Diagnostics of dispositions of violent extremism — short version

 
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Abstract

Context and relevance. Violent extremism remains a significant problem in the modern world (Radicalization and Deradicalization, 2025). This article presents the results of the validation of an abbreviated version of the methodology for diagnosing violent extremism dispositions in adolescents and young adults. Objective. To analyze and test the factor structure of the methodology for diagnosing violent extremism dispositions in a sample of young adults. Hypothesis. There is an acceptable factor structure for the methodology of diagnosing dispositions of violent extremism. Methods and materials. The adaptation of the methodology involved 715 students from Russian universities. The Bass-Perry Aggression Questionnaire was adapted by S.N. Enikolopov and N.P. Tsibulsky, and the S.N. Enikolopov and N.P. Tsibulsky Legitimized Aggression Questionnaire was used to assess socially acceptable aggression. Results. When checking the external validity, statistically significant associations between the dispositions of violent extremism and the scales of legitimized aggression were found. When checking the factor structure of the methodology on both samples using confirmatory factor analysis, it was revealed that the six-factor structure is acceptable. Conclusions. The paper presents a new model of a shortened methodology consisting of six scales: "dehumanization," "mysticalism," "acceptance of violence," "readiness for violence," "reductive maximalism," and "openness and peacefulness" as a counterfactor. The resulting model proved to be reliable and valid (internal and external validity).

General Information

Keywords: extremism, aggression, violence, dispositions of violent extremism, scales of legitimized aggression, adolescence, students, validation of methodology

Journal rubric: Methodological Problems of Legal Psychology

Article type: scientific article

DOI: https://doi.org/10.17759/psylaw.2026160302

Funding. The research was carried out as part of the scientific research work of the RANEPA state assignment.

Acknowledgements. The authors are grateful for assistance in data collection N.A. Slutch, T.Yu. Yudina, L.A. Ozhigova.

Received 17.01.2026

Revised 30.01.2026

Accepted

Published

For citation: Khlomov, K.D., Varenov, M.A., Davydov, D.G. (2026). Diagnostics of dispositions of violent extremism — short version. Psychology and Law, 16(3), 19–42. (In Russ.). https://doi.org/10.17759/psylaw.2026160302

© Khlomov K.D., Varenov M.A., Davydov D.G., 2026

License: CC BY-NC 4.0

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Information About the Authors

Kirill D. Khlomov, Candidate of Science (Psychology), senior researcher at cognitive investigation laboratory, head of Psychological Service, Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration, Moscow, Russian Federation, ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1016-6154, e-mail: kirkhlomov@yandex.ru

Mikhail A. Varenov, PhD Student at the Faculty of Psychology, junior-researcher at the Laboratory of Cognitive Research, Lecturer at the Faculty of Psychology, Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration, Moscow, Russian Federation, ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7737-9704, e-mail: michael.varenov@mail.ru

Denis G. Davydov, Candidate of Science (Psychology), Docent at the Faculty of Psychology, Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration, Moscow, Russian Federation, ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3747-7403, e-mail: DavydovDG@edu.mos.ru

Contribution of the authors

Kirill D. Khlomov — research ideas; annotation, writing and design of the manuscript; research planning; control over the research.

Mikhail A. Varenov — application of statistical, mathematical or other methods for data analysis; annotation, writing and formatting of a manuscript; data collection and analysis; visualization of research results.

Denis G. Davydov — annotation, writing and design of the manuscript.

All authors participated in the discussion of the results and approved the final text of the manuscript.

Conflict of interest

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Ethics statement

The study was reviewed and approved by the Ethics Committee of Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration (report no. 9, 2025/03/15).

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