Why should I get involved? Perceived barriers to civic participation among young Czech Roma. Paper presented at the 14th Biennial Meeting of the European Association for Research on Adolescence, September 3-6, 2014, Cesme, Turkey
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| Year of publication | 2014 |
| Type | Appeared in Conference without Proceedings |
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| Description | From a psychological perspective, when people feel excluded from broader society their feelings of alienation or frustration raise and foster the lack of interest in civic affairs (Uslaner & Brown, 2005), especially outside one’s ethnic group (Stepick & Stepick, 2002). At the same time, negative feelings related to perceived discrimination can serve as a trigger for civic action (van Zomeren, Leach, & Spears, 2012). In present study, we explore how young Roma describe barriers to civic participation and how are their perceptions of discrimination related to their civic participation. We utilize data from 5 focus groups (N=28) and a follow-up survey (N=203) conducted with young Czech Roma (ages between 15 and 28) during 2010-2011 as a part of the larger multinational project PIDOP. The common denominator among barriers to participation was feeling of exclusion. Participants pointed out the interrelatedness among access to resources, social exclusion and perceived discrimination. Young Roma described how prejudice and discrimination they encounter daily leads to frustration and greater psychological divide between them and majority society. People described that once they get civically involved, it is often within their ethnic group (helping others). In the quantitative part of the study, we explored emotional correlates of perceived discrimination. Young Roma reported increased levels of anger and frustration. These negative feelings moderated relation between one's belief in the group's ability to bring desired social change (collective efficacy) and civic action. The more people reported negative feelings about perceived discrimination, the more was belief of collective efficacy predictive of civic action in the future. |
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