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

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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.

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Data Availability Statement

The datasets generated during and analysed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

Funding

This study was funded by grants from the Public Policy Research Funding Scheme, Hong Kong SAR (Project Number 2014.A5.006.15A; Funding recipient: Dr. Alex Lih Shing Chan).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Policy Studies, Lingnan University, 8 Castle Peak Road, Tuen Mun, Hong Kong SAR

    Alex Yue Feng Zhu

  2. Department of Asian and Policy Studies, The Education University of Hong Kong, 10 Lo Ping Road, Tai Po, Hong Kong SAR

    Alex Lih Shing Chan & Kee Lee Chou

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  1. Alex Yue Feng Zhu
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  2. Alex Lih Shing Chan
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Correspondence to Alex Yue Feng Zhu.

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Zhu, A.Y.F., Chan, A.L.S. & Chou, K.L. Psychological transformation of youth after engaging in non-radical and radical political activities. Curr Psychol 41, 7843–7853 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-020-01239-5

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