The Social Origins of Adult Political Behavior

Political socialization research has focused on the role of parents, extracurricular activities, and the school curriculum during adolescence on shaping early adult political behavior (Beck & Jennings, 1982; Flanagan, Syvertsen, & Stout, 2007; Torney-Purta, Richardson, & Barber, 2004). However, no study to date has examined how properties of adolescents’ social networks affect the development of adult political outcomes. Using social network analysis, we find that both a respondent’s social integration in high school and his friends’ perceptions of their own social integration affect the respondent’s later political behavior as a young adult. Peer and network effects are at work in political socialization. This has important implications for our understanding of the development of social capital, political trust, and political participation, as well as our general understanding about how one’s social network influences one’s own attitudes and behavior.