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Cited by 731Youth Development and Social SupportYouth Education and Societal DynamicsService-Learning and Community Engagement

Civic Engagement and the Transition to Adulthood

Flanagan, Constance, Levine, Peter·2010·The Future of Children
DOI 10.1353/foc.0.0043
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Abstract

Constance Flanagan and Peter Levine survey research on civic engagement among U.S. adolescents and young adults. Civic engagement, they say, is important both for the functioning of democracies and for the growth and maturation it encourages in young adults, but opportunities for civic engagement are not evenly distributed by social class or race and ethnicity. Today's young adults, note the authors, are less likely than those in earlier generations to exhibit many important characteristics of citizenship, raising the question of whether these differences represent a decline or simply a delay in traditional adult patterns of civic engagement. Flanagan and Levine also briefly discuss the civic and political lives of immigrant youth in the United States, noting that because these youth make up a significant share of the current generation of young adults, their civic engagement is an important barometer of the future of democracy. The authors next survey differences in civic participation for youth from different social, racial, and ethnic backgrounds. They explore two sets of factors that contribute to a lower rate of civic engagement among low-income and minority young adults. The first is cumulative disadvantage—unequal opportunities and influences before adulthood, especially parental education. The second is different institutional opportunities for civic engagement among college and non-college youth during the young-adult years. Flanagan and Levine survey various settings where young adults spend time—schools and colleges, community organizations, faith-based institutions, community organizing and activism projects, and military and other voluntary service programs—and examine the opportunities for civic engagement that each affords. As the transition to adulthood has lengthened, say the authors, colleges have become perhaps the central institution for civic incorporation of younger generations. But no comparable institution exists for young adults who do not attend college. Opportunities for sustained civic engagement by year-long programs such as City Year could provide an alternative opportunity for civic engagement for young adults from disadvantaged families, allowing them to stay connected to mainstream opportunities and to adults who could mentor and guide their way.

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  • Individuals from low-income, immigrant, minority, or otherwise marginalized backgrounds are usually less engaged in civic activities than their counterparts.

    “individuals from low-income, immigrant, minority, or otherwise marginalized backgrounds are usually less engaged in civic activities than their counterparts (Flanagan & Levine, 2010 ; Levinson, 2010 )”

    From The Effect of Civic Engagement on Different Dimensions of Well-Being in Youth: A Scoping Review (2025) · cites this paper as Flanagan & Levine, 2010

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Authors
Flanagan, C., & Levine, P.
Affiliations
Pennsylvania State University (US)
ORCID
Venue
The Future of Children
Publisher
Project MUSE
Published
2010-03
Volume
20
Issue
1
Pages
159-179
ISSN
  • 1054-8289 (ISSN-L)
  • 1550-1558
DOI
10.1353/foc.0.0043
OpenAlex
W2172027201
Cited by
731
References
36
Citations by year
2026: 47 · 2025: 46 · 2024: 51 · 2023: 51 · 2022: 52 · 2021: 51 · 2020: 52 · 2019: 76 · 2018: 49 · 2017: 47 · 2016: 43 · 2015: 52 · 2014: 42 · 2013: 33 · 2012: 17
FWCI
58.52
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
closed
Locations
  • The Future of Children (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • Project Muse (Johns Hopkins University) (submittedVersion)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Safety Research › Youth Development and Social Support
  • Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Youth Education and Societal Dynamics
  • Social Sciences › Education › Service-Learning and Community Engagement
Keywords
citizen participation, coming of age, young adults, adolescents, citizenship, cumulative disadvantage, low-income youth, racial and ethnic disparities, immigrant youth, college attendance, community organizing, faith-based institutions, military service, volunteering, mentoring, social class
MeSH terms
Adolescent, Humans, Human Development, Politics, Public Policy, Social Change, Social Class, Social Responsibility, United States, Volunteers, Emigrants and Immigrants, Young Adult

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