Self-Determined Intention to Vote and the Mediating Role of Politicized Identification

Abstract. This study tested the Politicized Identification Model of Intention to Vote as an integrated model of political participation and self-determination theory to understand what motivates young people to vote and inform policy and communication efforts. The results of path analyses on survey data from a representative sample of 1,960 young Italians (age range, 20–35 years) revealed that participative efficacy positively and negatively predicted internalized motivation and amotivation, respectively. In addition, politicized identification mediated the positive relation between the internalized motivations and intention to vote. Finally, amotivation negatively predicted voting intention. Civic education campaigns should promote young people’s awareness that they can contribute to society by voting (i.e., participative efficacy) and support internalized motivations to vote.