Explaining the Political and Personal Consequences of Protest

TLDR

The study examines the long‑term consequences of late‑1960s and early‑1970s anti‑war, student, and civil‑rights protest participation among activists. The authors aim to test whether ordinary participation in those protests has lasting effects on politics, status, religion, and family, after accounting for predictors of protest involvement. Using the Youth‑Parent Socialization Panel Study, they compare activists and nonactivists at 1973 and 1982, controlling for factors that predict protest participation. Controlling for predictors, former protesters are more liberal politically, occupy select professions, are better educated, less religiously traditional, marry later, and have fewer children than nonactivists.

Abstract

The authors examine the consequences of social movement participation for late 1960s and early 1970s activists, most of whom participated in the antiwar, student, and civil rights protests. After providing an explanatory framework for understanding how social movement participation might have continuing influence across a number of social realms, they test whether run-of-the-mill participation in the antiwar and student protests of the late 1960s had an impact. Using data from the Youth-Parent Socialization Panel Study, they show how demonstrators differed from nonactivists in two time periods : shortly after their movement experiences in 1973; and when they were in their mid-thirties in 1982. Controlling for the factors that predict becoming a protester, they explore the influence of activism on : (1) politics; (2) status attainment; (3) religion; and (4) family. They find that controlling for factors that predict protest participation, these typical activists are significantly different from their nonactivist counterparts. Specifically, former protesters hold more liberal political orientations and are more aligned with liberal parties and actions; select occupations in the new class; are more educated; hold less traditional religious orientations and are less attached to religious organizations; marry later; and are less likely to have children