Psychological transformation of youth after engaging in non-radical and radical political activities

Abstract

Although the links between political attitudes and political participation have been extensively studied, there is limited understanding of attitudinal transformation following different types of political engagement. This study differentiates between non-radical and radical political participation and explores their respective impact on political interest, external political efficacy, and internal political efficacy. A three-wave dataset collected from a sample of Hong Kong youth was adopted to assess three cross-lagged models. Regarding the link between attitudes and participation, we only found that internal political efficacy played a positive role in predicting radical political participation. Regarding the link between participation and attitudes, the results showed that radical political engagement positively predicted political interest and negatively predicted external political efficacy; non-radical political engagement promoted internal political efficacy. Our findings offer valuable implications for Hong Kong policy makers, educators, and social workers who care about the positive development of local youth following their engagement in political activities and hope to promote effective political communication.