Protective Factors For Violent Extremism And Terrorism: Rapid Evidence Assessment

Research into protective factors in relation to violent extremism is in its infancy. Only modest efforts have been made to understand what protects against involvement or re-engagement in violent extremism (Lösel et al., 2018). Few studies have systematically examined the circumstances under which protective factors might operate, and there is considerable conceptual ambiguity about how they might work (Abbiati et al., 2020). In common with the wider criminological literature, the emphasis has instead been on risk factors which correlate with involvement in violent extremism.

This report provides an overview of how protective factors have been conceptualised and an evidence map identifying empirical studies that have contributed to the field.

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