Family Affluence, School and Neighborhood Contexts and Adolescents’ Civic Engagement: A Cross-National Study

Research on youth civic engagement has emphasized individual-level predictors. We examined, at both the individual and aggregate school levels, the roles of family affluence, democratic school social climate and perceived neighborhood social capital in promoting civic engagement of 15-year-old students. Data were taken from the 2006 World Health Organization Health Behaviour in School-aged Children survey. A sample of 8,077 adolescents in 10th grade from five countries (Belgium, Canada, Italy, Romania, England) were assessed. Multilevel models were analyzed for each country and across the entire sample. Results showed that family affluence, democratic school climate and perceived neighborhood social capital positively related to participation in community organizations. These effects were stronger at the aggregate contextual than individual level and varied by country. Canadian youth participate most and Romanian youth least of the five countries. Gender is only a predictor in two countries (girls participate more in Canada, boys in Italy). Findings showed significant contributions of the social environment to adolescents’ engagement in their communities.