Gender-related drivers of adolescents’ civic engagement

The study examined the influence of gender variables, as a predictor and moderator of adolescencts’ civic engagement. The gender variables were operationalized as student’s gender, as well as their personal and family gender equality stereotypes and teacher gender tolerance, while civic engagement was operationalized via prosocial behavior, prosocial emotions and prosocial values. Two hundred and ninety 12-13-year-olds completed questionnaires measuring situational and personal drivers and outcomes of youth civic engagement in Georgia. Results showed that personal and family gender equality stereotypes predict adolescents’ prosocial values and emotions, but not prosocial behavior. Student’s gender had a moderating effect on situational predictors and all three outcomes of civic engagement, demonstrating that boys are more influenced by their environment than girls. These findings confirm that gender socialization still plays a key role in children’s upbringing and has consequences in terms of shaping their prosociality. These differences among girls and boys should be accommodated in education policy and citizenship education interventions.