The effect of political socialization agents on adolescents’ climate change attitudes: Evidence from a two-year panel study

The growing interest in the climate change attitudes of youth and their development has been accelerated by the extensive global activism of young people promoting more urgent climate action (Fridays for Future etc.). However, there are two notable gaps in the research literature. First, the research focuses more on the active adolescents, leaving the youngsters who are not interested in climate change or are skeptical/cynical of these issues in the margins. Second, there is a lack of longitudinal studies investigating the role of political socialization agents in the formation of climate change attitudes. This paper seeks to explore how different agents of political socialization affect the development and differentiation of adolescents’ climate change attitudes over time. The analysis sheds light on how climate change attitudes develop in the cross-pressure of different socialization agents, and aims to identify which agents of political socialization cause differentiation in the attitudes. Climate change attitudes, like all political attitudes, are formed as a part of political socialization. Political socialization refers to the process through which individuals learn and assimilate political norms, values and behavior patterns of the political system. Political socialization is affected by socialization agents, the most important of which for adolescents are family, peers/friends, school, leisure associations and the media. The process of political socialization is often considered to last a lifetime, but especially childhood and adolescence have been thought to be important stages for the development and crystallization of political attitudes (the formative years). During puberty, individuals begin to distance themselves from their guardians and start to strengthen their autonomous agency and explore their own identity, ideologies and relationship to society. Obligations and closeness towards the birth family may decrease, leaving more room to seek influence and information also from other socialization agents. Furthermore, in Finland, the differentiation in educational paths begins at the end of comprehensive school when adolescents are 15 years old and have to choose in which educational path they want to continue (compulsory education ends at 18 years of age). With the end of common school and thus differentiation in educational paths and also social circles, it is reasonable to expect some shifts in political attitudes (whether they strengthen, weaken, change or get re-evaluated) making this time especially fruitful to examine the development and differentiation of climate change attitudes. In this paper, EPIC-panel data on Finnish adolescents is used to analyze how different agents of political socialization affect the development and differentiation of adolescents’ climate change attitudes. The measured climate change attitudes are climate change worry and willingness to act. The data has been gathered in two waves, first in spring 2021 (n = 5000, respondents were 15 years old) and second in spring 2023 (n = 1000, respondents were 17 years old). Structural equation model(s) is used to test the effects of family, peers, school, media and leisure associations have on climate change attitudes over the two year period.