Laine Briddell

Using annual cross‐sectional data from Monitoring the Future, the present study examined trends in high school seniors' current and anticipated civic participation and beliefs over a 30‐year period. We examined overall trends and patterns based on youths' post‐high school educational plans. Findings point to declines in recent cohorts' involvement in conventional and alternative forms of engagement but greater involvement in community service. Regardless of period, the majority of youth said they intended to vote when eligible, but few expressed trust in the government or elected officials. All civic indicators showed significant differences based on youths' college aspirations: Youth who planned to graduate from a 4‐year college were more civically inclined than their peers with 2‐year or no college plans.

Using data from the Monitoring the Future study, this article presents historical trends in U.S. high school seniors’ work values across 30 years (1976-2005). Adolescents across three decades highly valued most aspects of work examined. Recent cohorts showed declines in the importance of work, values for job security, and various potential intrinsic rewards of work. After increasing until 1990, adolescents remained stable in their values for extrinsic and materialistic aspects of work until 2005. The value of work that allows for leisure time has steadily increased. Stable level differences in work values emerged for adolescents by gender, race, parents’ education, and college aspirations. Findings have implications for understanding the changing meaning of work for the future workforce.