Psycho-demographic factors influencing social and political activism in Nigeria
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.59569/jceeas.2024.4.1.241Keywords:
Gender, Interest, Political activism, Social activismAbstract
Prior studies on social and political activism have neglected people’s demographic and pyschosocial factors, particularly in Nigeria. Thus, a n inquiry is garmane. This study used the world value data wave 7 collected between 2015-2020 for Nigeria, to assess the factors that determined participation in socio-political activism. The data were subjected to t-test, correlation, and regression analysis. A positive statistically significant correlation existed among gender, age, social class, and employment status, and interest in politics and participation in political activism, while negative correlation was found among educational level, geo-political region, and participation in political activism. A significant difference was found in participation and political activism based on social class, educational level, age, income, place, and marital status. No difference was found based on gender. Multiple regression analysis showed that the greatest potent set of predictors of participation in political activism are interest, gender, the highest level of education and marital status. The findings have germane implications for the realization of the Sustainable Development Goal 5.
References
Akpanika, E. N. (2019). Socio-Religious and Political Activism in Nigeria: A Comparative Analysis of Christians and Muslim Responses’. A Journal of Contemporary Research, 16(2), 197-218.
Alzuabi, A. Z. (2016). Sociopolitical Participation of Kuwaiti Women in the Development Process: Current State and Challenges Ahead. Journal of Social Service Research, 42(5), 689-702. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1080/01488376.2016.1212775
Atkinson, J. D. (2017). Journey into Social Activism: Qualitative Approaches. New York: Fordham University Press. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1353/book.49055
Bolzendahl, C., & Coffé, H. (2013). Are ‘Good’ Citizens ‘Good’ Participants? Testing Citizenship Norms and Political Participation across 25 Nations. Political Studies, 61(1_suppl), 45-65. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-9248.12010
Cheeseman, N., & Dodsworth, S. (March 8, 2019). Why African Democracies Are Failing Women — And What We Can Do to Fix It. The Mail and Guardian. https://mg.co.za/article/2019-03-08-00-why-african-democracies-are-failing-women-and-what-we-can-do-to-fix-it/
Dim, E. E., & Asomah, J. Y. (2019). Socio-Demographic Predictors of Political Participation among Women in Nigeria: Insights from Afrobarometer. Journal of International Women’s Studies,, 20(2), 91-105.
Dragonas, T., & Vassiliou, A. (2017). Educational activism across the divide: empowering youths and their communities. Contemporary Social Science, 12(1-2), 123-137. https://doi.org/10.1080/21582041.2017.1327668
Drozd, M. (2015). Political Activism: Concept, Factors and Forms. European Political and Law Discourse, 2(4), 229-231. https://eppd13.cz/wp-content/uploads/2015/2015-2-4/37.pdf
Fridkin, K. L., & Kenney, P. J. (2007). Examining the Gender Gap in Children’s Attitudes Toward Politics. Sex Roles, 56(3), 133-140. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11199-006-9156-2
Guillemot, J. R., & Price, D. J. (2017). Politicisation in later life: experience and motivations of older people participating in a protest for the first time. Contemporary Social Science, 12(1-2), 52-67. https://doi.org/10.1080/21582041.2017.1326620
Hidi, S., & Renninger, K. A. (2006). The Four-Phase Model of Interest Development. Educational Psychologist, 41(2), 111-127. https://doi.org/10.1207/s15326985ep4102_4
Idike, A. N., Okeke, R. C., Okorie, C. O., Ogba, F. N., & Ugodulunwa, C. A. (2020). Gender, Democracy, and National Development in Nigeria. Sage Open, 10(2), 2158244020922836. https://doi.org/10.1177/2158244020922836
Kutlaca, M., Radke, H. R. M., Iyer, A., & Becker, J. C. (2020). Understanding allies’ participation in social change: A multiple perspectives approach. European Journal of Social Psychology, 50(6), 1248-1258. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1002/ejsp.2720
Mayer, A. (2024). Nigerian Radicalism: Towards a New Definition via a Historical Survey. Historical Materialism, 1-36. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1163/1569206x-bja10033
Mohd Hed, N., & Grasso, M. T. (2020). Age group differences in political activism in Malaysia. Journal of Youth Studies, 23(6), 765-779. https://doi.org/10.1080/13676261.2019.1636948
Ngwu, C. N., Iwuagwu, A. O., Ogar, L., Eyang, B., Iyiani, C., Okafor, A., Udechukwu, N., Ezugworie, C., & Rahman, F. N. (2022). Socio-demographic predictors of gendered political participation and implications for social work practice in Enugu State, Nigeria. Cogent Social Sciences, 8(1), 2069907. https://doi.org/10.1080/23311886.2022.2069907
Nolas, S.-M., Varvantakis, C., & Aruldoss, V. (2017). Political activism across the life course. Contemporary Social Science, 12(1-2), 1-12. https://doi.org/10.1080/21582041.2017.1336566
Norris, P. (2009). Political activism: New Challenges, New Opportunities. In C. Boix & S. C. Stokes (Eds.), The Oxford Handbook for Comparative Politics (pp. 628–649). Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Nygård, M., Nyqvist, F., Steenbeek, W., & Jakobsson, G. (2015). Does social capital enhance political participation of older adults? A multi-level analysis of older Finns and Swedes. Journal of International and Comparative Social Policy, 31(3), 234-254. https://doi.org/10.1080/21699763.2015.1069207
Petrović, J., & Stanojević, D. (2020). Political Activism in Serbia. 68(3), 365-385. https://doi.org/doi:10.1515/soeu-2020-0027 (Comparative Southeast European Studies)
Ricketts, A. (2012). The Activists’ Handbook: A Step-by-Step Guide to Participatory Democracy. Zed Books.
Shaw, R. (2012). The Activist’s Handbook: Winning Social Change in the 21st Century ( 2nd Edition). University of California Press.
Spellings, C. R., Barber, B. K., & Olsen, J. A. (2012). Political Activism of Palestinian Youth: Exploring Individual, Parental, and Ecological Factors. Journal of Marriage and Family, 74(5), 1084-1100. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1741-3737.2012.01002.x
The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). (2018). Women’s Political Participation in Egypt Barriers, Opportunities, and Gender Sensitivity of Select Political Institutions. Retrieved Oktober 14, 2024 from http://www.oecd.org/mena/governance/womens-politicalparticipation-in-egypt.pdf
United Nations. (2015). The World's Women 2015: Trends and Statistics. Retrieved Oktober 14, 2024 from https://unstats.un.org/unsd/gender/downloads/worldswomen2015_report.pdf
United Nations. (2019). Goal 5: Achieve Gender Equality and Empower All Women and Girls. Retrieved May 27, 2024 from https://sdgs.un.org/goals/goal5
Vecchione, M., Schwartz, S. H., Caprara, G. V., Schoen, H., Cieciuch, J., Silvester, J., Bain, P., Bianchi, G., Kirmanoglu, H., Baslevent, C., Mamali, C., Manzi, J., Pavlopoulos, V., Posnova, T., Torres, C., Verkasalo, M., Lönnqvist, J.-E., Vondráková, E., Welzel, C., & Alessandri, G. (2015). Personal values and political activism: A cross-national study. British Journal of Psychology, 106(1), 84-106. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1111/bjop.12067
World Values Survey. (2022). World Values Survey Wave 7 (2017-2022). Retrieved May 27, 2024 from https://www.worldvaluessurvey.org/WVSDocumentationWV7.jsp
Worldometer. (2024). Nigeria Demographics. Retrieved May 27, 2024 from https://www.worldometers.info/demographics/nigeria-demographics/