Information strategies for preventing destructive behavior of civic activism in criminal youth subculture

¹ Kazan (Volga) Federal University, 35 Kremlyovskaya Str., 420008, Kazan, Russia
² Public Relations Department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs for the Republic of Tatarstan, 19 Dzerzhinskogo Str., 420111, Kazan, Russia

^* Corresponding author: andreevsemen@mail.ru

Abstract

This article aims to explore the motivational reasons driving youth engagement in destructive and criminal communities, offering insights into the dynamics and implications of their involvement. To achieve this goal, a comprehensive study was conducted, employing a mix of quantitative and qualitative research methods, including surveys, expert interviews, and focus group discussions. These methods facilitated an in-depth examination of the motivations and deterrents influencing young individuals' participation in these communities. The obtained results allowed us to draw conclusions that the most effective information and prevention strategies are based on education, demonstration of the regulated nature of phenomena, revealing their systematic nature, authorship, hierarchical structure (controllability). Preventive strategies can also be based on the nature of the motivational mechanisms of the youth audience, the basis of positive motivation (desire to join the group) is the desire for active, active self-actualization, the desire to get unusual (extreme) experiences, as well as the desire for security and joining a new ideology. Among the restraining motivational factors: fear of becoming dependent (rigid, humiliating hierarchy), threat of bullying (possibility of personal injuries), loss of positive reputation, high level of conflictogenicity and blackmail.