Partisanship, life cycles and political socialization in Brazil

Abstract Empirical studies have shown significant differences in how young people and adults have expressed themselves politically, indicating that youth keeps distance from the involvement in conventional political actions, such as voting and party activism. These studies attribute the cause of this phenomenon to the differences between the social roles played throughout life by youth and adults. Despite the existence of studies that address the relationship between participation and age, there is a gap in the field about youth and party identification. This paper aims to analyze the effects of the transition to adulthood and party identification in Brazil. Using Brazilian Electoral Study data, produced by CESOP/Unicamp, this paper’s models show that there are no significant differences in party identification, whether it is rational or emotional, manifested by youth and adults. The dependent variable was not significant when controlled by other intervening variables, such as gender and education. In the models that analyze identification with the three major parties, being young was revealed as significant in explaining identification with PT and PMDB.