IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jijerp/v20y2023i13p6315-d1188829.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

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

Author

Listed:
  • Giusy Danila Valenti

    (Department of Psychology, Educational Science and Human Movement, University of Palermo, 90128 Palermo, Italy)

  • Alida Lo Coco

    (Department of Psychology, Educational Science and Human Movement, University of Palermo, 90128 Palermo, Italy)

  • Nicolò Maria Iannello

    (Department of Law, University of Palermo, 90128 Palermo, Italy)

  • Cristiano Inguglia

    (Department of Psychology, Educational Science and Human Movement, University of Palermo, 90128 Palermo, Italy)

  • Michael Pluess

    (Department of Biological and Experimental Psychology, Queen Mary University of London, London E1 4NS, UK)

  • Francesca Lionetti

    (Department of Neurosciences, Imaging and Clinical Sciences, University G. D’Annunzio Chieti-Pescara, 66100 Chieti, Italy)

  • Sonia Ingoglia

    (Department of Psychology, Educational Science and Human Movement, University of Palermo, 90128 Palermo, Italy)

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.

Suggested Citation

  • Giusy Danila Valenti & Alida Lo Coco & Nicolò Maria Iannello & Cristiano Inguglia & Michael Pluess & Francesca Lionetti & Sonia Ingoglia, 2023. "Individual Differences in Adolescents’ Civic Engagement: The Role of Civic Discussions with Parents and Environmental Sensitivity," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(13), pages 1-17, July.
  • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:20:y:2023:i:13:p:6315-:d:1188829
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/20/13/6315/pdf
    Download Restriction: no

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/20/13/6315/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Brady, Bernadine & Chaskin, Robert J. & McGregor, Caroline, 2020. "Promoting civic and political engagement among marginalized urban youth in three cities: Strategies and challenges," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 116(C).
    2. Alessandra Santona & Francesca Lionetti & Giacomo Tognasso & Chiara Fusco & Graziana Maccagnano & Danila Barreca & Laura Gorla, 2023. "Sensitivity and Attachment in an Italian Sample of Hikikomori Adolescents and Young Adults," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(12), pages 1-14, June.
    3. Andreas Klein & Helfried Moosbrugger, 2000. "Maximum likelihood estimation of latent interaction effects with the LMS method," Psychometrika, Springer;The Psychometric Society, vol. 65(4), pages 457-474, December.
    4. Elvira Cicognani & Claudia Pirini & Corey Keyes & Mohsen Joshanloo & Reza Rostami & Masoud Nosratabadi, 2008. "Social Participation, Sense of Community and Social Well Being: A Study on American, Italian and Iranian University Students," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 89(1), pages 97-112, October.
    5. Albert Satorra & Peter Bentler, 2010. "Ensuring Positiveness of the Scaled Difference Chi-square Test Statistic," Psychometrika, Springer;The Psychometric Society, vol. 75(2), pages 243-248, June.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Anastasia Stathopoulou & Tommy Kweku Quansah & George Balabanis, 2022. "The Blinding Effects of Team Identification on Sports Corruption: Cross-Cultural Evidence from Sub-Saharan African Countries," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 179(2), pages 511-529, August.
    2. Balabanis, George & Stathopoulou, Anastasia, 2021. "The price of social status desire and public self-consciousness in luxury consumption," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 123(C), pages 463-475.
    3. Bouncken, Ricarda B. & Fredrich, Viktor, 2016. "Business model innovation in alliances: Successful configurations," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 69(9), pages 3584-3590.
    4. Alon Lisak & Miriam Erez & Yang Sui & Cynthia Lee, 2016. "The positive role of global leaders in enhancing multicultural team innovation," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 47(6), pages 655-673, August.
    5. Paul Alhassan Issahaku & Anda Adam, 2022. "Young People in Newfoundland and Labrador: Community Connectedness and Opportunities for Social Inclusion," SAGE Open, , vol. 12(3), pages 21582440221, July.
    6. Vishag Badrinarayanan & Indu Ramachandran & Sreedhar Madhavaram, 2019. "Mirroring the Boss: Ethical Leadership, Emulation Intentions, and Salesperson Performance," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 159(3), pages 897-912, October.
    7. Ying Zhang & Lijun Chen & Xiaoliu Jiang & Beáta Bőthe, 2022. "Investigating the Associations of ADHD Symptoms, Impulsivity, Physical Exercise, and Problematic Pornography Use in a Chinese Sample," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(22), pages 1-15, November.
    8. Bouncken, Ricarda B. & Fredrich, Viktor, 2016. "Learning in coopetition: Alliance orientation, network size, and firm types," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 69(5), pages 1753-1758.
    9. Son K. Lam & Thomas E. DeCarlo & Ashish Sharma, 2019. "Salesperson ambidexterity in customer engagement: do customer base characteristics matter?," Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Springer, vol. 47(4), pages 659-680, July.
    10. César Merino-Soto & Gina Chávez-Ventura & Verónica López-Fernández & Guillermo M. Chans & Filiberto Toledano-Toledano, 2022. "Learning Self-Regulation Questionnaire (SRQ-L): Psychometric and Measurement Invariance Evidence in Peruvian Undergraduate Students," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(18), pages 1-17, September.
    11. Cosimo Talò & Terri Mannarini & Alessia Rochira, 2014. "Sense of Community and Community Participation: A Meta-Analytic Review," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 117(1), pages 1-28, May.
    12. Slupphaug, KJell & Mehmetoglu, Mehmet & Mittner, Matthias, 2024. "modsem: An R package for estimating latent interactions and quadratic effects," OSF Preprints h3rpw, Center for Open Science.
    13. Csilla Horváth & Feray Adigüzel & Hester van Herk, 2013. "Cultural Aspects Of Compulsive Buying In Emerging And Developed Economies: A Cross Cultural Study In Compulsive Buying," Organizations and Markets in Emerging Economies, Faculty of Economics, Vilnius University, vol. 4(2).
    14. Bruce C. Martin & Benson Honig, 2020. "Inclusive Management Research: Persons with Disabilities and Self-Employment Activity as an Exemplar," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 166(3), pages 553-575, October.
    15. Maggioni, Isabella & Sands, Sean & Kachouie, Reza & Tsarenko, Yelena, 2019. "Shopping for well-being: The role of consumer decision-making styles," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 105(C), pages 21-32.
    16. Shapiro, Stephen L. & Reams, Lamar & So, Kevin Kam Fung, 2019. "Is it worth the price? The role of perceived financial risk, identification, and perceived value in purchasing pay-per-view broadcasts of combat sports," Sport Management Review, Elsevier, vol. 22(2), pages 235-246.
    17. Jihyeon Oh & Dae Hee Kim & Daehwan Kim, 2023. "The Impact of Inclusive Leadership and Autocratic Leadership on Employees’ Job Satisfaction and Commitment in Sport Organizations: The Mediating Role of Organizational Trust and The Moderating Role of," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(4), pages 1-13, February.
    18. Cosimo Talò, 2024. "Modelling and Measuring Local Community Engagement (LCE)," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 173(2), pages 475-498, June.
    19. Marie-Claude Richard & Émélie Lavoie & Brendon Watters, 2023. "Validation of the French-Language Version of the Sense of Community Index-2," SAGE Open, , vol. 13(2), pages 21582440231, June.
    20. Bouncken, Ricarda B. & Ratzmann, Martin & Kraus, Sascha, 2021. "Anti-aging: How innovation is shaped by firm age and mutual knowledge creation in an alliance," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 137(C), pages 422-429.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:20:y:2023:i:13:p:6315-:d:1188829. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.