A systematic literature review on preventing violent extremism

In recent years, violent extremism (VE) attacks have escalated worldwide. More schools and students are being attacked. Examining and addressing VE core causes through preventing VE (PVE) strategies can help avoid future atrocities. Due to the tremendous proliferation of research geared toward PVE, an extensive but disorganized knowledge review has accumulated in recent years. The review aims to discover several common themes and strategies across different disciplines and suggests resilience approaches might be the effective framework for PVE worldwide.

This study followed the guidelines provided by PRISMA. A systematic literature review on 81 articles was conducted in January 2022, with a screening approach starting from the title, abstract and finally, full articles.

Seventeen studies were identified with a total sample of 2415 vulnerable young adults, age range: 16-29, male: 68.65% and female 31.35% mainly influenced VE pursuits through internet, TV and social media. In addition, the study identified that for PVE, individual actions would include ineffective approaches compared to a group approach starting from family to educational institutions.

The effective PVE will be ensured by developing strategies for resilient individuals and dialoguing from the social-ecological perspective for taking practical actions in reducing VE activities.