How robust is the moderating effect of extremist beliefs on the relationship between self-control and violent extremism?

The present research note studies the interaction between the ability to exercise self-control and extremist moral beliefs with regard to the explanation of violent extremism. Although some evidence exists for the interaction between moral beliefs and self-control in the explanation of adolescent of...

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Bibliographic Details
Authors: Pauwels, Lieven 1974- (Author) ; Svensson, Robert (Author)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
Published: 2017
In: Crime & delinquency
Year: 2017, Volume: 63, Issue: 8, Pages: 1000-1016
Online Access: Presumably Free Access
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Keywords:
Situational Action Theory
Violent extremis
Self-control
Extremist belief
Interaction
Extremistische Gewalt
Religiös motivierte Gewalt
Studie
Description
Summary:The present research note studies the interaction between the ability to exercise self-control and extremist moral beliefs with regard to the explanation of violent extremism. Although some evidence exists for the interaction between moral beliefs and self-control in the explanation of adolescent offending, no previous study has studied this interaction effect in a survey of young adults and with regard to politically or religiously motivated violence. This study therefore extends the existing literature by testing a key proposition of Situational Action Theory. We use a large-scale web survey of young adults in Belgium. The results support the hypothesis that the effect of the ability to exercise self-control is conditional upon one’s extremist beliefs. The results are stable across extremism-specific measures of extremist beliefs.
ISSN:1552-387X
DOI:10.1177/0011128716687757