Youth mental health and religiously framed radicalization in the Middle East and North Africa region: a review of evidence and gaps

This narrative mini-review examines how youth mental health intersects with religiously framed radicalization in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), conceptualizing radicalization as a potential maladaptive response to unmet psychological needs in highly religious, rapidly changing societies. It addresses three questions: how youth mental health relates to religious radicalization, what research gaps concern religious fanaticism as a response to lack of proper mental health care, and which conceptual, clinical, and policy developments are most needed. Available evidence indicates that there is no single “mental illness–terrorist” profile; a minority of radicalized individuals present diagnosable disorders, while symptoms such as depression, trauma, substance misuse, and personality vulnerabilities can heighten susceptibility to rigid, exclusionary religious narratives when combined with psychosocial adversity and exposure to extremist content, whereas everyday religious involvement often provides meaning, social support, and prosocial norms that protect against violence. The mini-review highlights the predominance of Western or diaspora samples, the scarcity of longitudinal and community-based research in MENA, and the neglect of non-violent but psychologically harmful forms of fanaticism. It calls for integrating youth mental health into radicalization prevention as a public health priority, expanding biopsychosocial−spiritual care models and collaboration with religious authorities, and developing region-specific guidance for managing radicalization risk in routine, non-securitized clinical practice.