Psychological distress and perceived threat serially mediate the relationship between exposure to violence and political exclusionist attitude

Abstract

It is of theoretic, academic, and pragmatic importance to investigate the potential antecedents and mechanisms on the political radicalization of children and adolescents. Emerging studies have noted the relevance of understanding the development of political extremism given its steady increase in the Southeast Asian region. This study responds to this call by investigating potential processes in the formation of political exclusionist attitude among older children and adolescents utilizing the lens of the stress-based model of political extremism. A sample of 641 conflict-exposed high school students answered a packet of scales measuring exposure to violence, psychological distress, perceived threat, and exclusionist attitude. The results revealed that psychological distress and perceived threat serially mediate the relationship between exposure to violence and the formation of exclusionist attitude. These findings demonstrate the contextual validity and applicability of the stress-based model in the context of Filipino children and adolescents and provide important information in the drafting of age-appropriate peace education interventions.