Community service and political identity development in adolescence

This article addresses the interconnection of political socialization and i dentity development. We begin with Erikson's work, which identified the dev elopment of political commitment in adolescence as a key aspect of identity formation. We then seek to shed light art the social processes through whi ch youth become engaged in; political activities and issues. We discuss the influences of family and peers as well as participation in community servi ce and other civic activities. The development of social responsibility and agency, and an understanding of the complexity of social issues are consid ered as important facets of political commitment. Data from a case study of Black urban adolescents who participated in a year-long service learning p rogram are used to illustrate our perspective. We conclude that social-hist orical context, instantiated in social relationships and actions, plays a p ivotal role in the process and shape of political socialization and identit y formation.