Wisconsin Political Socialization Study, 1980 (M129)

This is a three wave study of adolescents (aged 10 to 17) and their parents who were interviewed in a three-wave panel study, at the beginning of a presidential campaign, at the end, and a year later. The dataset is from a probability sample of Wisconsin families. Interviews were conducted just before the 1980 Wisconsin primary (in January to March 1980), at its conclusion (in October 1980), and a year later (in October and November 1981)The population was defined as pre-adults aged 10 to 17. Using random-digit-dialing techniques, families were contacted; after ascertaining the age of preadults in the household, a random sample was selected of approximately 100 pre-adults aged from 10 to 17 years, each of whom was interviewed by telephone. In each household one parent was then randomly selected and interviewed. The first wave yielded 718 parent-offspring pairs, with a response rate of approximately 70%. The second wave yielded 501 pairs, and the third yielded 366 pairs. Topics covered include, campaign involvement, group identification, family communication patterns, interpersonal communication, ideological identification, knowledge of candidates, parties, symbols and state government, general political orientation, party identification, political issue orientation, television political speech viewing, trust, voting habits, and basic demographics.