POLITICAL-DEVELOPMENT OF SIXTIES ACTIVISTS - IDENTIFYING THE INFLUENCE OF CLASS, GENDER, AND SOCIALIZATION ON PROTEST PARTICIPATION

This article traces the development of student activists among members of the high school class of 1965. We explore how political and religi ous socialization, social psychological orientations, and class origin s affect the likelihood that an individual will become involved in the antiwar, student, and civil rights protests of the 1960s. We also sys tematically examine the interrelationships between social class, gende r, social psychological orientations, and political and religious soci alization to discern their effects on social movement participation. U sing data from the Youth-Parent Socialization Panel Study, 1965-73, we find that socialization processes and social psychological dispositio ns are strongly linked to participation in the protests and that socia l class spurs protest both directly and through its effects on these f actors. We also find that gender differences in social movement partic ipation are largely a function of socialization, social psychological differences, and women's lower rates of college attendance.