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Young people’s social participation has numerous benefits, and universities can play an important role in promoting it. The aim of this study is to broaden our understanding of the impact of social relationships on the development of social participation among university students. We also aimed to determine to what extent previous social participation experiences may modulate said impact. A total of 827 undergraduate students completed a questionnaire assessing their previous experience with social participation, the likelihood of their engaging in social participation in the future and the composition of their social networks, distinguishing between contacts on the basis of the type of relationship and its context (on or off campus). Although a clear relationship was found between social networks and previous experience with social participation, the association with the likelihood of engaging in social participation in the future was weaker and more complex. Previous experience was not found to modulate this association, and relationships with friends seem to be the most important factor in predicting future participation. The differences between civic and political participation are analysed, along with the practical implications of the results in light of, among other things, the potential role played by social norms.
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Publication Date:
https://doi.org/10.1386/ctl_00167_1 Published content will be available immediately after check-out or when it is released in case of a pre-order. Please make sure to be logged in to see all available purchase options.