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Radicalization and violent extremism are pressing problems across the world. After initially addressing problems in defining radicalization and extremism, this article sketches a new social-developmental model based on a systematic integration of theories and empirical findings. We propose a three-step model of radicalization starting with ontogenetic social-developmental processes during the most dynamic period for social development, from early childhood to late adolescence. These processes include the interaction of societal, social, and individual risk and protective factors. In adverse cases this interplay encourages the establishment of proximal radicalization processes between early adolescence and middle adulthood. We assume that four interrelated but distinct social-developmental processes are central conditions for radicalization and extremism: identity problems, prejudice, political or religious ideologies, and antisocial attitudes and behavior. These proximal processes are triggered by actual societal, social, or individual conflicts (such as economic crisis, victimization) and marked by continuous intergroup processes. The more intense the proximal processes, the greater the likelihood of extremist attitudes and behavior. The article closes by discussing implications for early prevention and an outlook for further research., International Journal of Conflict and Violence (IJCV), Vol 14 No 1 (2020)

Literature on collective violence usually treats an act of aggression as a unidimensional phenomenon—occurring or not. The social psychological perspective on intergroup relations shows, however, that different aspects of an intergroup situation (social context, differences in status, past relations) lead to different behaviors. This article describes the development and initial validation of the multifaceted concept of intergroup collective violence. In a series of three studies (N = 1,420, N = 1,000, N = 1,019) using mixed methodology, we constructed a scale for measuring acceptance of intergroup collective violence. Results show that it is a multidimensional phenomenon, dependent on 1) the ethnicity of the victims; 2) the perception of threat posed by them; and 3) the ideology. The results can have a substantial impact on the discipline, providing theoretical explanation of the differences in outbursts of violence in similar situations, such as pogroms., International Journal of Conflict and Violence (IJCV), Vol 14 No 1 (2020)

The new era of information technology brings new opportunities but also poses new threats. In our paper, we examine whether a shift from traditional print and broadcasting to new online media results in the increased normalization of hate speech towards minorities, and whether this change can subsequently increase prejudice towards minorities. Our research uses data from a representative two-wave longitudinal survey of Polish adults. In wave 1 (N = 1060), data on respondents’ primary sources of information about the world (TV, newspapers, radio, online, social media, blogs) was collected. Wave 2 (N = 628), conducted six months later, included measures of perceived normativity of anti-Muslim hate speech and Islamophobia. We found that respondents who were frequent social media users expressed higher levels of Islamoprejudice and perceived higher normativity of anti-Muslim hate speech than the respondents who got their news from traditional mass media. We also found that an increase in perceived normativity of anti-Muslim hate speech can act as one of the mechanisms through which use of social media is linked to higher Islamoprejudice., International Journal of Conflict and Violence (IJCV), Vol 14 No 1 (2020)

Recent research provides evidence that aggressive sexual fantasies predict aggressive sexual behavior in the general population. However, sexual fantasies including fantasies about the infliction of pain and humiliation, should be frequent and often consensually acted upon among individuals with sadomasochistic likings. The question arises whether sexual fantasies with aggressive content still predict presumably non-consensual aggressive sexual behavior in individuals with sadomasochistic likings, given that BDSM encounters are generally considered consensual. To investigate this question, we conducted a questionnaire survey of sexual fantasies, assessing the frequency of seventy sexual fantasies involving non-aggressive, masochistic, and aggressive acts. Our sample (N = 182) contained 99 respondents who self-identified as sadist, masochist, or switcher; 44 reported no such identification. For respondents reporting BDSM identification, we replicated a factor structure for sexual fantasies similar to that previously found in the general population, including three factors reflecting fantasies about increasingly severe aggressive sexual acts. Fantasies about injuring a partner and/or using weapons and fantasies about sexual coercion predicted presumably non-consensual sexual behavior independently of other risk factors for aggressive sexual behavior and irrespective of BDSM identification. Hence, severely aggressive sexual fantasies may predispose to presumably non-consensual sexual behavior in both individuals with and without BDSM identification., International Journal of Conflict and Violence (IJCV), Vol 14 No 1 (2020)

As part of a campus-wide prevention program, the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile (PUC) implemented a cross-sequential survey on sexual violence. In this article, we report data from the first wave (2018; N = 2,046) from three cohorts of undergraduates (Year 1, n = 792; Year 2, n = 601; Year 3, n = 653). We found an overall twelve-month prevalence for victimization experiences of 18.7 percent (4.3 percent by force or threat of force; 12.9 percent while unable to resist; 7.1 percent by verbal pressure; multiple responses allowed). Women (22.9 percent) were victimized more frequently than men (9.7 percent). Among women, victimization rates were highest for Year 1 students (25.7 percent), intermediate for Year 2 (22.3%), and lowest for Year 3 (19.8 percent). Only 10.9 percent of reported incidents happened in a university context. In most cases, perpetrators were male (88.9 percent) and known to the victim (72.1 percent); 24.4 percent were partners, 35.5 percent were friends. We present additional data on risk factors and attitudinal correlates. We also discuss our findings in relation to previous research suggesting higher prevalence rates at Chilean universities, considering differences in methodology and implications for future research., International Journal of Conflict and Violence (IJCV), Vol 14 No 1 (2020)