Impact of Radicalisation and Violent Extremism on Psychological Distress among University Students in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa

Abstract

This study aimed to investigate the impact of radicalisation and violent extremism on psychological distress among university students in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. The study used a purposive sampling technique, comprising 200 university students (100 males, 100 females) with a mean age of 25 years (SD = 8.40) from various institutions in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Data were collected using the Kessler Psychological Distress Scale (K10; Kessler et al., 2003) to measure anxiety and depression and the Extremism Scale (ES; Ozer & Bertelsen, 2018) to assess radicalisation and violent extremism tendencies. Correlation analyses revealed a significant positive association between radical extremism and psychological distress and a weak negative correlation between age and distress. Gender comparisons showed females reported higher distress than males. These findings suggest that younger students and those with extremist tendencies are at greater risk of psychological distress, with females potentially facing higher distress severity.