Parents’ Perspectives on Radicalization: A Qualitative Study

Abstract

Radicalization of young people might be influenced by the way parents react towards the development of political or religious ideals. However, these reactions have hardly been explored. This study aimed to discover how parents reacted to the development of extreme ideals, and why they responded in the way that they did. To gain knowledge about the influence of parents on adolescents who developed extreme ideals, 82 in-depth interviews were held with adolescents and young adults who held extreme ideals. Interviews were also held with the parents or siblings of each adolescent and young adult. In line with parenting style theory, it was found that parents react in four possible ways: (1) by rejecting, (2) applauding, (3) ignoring, or (4) discussing the (extreme) ideals of their children. Few parents discuss ideals and values with their child, and this paper tries to show why (e.g., powerlessness, disassociation, occupation with other problems, believing it to be a phase that will pass, or that their reaction would not help). Most parents struggle to cope with radicalization and do not know how to react. Support and control are potentially important tools for parents to use to combat the development of extreme ideology.

Canadian Muslim Youth and the Complex Dynamics of State-Driven “Radicalization” Narratives

“…A third set of literature explores how to prevent "radicalization.. Studies have explored the role Islamic chaplains (Vellenga and De Groot 2019) and school workers can play in detection and prevention (Beršnak and Iztok 2020). Others suggest what parents can do to curb the development of "extreme ideology" (Sikkens et al 2018).…”

Second-Generation Muslim Youth Between Perception and Change: A Case Study on the Prevention of Radicalization

“…This is probably because parents do not know how to cope with a child's endorsement of extreme ideas or the creeping process of radicalization; thus, it seems that there is a degree of parental uncertainty about how to handle the (potential) radicalization of a child (Pels & De Ruyter, 2011;Slootman & Tillie, 2006;van San et al, 2010van San et al, , 2013. (Sikkens, van San, Sieckelinck, & de Winter, 2018, p. 2277 In the pilot study, Sikkens et al identified four parental reactions to radicalization: reject, ignore, applaud, and discuss.…”

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“…This is probably because parents do not know how to cope with a child's endorsement of extreme ideas or the creeping process of radicalization; thus, it seems that there is a degree of parental uncertainty about how to handle the (potential) radicalization of a child (Pels & De Ruyter, 2011;Slootman & Tillie, 2006;van San et al, 2010van San et al, , 2013. (Sikkens, van San, Sieckelinck, & de Winter, 2018, p. 2277 In the pilot study, Sikkens et al identified four parental reactions to radicalization: reject, ignore, applaud, and discuss. Parents who rejected their child's extremist ideals were unsupportive of his or her ideological position and tried to control it.…”