Resumen

BRASIL, Julia et al. Political participation among adolescents in electoral situation of optional vote. Rev. psicol. polít. [online]. 2008, vol.8, n.15, pp.79-92. ISSN 2175-1390.

This article aims to present and discuss the social representations (RS) that adolescents, with ages between 16 years old and 17 years old, have about politics, based on empirical data that have been acquired from 50 adolescents from a public institution of the Brazilian High School system. Interviews have been carried out using the free association technique and a questionnaire with open questions. The inductive terms used for free association were “politics” and “politician”. With regard to the analysis of the data, the EVOC software was used. It was possible to verify that the possible elements that organize the adolescents’ RS about politics are: corruption, election, and leader. It could be perceived that the adolescents’ RS, commonly, did not evoke positive political images; when positive factors were evoked, normally they were connected to a desire of changing or the way that they consider the politics should be. It was established that the RS that the adolescents have about politics and about the politicians revolves around corruption.

Palabras clave : Social representation; Adolescent; Participation; Politics; Politician.

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