Ideals adrift: an educational approach to radicalization

Parental reaction towards radicalization in young people

“…This study shows that most parents shift to ignoring the extreme ideals of their children, which seems to support the findings of Van San et al (2010,2013) and also corresponds with the studies on responses towards deviant behaviour (Baumrind & Moselle 1985;Kerr et al 2009;Stice & Barrera 1995). According to Van San et al (2013), this lack of response could possibly lead to radicalization, because an adolescent's search for meaning in life should be guided by a parent.…”

“…According to Van San et al . (), this lack of response could possibly lead to radicalization, because an adolescent's search for meaning in life should be guided by a parent.…”

“…The findings of powerlessness and dissociation indicate an uncertainty within these parents who do not know whom to turn to for support. It is important to overcome this uncertainty because earlier research by our research group shows that to prevent young people from becoming extreme in their ideals, caring educators are needed who are genuinely interested in the adolescents' views, but who also provide the necessary counterweight by setting boundaries when needed and showing alternative perspectives (Van San et al 2013).…”

“…Yet, the moral development of ideals requires monitoring and debate (Smetana ; Van San et al . , ), but many parents do not know how to handle strong ideals and potential radicalization: a so‐called ‘parental uncertainty’ seems to exist (Van San et al . ).…”

Joining the Islamic State from France between 2014 and 2016: an observational follow-up study

“…A total of 4011 French individuals were registered for radicalization, including 1017 minors (25%), 1434 females (35%), and 1672 (42%) convert Muslims (Ciotti and Menucci, 2015). To tackle the phenomenon of radicalization among young Europeans, authors have suggested individual risk factors such as personal vulnerabilities (e.g., early experiences of abandonment, perceived injustice, personal uncertainty and perceived group threat) and psychiatric disorders (Bazex et al 2017;Doosje et al 2013); micro-environmental risk factors such as family dysfunction and friendships with radicalized individuals (Bazex et al 2017;MIVILUDES, 2015;Schuurman and Horgan, 2016;Van San et al 2013); societal risk factors such as geopolitical events, societal polarization and societal changes (Benslama, 2016;Coid et al 2016;O'Duffy, 2008;Wiktorowicz, 2005); and systemic factors such as an encounter between an individual who is a candidate for becoming radicalized and a recruiter who uses sectarian techniques to isolate and dehumanize the candidate (Bouzar, 2014;MIVILUDES, 2015). However, recent reviews have highlighted that studies with empirical data are limited; they are mainly based on either small samples of males involved in terror attacks or projects (Bazex et al 2017), i.e., a retrospective design (Veldhuis and Staun, 2009), or Muslim by birth individuals (Kundnani, 2015), making it impossible to generalize the results or to establish causal relations.…”