Introduction
Participation is a kind of belief and a prerequisite for any successful project or program aimed at improving people’s lives and fostering social development. Many scholars and social science experts have identified political participation as one of the elements of development, considering the comprehensive political involvement of the people to be synonymous with development; hence, political participation is a significant parameter in most national and international planning efforts. This study suggests that both the motivation and capacity for political participation stem from fundamental non-political institutions that shape individuals’ lives. Given the crucial and fundamental role of the economy in human life and in shaping individuals’ behaviors—particularly their political behavior—this research examines the impact of economic factors on the political participation of individuals aged 25 and over in the city of Esfarayen. The goal is to use the results of this study to devise strategies that deepen the spirit of political participation among members of society, thereby creating the necessary conditions for this involvement that contribute to the development, progress, and stability of the community. According to theoretical perspectives, economic conditions and individuals’ class positions can influence their participation levels. Therefore, there is a meaningful relationship between an individual's economic status and political participation. Numerous studies have been conducted regarding the relationship between political participation and socioeconomic status. The area of this study is the city of Esfarayen, located in North Khorasan, which presents a new case in the body of existing research.
Methodology
Considering the objectives of the research, its general approach is quantitative, and its method is survey-based. A questionnaire technique was employed for data collection. The validity of the questionnaire was established through content validity with the assistance of expert opinions. For this purpose, the questionnaire was reviewed by several professors, and adjustments were made based on the insights provided by specialists. To determine the reliability of the questionnaire, Cronbach's alpha coefficient was utilized. The Cronbach's alpha coefficient for the political participation variable with 18 items was 0.716, and for the socioeconomic status variable with 12 items—encompassing education level, job title, living conditions, housing price, car price, average monthly family income, father’s education level, mother’s education level, father’s occupation, mother’s occupation, average monthly family expenses, and residential area—it was 0.725. The statistical population consists of all individuals over 25 years old residing in the city of Esfarayen, totaling 59,490 according to the latest population and housing census in 2016. Based on Cochran’s formula, a sample size of 382 was derived for this study. To ensure generalizability, 400 questionnaires were distributed, of which 17 were invalid, leaving 383 questionnaires available for analysis.
 Findings
The descriptive results of the present study indicate the following: In the background variables of the research, 45% of the sample studied are male and 55% are female. The average age of the respondents is 35.54 years. The most frequently reported age among the respondents is 28 years. The highest frequency of respondents (65.5%) falls within the age range of 25 to 37 years. 70.5% of the sample studied are married, and 29.5% are single. In terms of education, only 1% of the respondents are illiterate, 5% have reading and writing skills, 11% have less than a diploma, 42% have a diploma or associate's degree, 32.9% hold a bachelor's degree, and 8.1% have a master's degree or higher. More than half of the sample (63.4%) are employed, while 36.6% are unemployed. Among the 63.4% who are employed, 29.5% have medium to high-status jobs, 26.1% have medium to low-status jobs, 5.5% have high-status jobs, 2.3% have very high-status jobs, and 0.8% have low-status jobs. Regarding the economic status of the research sample, 19.3% are in the upper class, 28.7% in the middle class, and 52% in the lower class. Therefore, it can be concluded that more than half of the research sample is economically classified in the lower class. To examine the assumption of normality of the research variables and the collected data, the Kolmogorov-Smirnov test was utilized along with SPSS (version 23).
 
 Discussion and Conclusion
In the present study, a total of 383 citizens over the age of 25 in Esfarayen were examined using Cochran's formula based on stratified sampling. The constructed questionnaire, consisting of 23 questions, assessed political participation and the economic factors affecting it in the county of Esfarayen. Political participation was examined in three dimensions: formal political participation, informal political participation, and protest participation, with a total political participation index created from these dimensions. The questions were formulated based on the theoretical framework and existing research findings. The validity of the questionnaire was measured through content validity, and the reliability of the questionnaire was evaluated using Cronbach's alpha. The Cronbach’s alpha for the independent variables and also the dependent variable, where applicable, was obtained to be above 0.7, indicating a high correlation among the questions. The data were processed using SPSS.