Radicalized Identity Styles: Investigating Sociocultural Challenges, Identity Styles, and Extremism

ABSTRACT Research has identified sociocultural challenges (life attachment) to be a primary motivator for radicalization. While individual differences may provide information about who might be at risk for radicalization, little is known about how different identity processing styles are linked with radicalization. In two studies (N = 975), we examined how identity styles can moderate the association between life attachment and various aspects of extremism. We found that insecure life attachment was significantly and positively associated with radicalization, and this association was strengthened by the normative and the diffuse-avoidant identity style. Results are discussed in relation to identity processes in late modernity, suggesting that personal identity development may emerge as an important factor in the multifaceted process of radicalization.