Impact of Perceived Peer Attitudes and Social Network Diversity on Violent Extremist Intentions

ABSTRACT

Perceived peer attitudes (PPA) often influence young men’s violent attitudes and behaviors, although people with higher social network diversity (SND) are less likely to adopt their close peers’ attitudes. There is currently limited research examining this role of peer networks in the development of violent extremism (VE). Consequently, the current study sought to answer the following questions: (1) How are PPA, personal attitudes, and VE intentions related to each other? (2) Does the relationship between PPA and VE intentions differ based on SND? The study sample consisted of 340 men (eighteen to twenty-nine years old) recruited via Amazon MTurk. Participants first indicated their most salient social group and listed their five closest male peers. Next, they reported their VE attitudes, intentions, and their peers’ attitudes. Overall, PPA were positively associated with VE intentions through the partial mediating effect of personal attitudes. SND moderated the relationship between PPA and VE attitudes: participants with more diverse networks were less likely to hold beliefs similar to their PPA. The study highlights the potential role of SND as a protective factor against the harmful effects of PPA. Notably, it underscores the need for social-ecological approaches to counter VE, offering community involvement and growth of social ties.

KEYWORDS:

• Violent extremism
• peer influence
• social networks
• perceived peer attitudes
• social network diversity

Notes

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Additional information

Notes on contributors

Wojciech Kaczkowski

Wojciech Kaczkowski, Ph.D. is a recent graduate of the doctoral program in Community Psychology at Georgia State University. His research interests focus on social and cultural factors that contribute to the development of violent behaviors and attitudes. In the fall of 2020, Dr. Kaczkowski will begin Evaluation Fellowship at Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, w here he will be working with the Division of Adolescent and School Health on the evaluation of school programs reducing risk behaviors among adolescents and addressing school safety concerns.

K. M. Swartout

Kevin Swartout, Ph.D. is Associate Professor of Psychology and Public Health at Georgia State University in Atlanta, GA, and he has a courtesy appointment at the University of Texas at Austin.  His research addresses trajectories and social correlates of violence and harassment across time, with the goal promoting safer organizations and communities. Dr. Swartout has received early-career awards from the International Society for Research on Aggression, the Southeastern Psychological Association, and Georgia State University.

L. Branum-Martin

Lee Branum-Martin, Ph.D. is Associate Professor in the Psychology Department at Georgia State University. Previously, he conducted educational research at the Texas Institute for Measurement, Evaluation, and Statistics for twelve years. He is interested in the use of multilevel multivariate models for understanding educational and psychological phenomena in their social contexts. He is also interested in psychometrics: understanding relations among items, tests, or other performance measures. Dr. Branum-Martin has applied these models to understanding student growth over time, program treatment effects, and the roles of various student abilities in academic performance.

J. G. Horgan

John Horgan, Ph.D. is Distinguished University Professor in the Department of Psychology, Georgia State University. His research examines psychological aspects of involvement in, and disengagement from, terrorism. His forthcoming book, Terrorist Minds, will be published by Columbia University Press.

A. F. Lemieux

Anthony F. Lemieux, Ph.D. is Founding Co-Director of the Atlanta Global Studies Center, and Professor of Communication at Georgia State University. He is Principal Investigator of the U.S. Department of Defense Minerva Initiative supported interdisciplinary, multi-institution, research program on Mobilizing Media which analyzes propaganda outputs of terrorist groups including magazines, music, images, texts, and videos. In addition, he is Co-PI on a U.S. Department of Education supported National Resource Center and FLAS program in collaboration with colleagues at Georgia Tech.