Political Responsibility Among University Students

Abstract

The studies related to variables in political psychology have increased in recent years, as researchers began to be interested in studying individuals’ attitudes about political action and everything related to it. Specialists believe that individuals in any society must be characterized by political responsibility and its importance in determining the strength of the feeling of citizenship. The researcher defined political responsibility as “a belief based on a moral motive that includes political interest, social responsibility, and awareness of the threats to which society may be exposed.” The current research aimed to identify:

1. Political responsibility among university students
2. Political responsibility among university students according to statistical differences between males and females.
3. Political responsibility among university students according to statistical differences in socioeconomic level (good/average/simple).

The research included a sample of university students in Baghdad, amounting to 421 male and female students. The political responsibility scale prepared by the researcher, consisting of 30 items, was applied and its psychometric properties were calculated. The results of the research confirmed that the sample members enjoy political responsibility in general, with significant statistical differences showing Males had higher political responsibility than females, without any statistically significant differences in political responsibility between students who belong to the good, middle, or simple class on the economic and social level.