9% males) completed a self-report questionnaire asking about their Civic Participation.\r\nMultiple linear regressions reveal (a) evidence of a pool of variables significantly linked\r\nto Civic Participation: Institutional Trust, Collective-Efficacy, Parents’ and Peers’ Support,\r\nPolitical Interest, Motivations and (b) that Civic Participation, along with the mediation of\r\nthe Participation’s Efficacy, explains the Intention toContinue to Participate. An explanatory\r\nmodel was constructed on participation and the Intention to Continue to Participate on\r\nbehalf of the native youth. This model, is invariant between the two countries. In Study\r\nII, 276 young Turkish immigrants (Mage = 20.80, 49.3% males) recruited in Belgium and\r\nGermany filled out the same questionnaire as in Study I. The same analysis was conducted\r\nas for Study I, and they provided the same results as the native group, highlighting the\r\ninvariance of the model between natives and immigrants. Applicative repercussions are\r\ndiscussed.