Mass Communication and Political Socialization: Specifying the Effects

A survey investigation of teenagers examined differential socializationeffects of four news media on four types of political knowledgeand behavior among several categories of youth on the basisof abilities and predispositions. Regression analyses of questionnaireresponses from 280 seventh and tenth grade students show thatTV news exposure is the strongest predictor variable. The broadcastmedia have a greater impact on current events knowledge thanfundamental political knowledge, while a slight reversal occursfor the print media. Newspaper reading has the greatest effecton participation. There are predominantly uniform relationshipsacross subgroups, providing little evidence that the news mediaproduce knowledge or behavior gaps.