Youth Sociopolitical Development: Moving Beyond Mechanistic Action and Ineffective Blah

Abstract

Sociopolitical development (SPD) offers a promising approach to work with marginalized youth to help them negotiate ecological factors in their development. SPD refers to one’s consciousness of and engagement in action to change inequitable structures, and consciousness and engagement are often theorized to develop dialectically. However, research suggests that there is not a natural relationship between them. The present study draws on several empirical antecedents of SPD to examine how they affect the likelihood of an individual having high sociopolitical consciousness and a high level of sociopolitical engagement. Results corroborate the disconnect between consciousness and engagement found in previous studies. However, a multinomial logistic regression model shows that sense of community, psychological empowerment, and social attribution all increase the likelihood that one simultaneously possesses high levels of both.