Journal article
Learning to avoid: The long-term effects of adolescent welfare participation on voting habits in adulthood
Policy studies journal, Vol.53(4), pp.1065-1087
11/2025
DOI: 10.1111/psj.70003
Appears in UI Libraries Support Open Access
Abstract
Welfare participation is associated with lower turnout among adults. For many citizens, however, their first experiences with welfare occur during a critical time of political development in adolescence. Does growing up on welfare lower turnout in young adulthood? I identify three mechanisms linking adolescent welfare experience to voting: stigma, the absence of pro-civics role models, and ineffective support from government welfare programs. Using the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1997, I find that non-Hispanic white adolescents who grow up on welfare are 6-17 percentage points less likely to vote compared to those without welfare experience. Adolescent welfare participation is unrelated to voting among Black and Hispanic youths. Interviews and focus groups find support for the three mechanisms. These findings highlight the importance of adolescent policy experiences for voting.
Details
- Title: Subtitle
- Learning to avoid: The long-term effects of adolescent welfare participation on voting habits in adulthood
- Creators
- Nathan K. Micatka - University of Iowa
- Resource Type
- Journal article
- Publication Details
- Policy studies journal, Vol.53(4), pp.1065-1087
- DOI
- 10.1111/psj.70003
- ISSN
- 0190-292X
- eISSN
- 1541-0072
- Publisher
- Wiley
- Number of pages
- 23
- Grant note
- University of Iowa's Graduate and Professional Student Government Graduate College, University of Iowa
- Language
- English
- Electronic publication date
- 02/25/2025
- Date published
- 11/2025
- Academic Unit
- Political Science
- Record Identifier
- 9984811616102771
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