CLEP American Government, Chapter 39

Age

Age patterns combine life cycle, cohort, and period. Turnout generally rises from young adulthood into middle and later life as people gain residential stability, registration history, community ties, and repeated voting habits. Health, mobility, or institutional residence can later raise costs. A cohort effect occurs when a generation shaped by common events remains distinctive as it ages. A period effect reaches several ages at once, such as an unusually competitive election or administrative disruption.