Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Adolescents’ development of approval of violent political action: evidence from six waves of longitudinal data

  • Original Article
  • Published:
Acta Politica Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

The overarching aim of this study is to understand better the over time development adolescents approval of violent political action. Using up to six waves of longitudinal survey data for two cohorts of Swedish adolescents (N = 1987), this study examined: (1) the over time development of approval of violent political means. And, (2) in mediation models, the explanatory capacity of the brooder’s route and the delinquent’s route, two theoretical explanations put forth by the literature. The results show that approval of violent political means develops as a dynamic process. Whereas indicators of both the brooder’s and the delinquent’s route were both related to approval of violent political means, only delinquency mediated (partial mediation) the over time relation of the outcome. The findings were discussed in the light of what proximity of, on the one hand, ideology or religiosity implies, and on the other, what other kinds of violence than political implies for the development of adolescents’ approval of violent political means.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

Notes

  1. It would be relevant to use a moderated mediation here to examine the extent to which religiosity explains the development of violent political means differently depending on: (a) adolescents’ religious preferences, or (b) the background of adolescents (migrant background or not). However, as the low-frequency character of approval of violent political means prohibits from a reliable attempt at such analyses.

  2. To use a framework in which the same factor functions as the independent variable and the dependent variable is uncommon practice in mediation analyses. However, following the reasoning of Agler and De Boeck (2017, p. 2), such instances can be considered mediation “in the sense that all effects are transmitted by way of an intervening effect.”

  3. Readers interested in further examples of how approval of violent political means relates to adolescents’ background factors and independent variables can turn to Table 6 in the “Appendix”.

References

  • Abdelzadeh, A., M. Özdemir, and M. Van Zalk. 2015. Dissatisfied Citizens: An Asset to or a Liability on the Democratic Functioning of Society? Scandinavian Political Studies 38 (4): 410–436.

    Google Scholar 

  • Agler, R., and P. De Boeck. 2017. On the Interpretation and Use of Mediation: Multiple Perspectives on Mediation Analysis. Frontiers in Psychology 8: 1984.

    Google Scholar 

  • Amnå, E., M. Ekström, M. Kerr, and H. Stattin. 2009. Political Socialization and Human Agency: The Development of Civic Engagement from Adolescence to Adulthood. Statsvetenskaplig Tidskrift 111 (1): 27–40.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bartlett, J., and C. Miller. 2012. The Edge of Violence: Towards Telling the Difference Between Violent and Non-violent Radicalization. Terrorism and Political Violence 24 (1): 1–21.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bjørgo, T. 2011. Dreams and Disillusionment: Engagement in and Disengagement from Militant Extremist Groups. Crime, Law and Social Change 55 (4): 277–285.

    Google Scholar 

  • Borum, R. 2011. Radicalization into Violent Extremism I: A Review of Social Science Theories. Journal of Strategic Security 4 (4): 7–36.

    Google Scholar 

  • Caiani, M., and L. Parenti. 2009. The Dark Side of the Web: Italian Right-wing Extremist Groups and the Internet. South European Society and Politics 14 (3): 273–294.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cohen, J. 1992. A Power Primer. Psychological Bulletin 112 (1): 155.

    Google Scholar 

  • Corning, A.F., and D.J. Myers. 2002. Individual Orientation Toward Engagement in Social Action. Political Psychology 23 (4): 703–729.

    Google Scholar 

  • Crone, M. 2016. Radicalization Revisited: Violence, Politics and the Skills of the Body. International Affairs 92 (3): 587–604.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dalgaard-Nielsen, A. 2010. Violent Radicalization in Europe: What We Know and What We Do Not Know. Studies in Conflict & Terrorism 33 (9): 797–814.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dahl, V. 2014. Breaking the law: adolescents’ involvement in illegal political activity. Ph. D. dissertation, Örebro University, Örebro.

  • Dahl, V., and H. Stattin. 2016. Beyond the Limits: Involvement in Illegal Political Activities. European Political Science Review 8 (01): 125–145.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dahl, V., and M. Van Zalk. 2014. Peer Networks and the Development of Illegal Political Behavior Among Adolescents. Journal of Research on Adolescence 24 (2): 399–409.

    Google Scholar 

  • Della Porta, D. 2013. Clandestine political violence. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Enders, C.K., and D.L. Bandalos. 2001. The relative performance of full information maximum likelihood estimation for missing data in structural equation models. Structural Equation Modeling 8 (3): 430–457.

    Google Scholar 

  • Flyghed, J. 2013. Policing of Political Protest. The Security Police’s Control of the Extra-parliamentary Opposition in Sweden During and after the Cold War. Journal of Scandinavian Studies in Criminology and Crime Prevention 14 (supp1): 81–99.

    Google Scholar 

  • Galtung, J. 1990. Cultural Violence. Journal of Peace Research 27 (3): 291–305.

    Google Scholar 

  • Harbisher, B. 2015. Unthinking Extremism: Radicalising Narratives that Legitimise Surveillance. Surveillance & Society 13 (3/4): 474.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hemmingsen, A.-S., M. Crone, and P.J. Witt. 2015. The Politicisation of Violence: An Alternative to Radicalization, DIIS Policy Brief. Copenhagen: Danish Institute for International Studies.

    Google Scholar 

  • Horgan, J. 2008. From Profiles to Pathways and Roots to Routes: Perspectives from Psychology on Radicalization into Terrorism. The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science 618 (1): 80–94.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jackson, J., A.Z. Huq, B. Bradford, and T.R. Tyler. 2013. Monopolizing Force? Police Legitimacy and Public Attitudes Toward the Acceptability of Violence. Psychology, Public Policy, and Law 19 (4): 479–497.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kerr, M., and H. Stattin. 2000. What Parents Know, How They Know it, and Several Forms of Adolescent Adjustment: Further Support for a Reinterpretation of Monitoring. Developmental Psychology 36 (3): 366.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kuhn, H.P. 2004. Adolescent Voting for Right-Wing Extremist Parties and Readiness to Use Violence in Political Action: Parent and Peer Contexts. Journal of Adolescence 27 (5): 561–581.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kundnani, A. 2012. Radicalisation: The Journey of a Concept. Race & Class 54 (2): 3–25.

    Google Scholar 

  • MacKinnon, D.P. 2008. Introduction to Statistical Mediation Analysis. New York: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mallinckrodt, B., W.T. Abraham, M. Wei, and D.W. Russell. 2006. Advances in Testing the Statistical Significance of Mediation Effects. Journal of Counseling Psychology 53 (3): 372.

    Google Scholar 

  • McCauley, C., and S. Moskalenko. 2008. Mechanisms of Political Radicalization: Pathways Toward Terrorism. Terrorism and Political Violence 20 (3): 415–433.

    Google Scholar 

  • McCauley, C., and S. Moskalenko. 2017. Understanding Political Radicalization: The Two-Pyramids Model. American Psychologist 72 (3): 205–216.

    Google Scholar 

  • Moskalenko, S., and C. McCauley. 2009. Measuring Political Mobilization: The Distinction Between Activism and Radicalism. Terrorism and Political Violence 21 (2): 239–260.

    Google Scholar 

  • Murer, J. 2014. Understanding Collective Violence: The Communicative and Performative Qualities of Violence in Acts of Belonging. In Ilias Bantekas (Ed.), International Criminal Law and Criminology (pp. 287–315).

  • Muthén, B.O. 2011. Applications of causally defined direct and indirect effects in mediation analysis using SEM in Mplus. Unpublished manuscript. Retrieved from http://www.statmodel.com/download/causalmediation.pdf.

  • Muthén, L., and B. Muthén. 1998–2010. Mplus user’s guide (6th ed.). Los Angeles, CA: Muthén & Muthén.

  • Neumann, P.R. 2013. The Trouble with Radicalization. International Affairs 89 (4): 873–893.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rink, A., and K. Sharma. 2016. The Determinants of Religious Radicalization: Evidence from Kenya. Journal of Conflict Resolution 62 (6): 1–33.

    Google Scholar 

  • Schils, N., and A. Verhage. 2017. Understanding How and Why Young People Enter Radical or Violent Extremist Groups. International Journal of Conflict and Violence 11 (1): 1–17.

    Google Scholar 

  • Shechory, M., and A. Laufer. 2008. Social Control Theory and the Connection with Ideological Offenders Among Israeli Youth During the Gaza Disengagement Period. International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology 52 (4): 454–473.

    Google Scholar 

  • Stankov, L., G. Saucier, and G. Knežević. 2010. Militant Extremist Mind-set: Proviolence, Vile World, and Divine Power. Psychological Assessment 22 (1): 70.

    Google Scholar 

  • Statistics Sweden. 2012. Antal personer med utländsk eller svensk bakgrund efter region. Retrieved 27/3/2013, from Statistics Sweden http://www.scb.se.

  • Van Hiel, A. 2012. A Psycho-Political Profile of Party Activists and Left-Wing and Right-Wing Extremists. European Journal of Political Research 51 (2): 166–203.

    Google Scholar 

  • Watts, M.W. 1999. Are There Typical Age Curves in Political Behavior? The “Age Invariance” Hypothesis and Political Socialization. Political Psychology 20 (3): 477–499.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wiktorowicz, Q. 2005. Radical Islam Rising: Muslim Extremism in the West. Rowman & Littlefield Publishers.

Download references

Acknowledgements

This study was made possible by access to data from the Political Socialization Program, a longitudinal research program at YeS (Youth and Society) at Örebro University, Sweden. Responsible for the planning, implementation and financing of the collection of data were professors Erik Amnå, Mats Ekström, Margaret Kerr and Håkan Stattin. The data collection was supported by grants from Riksbankens Jubileumsfond. The study was also financially supported by the Swedish Research Council for Health, Working Life and Welfare (Forte: 2015 00991).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Youth and Society, Center for Studies on Civic Engagement, Department of Political Science, School of Humanities, Education and Social Science, Örebro University, Fakultetsgatan 1, 701 82, Örebro, Sweden

    Viktor Dahl

Authors
  1. Viktor Dahl
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Viktor Dahl.

Additional information

Publisher's Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Appendix

Appendix

See Figs. 1, 2, 3 and Table 6.

Fig. 1
figure 1

Mediation over 2 years, from wave 1 to wave 5

Full size image
Fig. 2
figure 2

Over time development of approval of violent political activity for Cohort I. Color legend: lightest (political change within the law), medium (political change by breaking the law), and stark (political change by breaking the law and using violence where other people get hurt)

Full size image
Fig. 3
figure 3

Correlations among the three mediation variables. The cross over the correlation between Delinquency and Religiosity indicates that it was not significant at the 0.05-level

Full size image
Table 6 Background factors and independent variables over approval of violent political means (T3), percentages
Full size table

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Dahl, V. Adolescents’ development of approval of violent political action: evidence from six waves of longitudinal data. Acta Polit 55, 538–559 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1057/s41269-019-00130-x

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/s41269-019-00130-x

Keywords

Search

Navigation