This study explores how psychosocial factors—including perceived discrimination, mental health symptoms, and social support—relate to approval of violent radicalization (VR) among young adults in three North American cities: Montréal, Toronto, and Boston. It also examines whether geographic setting alters these relationships. Data were drawn from 791 participants aged 18–30 who took part in the Somali Youth longitudinal study and a separate Canadian postsecondary student survey. Associations between Radical Intentions Scale (RIS) scores and demographic variables, anxiety, depressive symptoms, perceived social support, and discrimination were analyzed using multivariate regression models. In analyses pooling all participants, higher perceived discrimination and differences by age and gender were linked to greater endorsement of VR. Stratified analyses by location revealed distinct patterns: depressive symptoms were related to RIS scores only among respondents in Montréal, whereas in Toronto, both lower social support and higher discrimination were associated with stronger support for VR. No significant predictors emerged for participants in Boston. The results suggest that pathways associated with support for violent radicalization are shaped by local context rather than operating uniformly across settings. Future research should more explicitly account for regional and sociocultural variation when identifying risk and protective factors.
