Possibilities of assessing the risk of radicalization in adolescents and youth within the framework of M. Hogg's theory of uncertainty-identity (empirical verification)

Context and relevance. This work is devoted to the study of the possibility of assessing the risk of radicalization in adolescents and youth through the prism of M. Hogg's theory of uncertainty-identity. The relevance of the study is due to the need to identify marker factors that can predict the risk of joining extremist and terrorist groups. Objective: the study of the relationship between the degree of entitativity of social identity among schoolchildren and students, and that of various selected groups. Methods and materials. The study involved pupils from schools in Moscow and university students of Moscow. A total of 867 respondents participated in the study, of which 543 schoolchildren and 324 students. Social identity was assessed using the M. Kuhn — T. McPartland's methodology “Who am I?”, and a categorical grid was compiled based on the work of Robert J. Roman and his colleagues. The entitativity of various groups was assessed using a questionnaire consisting of 30 scales developed by N.V. Dvoryanchikov, I.B. Bovina and D.V. Melnikova. Results. Based on the obtained data, significant relationships were found between the degree of entitativity of social identity among schoolchildren and students, as well as the entitativity of the groups to which they belong and the groups they aspire to join. No correlation was found between the degree of entitativity of social identity among schoolchildren and the undesirability of certain groups, unlike among students. Conclusions. The data obtained indicate that the degree of social identity affects the perception of cohesion of significant and desirable groups. The lack of a similar relationship for undesirable groups among schoolchildren in comparison with students requires further study, taking into account age and psychological characteristics.