Citation

Al-Badayneh DM, Al-Assasfeh RA, Ekici S. Int. J. Crim. Justice Sci. 2023; 18(1): 29-51.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2023, Department of Criminology and Criminal Justice, Manonmaniam Sundaranar University)

DOI

10.5281/zenodo.4756203

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

Several legislations and socio-cultural measures have been adopted to curb the problem of violent extremism. In order to consolidate these measures, this study aimed to develop a youth violent extremism scale (YVES) that takes into account the differences between and within Arab cultures. This scale could be used and tested within an Arab country or between Arab countries to identify legal, social, and educational policies and applications to curb violent extremism. A literature review and nomological network methodology was utilized to show the scale's dimensions, correlations to those dimensions, and other relevant variables (such as the LSC, LSE, and criminality scale). A sample of 6726 young students and authorities from fifteen Arab countries were selected for this study. The scale was developed in three stages: generation, refinement, and validation. It was necessary to analyze various attributes of the scale at each stage.

FINDINGS showed that six factors were obtained through principal component factor analysis using Varimax and Kaiser Normalization (29 items). A significant positive association was found (r=.651, p = 0.000), supporting the scale's validity. Using Cronbach's alpha, the scale reliability was strong and assessed at 0.98. The scale's construct validity was estimated by assessing the correlation between the Youth Violent Extremism scale and low self-control. Future research is needed to test the scale on different professions like teachers, police officers, and parents and on different age groups, settings, and cultures. The implication of this scale would provide a legal and juridical framework for understanding and preventing youth violent extremism, which would be helpful in creating a robust legal system and build a more cohesive and resilient youth society.

Language: en

Keywords

Arab countries; exclusion; grievances; intolerance; jihad; rigidity; Scale; social pessimism; violence; youth violent extremism