title: Civic involvement across the life course: moving beyond age-based assumptions.
abstract: This paper critically examines factors which, over time and context, are linked to civic involvement for individuals, age groups, and cohorts. We begin by critiquing current age- and cohort-related civic involvement canons and norms by extracting and evaluating rationales for why such activity in two particular periods of life-early adulthood and old age-is assumed to be good for individuals and for society. Then, employing elements of a life course perspective, we consider an alternative approach to civic involvement-one that emphasizes dynamic trajectories and the significant degree of variability within individuals, age groups and cohorts resulting in a very different set of assumptions about individual choice and activity. We close by discussing the utility of this alternative approach for research, policy, and practice regarding civic involvement.
authors.affiliation: Institute for Families in Society, University of South Carolina, Suite 507, 1600 Hampton Street, Columbia, SC 29208, United States. Electronic address: hirshorn@mailbox.sc.edu.
authors.forename: Barbara A
authors.initials: BA
authors.lastname: Hirshorn
authors.affiliation: Human Development and Family Sciences, Oregon State University, 2631 SW Campus Way (HFC), Corvallis, OR 97331, United States. Electronic address: richard.settersten@oregonstate.edu.
authors.forename: Richard A
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Settersten
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D005260:Female; D006076:Government; D006801:Humans; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D008297:Male; D011057:Politics; D012941:Social Responsibility; D014838:Volunteers / Q000523:psychology*; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Age; Civic engagement; Heterogeneity; Meaning; Old age; Young adults