Enhancing meaning in life and reducing radicalization, extremism, and violence in war and conflict-affected populations: A controlled feasibility study of the Meaning-Making App

Authors

  • Joel Vos International Meaning Events & Community (IMEC)

Keywords:

Digital Intervention, Deradicalization, Counter-Violent Extremism, Peace, Trauma

Abstract

This study evaluated the feasibility of the Meaning-Making App (MMA). MMA aimed to help civilians in armed conflicts maintain a sense of meaning in life, to improve psychological well-being and reduce risks of radicalization, extremism, and violence. MMA applied the comprehensive MOSAIC (Meaning Oriented Social and Individual Changes) framework, which indicates that well-being increases and risks decrease when individuals envision and realize five or more diverse types of meaning (mainly self-oriented and social), through critical intuition, realistic appraisal, and emotion regulation. MMA consisted of six toolkits, with tools derived from Systematic Meaning-Centered Psychotherapy: psycho-education about stress, trauma, and meaning; psychological first aid; brief meaning-making exercises; practical goal-setting exercises; structured meaning-making exercises; survivor stories. MMA-participants (N=142) came from armed conflict zones  (e.g., Israel, Palestine, Syria, Iran, Ukraine), used MMA on average 70.92 minutes (SD=45.22), were satisfied with its content and impact, and recommended technical/offline improvements. Participants showed statistically significant improvements in meaning-making (measured with the Short-Meaning in Life Questionnaire. Meaning Sextet Questionnaire-Brief, Existential Meaning-Regulation Scale), well-being (PTSD-Check-List-5, General Well-being Item) and radicalization/extremism/violence risk-measures (Radicalism Intention Scale, General Extremism Scale , War-subscale of Attitudes Toward Violence Scale). A non-randomized control-group of 57 individuals from Ukraine, Israel, and Palestine used the app without meaning components, showing  no statistically significant changes in meaning-making and moderate, statistically significant improvements in well-being and risk-measures. Mediation analyses and structural equation models empirically supported that improvements and MMA/control-group differences in well-being and risk-measures were mediated by meaning-making improvements. These findings should be interpreted cautiously given the non-randomized feasibility design, and the need for cross-cultural, longitudinal, multi-method validation. The findings suggest meaning-oriented smartphone interventions may improve well-being and reduce radicalization, extremism, and violence during armed conflict.

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2026-06-26

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