Who motivates? Longitudinal relationships among political discussions, interest, and efficacy for high school students with varying levels of political open‐mindedness

Abstract Scholars acknowledge that adolescents' political discussions with peers and adults contribute to political development, yet longitudinal relationships between discussions and political motivation remain unclear. To address this issue, we analyzed data from students enrolled in government courses at three Midwestern high schools, who completed political engagement surveys at the beginning and end of the spring 2016 semester ( N = 350; 47.8% Hispanic; 37.2% White; 53.7% male). Informed by theories of motivation and political socialization, we used cross‐lagged panel models to examine the longitudinal associations between the frequency of political discussions (with friends, classmates, teachers, and parents) and motivational constructs (political interest, internal and external political efficacy). Multigroup analyses examined differential effects for students with low, average, and high political open‐mindedness. Results indicated that frequency of political discussions with parents predicted later political motivation for adolescents with low open‐mindedness. Interest, internal and external political efficacy distinctively predicted types of discussions over time, with interest emerging as the most consistent predictor. Findings suggest that educational practices could better cultivate youth political motivation by considering fadeout effects for different types of conversational partners and tailoring discussions to suit adolescents' open‐mindedness.