Clinical and psychological aspects of adolescent involvement in extremist and terrorist activities

Abstract

The article deals with the clinical and psychological aspects of including minors in terrorist and extremist activities. In the historical perspective, it was traced how the views on the role of mental disorders in the genesis of such crimes changed. It is shown that terrorist and extremist activity must be viewed as a complex multi-factor phenomenon, in which socio-psychological components play a leading role. It is noted that the psychopathological process can act as a prerequisite for inclusion in such radical groups. Psychoanalytic, sociological, cognitive approaches, theories of social learning and the concept of diffuse ego-identity making attempts to explain the mechanisms of terrorist and extremist activity in minors are analyzed. The problem of insufficient study of the influence of the Internet and social networks on the formation of readiness for admission to adolescents in radical organizations is posed.