Men and boys are more interested in politics (Fraile and Sánchez‐Vítores 2020), know more about politics (Abendschön and Tausendpfund 2017; Oberle 2012; Vollmar 2007) and have a greater political efficacy (Gidengil et al. 2008) than women and girls. This well-researched Gender Gap is as alarming and requires further investigation. One explanatory approach is provided by socialization theory, according to which boys and girls internalize different ideas about politics and their gender-specific roles within the political system during socialization processes (Bos et al. 2022). In line with their environmental influences, they familiarize themselves with politics as a male-dominated sphere and adapt their perspective accordingly. Following on from this approach it can be assumed that political gender role attitudes are crucial for the development of political interest, political knowledge, and political efficacy. This article therefore aims to investigate the relationships between these concepts, which are particularly relevant in democratic societies. The underlying research question is: Do political gender role attitudes have an impact on political interest, political knowledge, and political efficacy and, if so, how? Particular attention is paid to possible differences between girls and boys and between children with and without a migration background. To take into account the complexity of the relationships, the analysis is based on structural equation models. This method allows the simultaneous consideration of several directed relationships (Aichholzer 2017, p. 9) and is therefore appropriate for addressing the research question. The data used originates from our research project on political socialization, in which almost 1,300 fifth-graders were surveyed. The data collection was conducted between October 2022 and February 2023 in a total of 20 schools using a specially developed paper questionnaire adapted to the age of the respondents. First results indicate that there are complex but interesting relationships between the concepts investigated. As suspected, the gender role attitudes have an effect, which, however, must be considered in a differentiated way regarding both the dependent variable and the comparison groups.

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