Social Networks that Matter: explaining the civic engagement of university students

Abstract

Young people's social participation has numerous benefits and universities can play an important role in promoting it. The aim of this study is to broaden our understanding of the impact of social relationships on the development of social participation among university students. We also aimed to determine to what extent previous social participation experiences may modulate said impact. A total of 827 undergraduate students completed a questionnaire assessing their previous experience with social participation, the likelihood of their engaging in social participation in the future and the composition of their social networks, distinguishing between contacts on the basis of the type of relationship (relatives, friends or acquaintance) and its context (on or off campus).