Volunteer engagement as a form of political participation: A study on Italian emerging adults

Despite that the political and civic engagement are fundamental, recent trends suggest that in several democratic countries around the world youths' disengaged from politics are increasing, but it seems that they are more involved in volunteer activities beneficial for the community in which they are involved. This study examined differences between youths who consider their volunteer engagement as a form of political participation and who do not interpret their involvement in this way. The sample consisted of 247 Italian emerging adults, aged between 18 and 30 years, who were actively involved in volunteer groups: environmental associations; cultural associations; social associations; inclusive/solidarity economy associations. In our results, the youth who considered their volunteer activity as a form of political participation were slightly older, more left-wing oriented, and were more involved in some contexts of volunteerism than their counterparts who do not view their volunteer involvement as a form of political participation.