The Role of Personality Traits and Ego Identification in the Political Participation of Basiji Students

This study was conducted to develop a model for political participation on the basis of personality traits and ego identification. It is a correlational study based on structural equation modeling, especially regression equations (an amalgamation of path analysis and the second level factor analysis). The statistical population included all the male and female Basiji students of the Science and Research Branch of Islamic Azad University. In this study, a sample size of 500 people was determined, considering the number of observed variables, assigning a coefficient of 20 for each variable and taking into account the possibility of incomplete questionnaires. After determining the sample size, the availability sampling method was used to select the sample. For data collection, the NEO Personality Questionnaire, the Benyon and Adams Identity Questionnaire and Farajzadeh’s standard questionnaire of political participation were used. The findings revealed that the research model was valid, and in general 83% of political participation could be explained by personality traits and ego identification. Also, personality traits and ego identification variables had a significant direct effect on political participation, and the path of personality traits mediated by identification showed an indirect effect on political participation. The results of this study underline the need for social communication models in an area of natural characteristics of individuals in large-scale social and national activities.