Predictors of Political Violence Outcomes among Young People: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Abstract

The present meta-analysis summarizes the international basis of evidence regarding links between psychologically meaningful risk factors and political violence outcomes among adolescents and young adults. We synthesized 422 cross-sectional effect sizes from 95 samples (67 index publications, 23 countries), using robust variance estimation. The results of seven longitudinal studies and one intervention study are discussed in a narrative manner. We detected significant effects for depression (r =.07, k = 10); empathy (r = −.16, k = 7); aggression (r =.24, k = 10); identification (r =.21, k = 30); relative group deprivation (r =.19, k = 11); realistic threat (r =.30, k = 27); symbolic threat (r =.28, k = 10); negative intergroup emotions (r =.25, k = 9); experiences of discrimination (r =.11, k = 12); dissatisfaction with the police, political actors, and institutions (r =.11, k = 32); and negative attitudes toward democracy (r =.17, k = 10). No significant effect was found for self-esteem, intolerance of uncertainty, narcissism, or exposure to intergroup conflict. The reviewed longitudinal and intervention studies mainly confirm these cross-sectional results. The script and our data are available in an open online repository.