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The National Youth Election Survey Report: A Subgroup Analysis of Political and Civic Participation among Canadian Youth

Appendixes

Appendix A. Sampling Information and Variable Description

Sampling

The 2015 NYS includes a national randomly selected sample stratified by age, gender, and region (n = 2,255), as well as a purposive (non-probabilistic) oversampling of specific youth subgroups, including Aboriginal youth. In total, 3,009 Canadians participated in the survey, which included a subsample of older citizens, ages 35 and older (n = 503). Approximately two-thirds of respondents in the randomized national sample were contacted by cell phone or landline (n = 1,503) with the remaining one-third of respondents from the nationally representative youth sample completing the survey online (n = 752). All respondents from the stratified sample of adults ages 35 and over were contacted by a telephone survey. Respondents in the purposive oversampling were recruited through online panels and specialised panels of Aboriginal youth. Table A1 presents sample characteristics. Data were weighted by age and gender within regions (according to the 2011 census).

Appendix Table 1. Youth Subgroups in the 2015 NYS
Subgroups Sample Size
Female (60.0%) n = 1503
Aboriginal (9.94%) n = 249
Age Group (18–22 years old) n = 1078
Age Group (23–29 years old) n = 819
Age Group (30–34 years old) n = 609
Region - Atlantic n = 163
Region - Quebec n = 509
Region - Ontario n = 1044
Region - Prairies (Saskatchewan and Manitoba) n = 214
Region - West (Alberta, BC) and Territories n = 332

Descriptive Statistics and Explanation of Independent Variables

Appendix Table 2. Descriptive Statistics – Quantitative Variables
Variable N Mean SD Min Max
Cynicism 3009 0.450 0.210 0 1
Knowledge 3007 0.560 0.290 0 1
Age 3009 29.67 12.91 18 91

The construction of the variable Cynicism is described in footnote 10 in the main body of the text. Knowledge corresponds to the share of correct answers to the five following questions in the NYS questionnaire, of which the first three are multiple-choice and the last two are open-ended:

  1. "Which party won the most seats in the federal election held on October 19th?" (Variable QI1 in the NYS 2015)
  2. "Which level of government has primary responsibility for education – federal, provincial, or municipal?" (Variable QI2 in the NYS 2015)
  3. "Which level of government has primary responsibility for employment insurance – federal, provincial, or municipal?" (Variable QI3 in the NYS 2015)
  4. "What is the name of the premier of your Province or Territory?" (Variable QI4 in the NYS 2015)
  5. "Now we have a question about a public figure, David Cameron. What job or political office does he now hold?" (Variable QI5 in the NYS 2015)
Appendix Table 3. Descriptive Statistics – Qualitative Variables
Variable / Group N % Description
Post-Secondary Education No 721 24.2 Recode of variable QJ3 in the NYS 2015
Yes 2256 75.8
Income Above $40,000 No 1267 48 Recode of variable INCOME in the NYS 2015
Yes 1371 52
Have Recently Moved No 1792 61 Recode of variable QJB in the NYS 2015
Yes 1144 39
Children No 2102 70.5 Recode of variable QJ10 in the NYS 2015
Yes 878 29.5
Interest in the Election No 355 12 Recode of variable QB8 in the NYS 2015
Yes 2608 88
Interested in Politics No 571 19.2 Recode of variable QB9 in the NYS 2015
Yes 2402 80.8
Voting is a Civic Duty No 1452 48.9 Recode of variable QF5A in the NYS 2015
Yes 1518 51.1
Received the Voter Card No 668 22.3 Recode of variable QB4 in the NYS 2015
Yes 2328 77.7
Political Mobilisation No 1181 39.2 Recode of variable QB13 in the NYS 2015
Yes 1828 60.8
Family Mobilisation No 866 28.8 Recode of variable QB15A in the NYS 2015
Yes 2143 71.2
Mobilised by Friends or Teachers No 898 29.8 Recoded combination of variables QB15B and QB15D in the NYS 2015
Yes 2111 70.2
Contacted by Media No 968 33.1 Recode of variable QB15E in the NYS 2015
Yes 1956 66.9
Contacted by an Organisation No 1997 69.2 Recode of variable QB15H in the NYS 2015
Yes 889 30.8


Appendix B. Additional Tables

Appendix Table 4. Comparing Youth Participation to that of Older Adults
(36)
Voting 		(37)
Political Participation 		(38)
Civic Participation
AME SE AME SE AME SE
Youth (<35) -0.20 *** (0.02) 0.02 (0.03) -0.03 (0.03)
Observations 2953 3009 3009
Pseudo R 2 0.03 0.00 0.00

Note: Standard errors in parentheses. + p < 0.10, * p < 0.05, ** p < 0.01, *** p < 0.001. Youth is a dichotomous predictor.

Appendix Table 5. Voter Turnout and Interaction Effects Between Gender and Parenthood – Full Model
(39)
Full Model
b SE
Post-Secondary Education 0.36 * (0.17)
Income Above $40,000 -0.15 (0.15)
Have Recently Moved -0.13 (0.15)
Children 0.34 (0.30)
Children # Female -1.02 ** (0.36)
Female 0.35 + (0.18)
Interested in the Election 1.51 *** (0.25)
Interested in Politics 0.66 ** (0.21)
Pol. Cynicism (Scale, 0–1) -2.10 *** (0.40)
Voting is a Civic Duty 1.70 *** (0.16)
Pol. Knowledge (Scale, 0–1) 1.49 *** (0.30)
Received the Voter Card 1.63 *** (0.17)
Political Mobilisation 0.32 * (0.15)
Family Mobilisation 0.55 ** (0.17)
Mobilised by Friends or Teachers 0.05 (0.18)
Contacted by Media -0.56 ** (0.18)
Interested in the Election -0.15 (0.18)
Interested in Politics -2.85 *** (0.41)
Observations 1999
Pseudo R 2 0.36

Note: Logit coefficients. + p < 0.10, * p < 0.05, ** p < 0.01, *** p < 0.001. Unless stated otherwise, predictors are dichotomous and coded as 0 or 1.

Appendix Table 6. Predictors of Voting and Age Effects
Age Effects
AME
Youth (<35) -0.05
Age (continuous variable) 0.00+
Post-Secondary Education 0.03+
Income Above $40,000 -0.02
Have Recently Moved -0.01
Children -0.03+
Interested in the Election 0.20***
Interested in Politics 0.07**
Pol. Cynicism (Scale, 0–1) -0.20***
Voting is a Civic Duty 0.20***
Pol. Knowledge (Scale, 0–1) 0.15***
Received the Voter Card 0.20***
Political Mobilisation 0.03*
Family Mobilisation 0.06***
Mobilised by Friends or Teachers 0.01
Contacted by Media -0.05**
Contacted by an Organisation -0.01
Observations 2441
Pseudo R2 0.37

Note: + p < 0.10, * p < 0.05, ** p < 0.01, *** p < 0.001. Unless stated otherwise, predictors are dichotomous and coded as 0 or 1.