The effects of youth civic participation on well-being: Results from a seven-wave longitudinal study

This study investigates whether youth civic participation predicts positive changes in well-being over time. Data come from a seven-wave longitudinal study of 1,257 Czechs aged 18–30. Participants were followed for 1.5 years, during which they repeatedly completed seven self-report online questionnaires. Three dimensions of participation (protest, conventional, and social) and three dimensions of well-being (emotional, psychological, and social) were captured. Random-intercept cross-lagged panel modeling enabled the differentiation between the between-person and within-person (dynamic) components of well-being. Results showed that between-person levels (i.e., random intercepts) of participation and well-being were mostly positively intercorrelated with the exception of protest participation and emotional well-being. However, there were virtually no cross-lagged effects of participation on well-being. Thus, it seems that young people’s civic participation does not have a positive within-person influence on their well-being. Still, it is possible that the effects occur gradually and over an extended period.