Mediators of Age Inequalities in Electoral Participation: Interest in Politics and Party Identification

Abstract: 
The study examines the age inequalities of voter participation in the elections of the State Duma. According to a pattern common to many democracies, electoral activity in our country is much higher in older ages and lower in younger ones. It is recognized that when moving through the stages of the life cycle, a person becomes interested in solving a number of problems that depend on the political decisions taken, which encourages him to vote. At the same time, the question of which political attitudes mediate the relationship between the age of individuals and their participation in elections remains insufficiently studied. In our country there is also a strong correlation between participation in elections and age. The study suggests that age differences in electoral participation in State Duma elections are explained to a certain extent by the mediating influences of the variables of interest in politics and party identification. The data of the Russian survey conducted by the European Social Research Project (ESS, Round 8) are analyzed using regression modeling, which allows evaluating parallel and sequential mediation. The results show that with age, interest in politics increases and party identification is formed, which motivate participation in State Duma elections. Distinct indirect effects of age determination of this activity were discovered, which indicate the most pronounced mediating influence of party identification, a noticeable influence of interest in politics, and also, although less strong, of their sequence — through this interest, and then identification.

Keywords:

doi: 

10.25990/socinstras.pss-22.62fe-xd85

edn: 
GRETJC

For citation: Safronov V.V. Mediators of Age Inequalities in Electoral Participation: Interest in Politics and Party Identification. St. Petersburg Sociology Today. 2023. N. 22. P. 49-70. DOI:10.25990/socinstras.pss-22.62fe-xd85

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