There and Back Again: the Study of Mental Disorder and Terrorist Involvement
Abstruse:The wave of Islamic State-linked terrorism experienced in the West over the past couple of years has rekindled debates surrounding mental disorders and terrorist appointment. A very preliminary survey by the authors found that out of 55 attacks in the West where the 76 individuals involved were possibly influenced by the Islamic Country, according to media reports, 27.6% had a history of apparent psychological instability, a per centum comparable to that plant in the general population. This effigy is driven largely by individuals inspired by the Islamic State, as opposed to those directed by it, nevertheless. The percentage is likely overinflated for several noteworthy reasons, including poor reporting, depression benchmarks, and the tendency to overuse mental health problems equally a 'silver-bullet' caption for terrorist involvement. The relationship is, in fact, far more circuitous than typically presented.
The Islamic Land-linked terrorism experienced in the West recently has reignited debates about the connectedness betwixt mental disorders in terrorist activeness. Indeed, the banana commissioner for specialist operations in London'due south Metropolitan Police Service acknowledges the Islamic Land is actively trying to recruit, among others, "those with mental health issues."1 Similarly, Commonwealth of australia's national counterterrorism coordinator, Greg Moriarty, has outlined that many cases involve individuals "not necessarily deeply committed to and engaged with the Islamist ideology but are even so, due to a range of reasons, including mental health issues, susceptible to existence motivated and lured quickly downward a dangerous path by the terrorist narrative."two The debates became particularly salient through the summertime of 2016 when solitary actors inspired and encouraged by the Islamic State killed 135 civilians in separate attacks in Orlando and Nice. More than recently, the fatal shooting of five individuals at Fort Lauderdale airport added complication to these debates. All perpetrators had reported histories of mental disorder.
This commodity seeks to respond several questions to provide a more than rigorous show base for these debates. These questions include: What is the existing bear witness base regarding psychopathology and terrorist interest? How prevalent are mental disorders amongst Islamic State-directed and -inspired offenders in the West? What is the content of these diagnoses? When nowadays, what relationship did the disorder take with radicalization?
The Evidence Base
Very few scientific analyses have focused upon the human relationship between mental health and terrorist involvement. The following outlines the headline results from the sum total of these scientific endeavors.3 Some recent studies analyzed the prevalence rates of unlike disorders within very different samples of terrorist offenders. Based on constabulary files, six% of Anton Weenink's sample of 140 Dutch individuals who either became foreign fighters or sought to travel abroad for the purpose of terrorism had diagnosed disorders.iv An additional xx% displayed signs of undiagnosed mental health problems. The diagnoses included ADD, Advertising/HD, autism spectrum, narcissistic, schizophrenia, mail service-traumatic stress, and psychotic disorders. The prevalence of schizophrenia (two%) in the sample was college than what would be expected in the general population, which is currently estimated at between 0.87% and i%.5
A study of lone-actor terrorists co-authored past the authors of this article also establish higher rates of schizophrenia than in the general population, as well as certain other disorders. Based on open source data, over twoscore% of Emily Corner, Paul Gill, and Oliver Bricklayer'southward study6 of 153 lonely-actor, solo-role player, and dyad terroristsa had a diagnosed disorder, much higher than in the general population (25-27%).b The diagnoses included schizophrenia (viii.5%), low (7.2%), unspecified personality disorder (6.5%), bipolar disorder (3.ix%), post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD, 3.three%), autism spectrum disorder (3.3%), delusional disorder (2.0%), unspecified anxiety disorder (ane.three%), traumatic brain injury (TBI, ane.3%), obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD, ane.iii%), unspecified sleep disorder (0.7%), schizoaffective disorder (0.7%), psychotic disorder (0.7%), drug dependence (0.7%), and dissociative disorder (0.7%).c Iii disorders held a substantially higher prevalence than establish within general populations (schizophrenia, delusional disorder, and autism spectrum disorders), whereas depression, feet, PTSD, and slumber disorders are more than commonly found within the general population than the lone-thespian sample.7
Michael and Simon Gottschalk8 besides tested rates of various measures of personality and psychopathology within terrorist samples against the civilian population. Past administering the MMPI-ii,d they compared 90 incarcerated Palestinian and Israeli terrorists to control groups of Palestinians and Israeli Jews matched on demographic features. The one-time grouping scored college on subscale measures of psychopathic deviate, paranoid, depressive, schizophrenic, and hypomanic tendencies.
It is worth remembering, however, that the Weenink report and the Corner, Gill, and Mason study are based on pocket-size samples of particular terrorist types and not necessarily a depiction of all terrorist populations globally. Evidence suggests, for example, that the rates of mental disorders within lone-player terrorist populations are significantly college than group-based terrorists. Corner, Gill, and Mason9 found a negative correlation betwixt the level of co-offending and the rate of mental disorder prevalence. Whereas 40% of the report'due south solitary-actor terrorists had a mental disorder, the prevalence rates were lower for solo-thespian terrorists at effectually 20%, only over 5% for terrorist dyads, and less than iii% for terrorist grouping members.eastward In an earlier report, Corner and Gill found that lone-thespian terrorists were 13.v times more likely to have a mental disorder than group-based terrorists.10 This result was in line with Christopher Hewitt's analysis of U.Due south.-based terrorists who espoused a range of ideologies (22% vs. 8.1%),11 and that of Jeff Gruenewald, Steven Chermak, and Joshua Freilich, who examined U.S.-based, far-right offenders (40.4% vs. seven.six%).
Testify also suggests that some terrorist roles may be more likely to experience particular mental disorders. Ariel Merari and his colleagues carried out psychological tests on samples of suicide bombers and diverse control groups (due east.g. other terrorists and non-political criminals)12 employing a range of techniques including clinical interviews, personality tests, the Thematic Apperception Test, and the Business firm-Tree-Person Drawing test. Suicide bombers obtained significantly more diagnoses of Avoidant-Dependent Personality Disorder (sixty% vs. 17%), depressive symptoms (53% vs. 8%) and more readily displayed suicidal tendencies (twoscore% vs. 0%). On the other manus, the control group was more likely to contain members with psychopathic tendencies (25% vs. 0%) and impulsive-unstable tendencies (67% vs. 27%). Suicide bomber organizers scored higher in ego-strength, impulsivity, and emotional instability than would-exist suicide bombers.
Collectively, these results provide of import insight into how nosotros should try to sympathise Islamic State-linked cases. We should expect to see college rates of specific mental disorders among lonely-actors than the full general population, and we should expect variance across the roles and behaviors that these individuals engage in in one case they have chosen to turn to violence (due east.thousand. suicide assail vs. not-suicide attack). We may also look to discover higher rates of disorders amidst solitary actors inspired and encouraged versus those who are directly trained and dispatched by the Islamic Land.
The Circumstantial Evidence Base
Whereas the to a higher place studies meticulously collected data and compared the terrorist samples to wider comparison or command groups, no such studies exist on Islamic State-linked plotters in the West. Some insight may come from a couple of studies on al-Qa`ida-inspired or -directed terrorism in the 1990s and 2000s to provide a useful framework for trying to understand the current security problem. Marc Sageman's seminal study of al-Qa`ida networks downplayed the presence of mental disorder. His starting time report of 172 individuals highlighted one case of "probable mild mental retardation or borderline intellectual functioning" and two cases of "psychotic disorders." Sageman notes this is "nigh the incidence of these disorders in the full general population."13 In Sageman'southward updated analysis of effectually 500 individuals, "there were about four with hints that they experienced beliefs that were non based in reality," but there was "niggling evidence for any personality disorder."xiv Information technology should be noted, nevertheless, that these figures may be a office of the actors beingness largely network-based. The current threat is more varied with a higher propensity for alone actors, and then we may also expect the presence of mental disorders to differ. It may exist better to focus on al-Qa`ida inspired lone-actors for insight. In Paul Gill, John Horgan, and Paige Deckert'due south report of 119 lone-player terrorists, 43% were al-Qa`ida-inspired. Of this sub-sample, 25% had a diagnosed mental disorder, which is essentially the same as the population base rate. This figure, however, was significantly lower than those lone actors inspired by single-issue causes (52%) such as anti-abortion, environmentalism, and animal rights.xv
In preparing this commodity, the authors looked at 55 attacks (totaling 76 individuals) between May i, 2014, and September xxx, 2016, where media reports indicated they were maybe influenced in some fashion by the Islamic State.f (See appendix). These cases encompass both Islamic Country-inspired attacks and Islamic State-directed attacks too as attacks enabled by communications with Islamic State operatives who provided guidance to attackers without them always connecting to the group in person.1000 And they include both confirmed Islamists and troubled individuals with unconfirmed ideological commitment to Islamist causes who may just take been influenced by the grouping's calls to violence. A history of psychological instabilityh was noted in 21 (27.6%) of the individuals. This is broadly comparable to the current worldwide boilerplate (25-27%). The authors were not able to detect examples of psychological instability in the media reporting on those alleged to have taken function in Islamic Country directed attacks (for example, the Nov 2015 Paris attacks and the March 2016 Brussels attacks). Excluding Islamic State-directed plots, the percentage of attackers with reported psychological instability was 34.4%.
It is worth noting that some of those with overt mental health problems may non accept been inspired by the Islamic Country but were simply professing Allahu akbar because information technology is well recognized as a phrase used in vehement attacks. Every bit these cases were dismissed equally not being terrorism, there was barely any (in many cases no) further media reporting as to the private'southward intentions, and therefore, the degree to which they were truly Islamic Land inspired is not currently known.
These are extremely preliminary results.i In that location are several practical constraints to a total-blown report akin to Sageman'south at this moment. On a very basic level, it is difficult to put a true figure on the prevalence rates simply because the vast majority of cases have all the same to be examined in a court of constabulary. If one thinks nigh the reliability of sources on a brownie continuum with trial evidence on the highest end, the vast majority of cases are nevertheless reliant on sources from the lower cease.
When dealing solely with this lower end, researchers need to be careful of a number of potential pitfalls. Many high-contour, Islamic State-inspired individuals take undoubtedly either shown symptoms of psychological distress in earlier years or have been formally diagnosed with a disorder. However, at a fourth dimension when rigorous and interdisciplinary insight was needed, many researchers, reporters, and practitioners turned to flippant linguistic communication and coinage. Such phrases non merely failed to explain the relationship (if whatever) between terrorist appointment and psychopathology but also potentially stigmatized the infinitesimally greater number of individuals suffering from some form of mental disorder with absolutely no hint of radicalization or plans to appoint in violence. These include Max Abrahms' "loon wolf"16 phrase, a term that he applies to whatsoever lone terrorist suffering any class of mental disorder or psychological distress. The "loon" connotation also implies crazy or deranged and misses the fact that rational planning ofttimes occurs in the presence of a mental disorder.
Corner and Gill17 (these authors) empirically compared a sample of lonely-thespian terrorists with mental disorders with a sample of lone-thespian terrorists without mental disorders. They constitute that those with a mental disorder were just as (and in some cases more) likely to engage in a range of rational pre-attack behaviors every bit those who were non. Offenders with mental disorders were more likely to express violent desires, seek legitimization for their intended actions, stockpile weapons, train, deport out a successful attack, kill and injure, discriminate in their targeting, and claim responsibility. Almost of these traits are typically viewed as rational behaviors to achieve terrorism goals.
Other popular terms used on Twitter are "Islamopsychotics" and "Mentalhadist," terms that conflate religious devotion with mental illness, thus simplifying and demonizing both.xviii Such conceptually loose and purlieus-less terms may have the touch on of too inflating perceptions of the prevalence of mental disorders (which have a very strict set of operationalized and bounded criteria).
A 2nd obvious trouble with this lower finish of the credibility continuum is that the sources are sometimes highly questionable. Once again, this may artificially inflate the true prevalence rate. In many cases, anonymous sources allude to the individual's (usually unspecified) strange and erratic behaviors prior to their radicalization. It is oftentimes unsaid and causeless that this is related to mental wellness problems, but the reporting is unspecific. For example, on September 23, 2014, Numan Haider stabbed and injured 2 counterterrorism officers in the parking lot of a law station in Melbourne, Commonwealth of australia. Haider was shot dead at the scene. In that location is evidence that his family unit previously encouraged him to seek help from a counselor for erratic behavior.19 Yet, this was most likely linked to their worries over his potential radicalization rather than mental health issues.xx Other cases reporting "erratic beliefs" include Michael Zehaf-Bibeau (the Parliament of Canada shooter) and Zale Thompson (who attacked 4 New York City police officers with a hatchet). All iii examples fall brusk of a confirmed mental health diagnosis of whatsoever sort. All three, however, take been held upward as irrefutable evidence of the link between mental health problems and radicalization. The bar for confirming evidence should be higher within research and practitioner communities.
Other cases highlight instances where mental health problems were alluded to by non-experts (often family, friends, neighbors) only latched onto by the wider media every bit concrete show of a disorder's presence (and presumably direct role in the violent intent/actions). Worryingly, now that physical empirical evidence has demonstrated the greater propensity for lonely-actor terrorists to have a mental health trouble, it is frequently ane of the first lines of investigation in media reporting. The below examples, while interesting, show the disturbingly low levels of bear witness provided within some reporting that depicts the individual as having a mental disorder. Such reporting has potentially overinflated the true rates.
On October 20, 2014, Martin Couture-Rouleau, a 25-year-onetime French Canadian who converted to Islam in 2013, deliberately rammed his car into two Canadian Military machine soldiers in a shopping center parking lot in Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Quebec, Canada. One soldier was killed. Couture-Rouleau was shot following a chase and altercation with a female police officeholder. No confirmed diagnoses exist, simply neighbors claim he was "depressed," and i additional source claimed Couture-Rouleau's father had previously attempted unsuccessfully to admit him to psychiatric care.21
On January 7, 2016, Edward Archer shot and wounded a constabulary officer in Philadelphia. When apprehended, Archer confessed that he committed the attack in the name of Islam and pledged allegiance to the Islamic State. Archer'southward mother claimed that he had sustained a traumatic head injury from a moped blow and that he had "some form" of mental illness because "he's been talking to himself … laughing and mumbling" and "hearing voices in his head."22
On June 12, 2016, Omar Mateen, a 29-year-one-time American citizen of Afghan descent, attacked the Pulse nightclub in Orlando, Florida, killing 49 individuals. Mateen was shot and killed by law enforcement post-obit an extended standoff. Mateen had a history of disruptive behavior while at school. When Mateen applied for his security baby-sit'due south license in 2007 and its renewal in 2013, no psychological bug were noted at screening. Mateen was a habitual user of steroids, and his first wife claimed that he was "mentally unstable and mentally sick."23 There is no further show to back up this claim, however. Confusion remains over Mateen's exact motives, as he pledged fidelity to the Islamic State simply prior to this attack over the phone. Multiple witnesses have as well claimed that Mateen was homosexual and struggled to come to terms with his sexuality.24
Orlando shooter Omar Mateen (F.B.I.)
Other cases are complicated by standing questions over the degree of psychological distress and other vulnerabilities. On July 24, 2016, Mohammad Daleel, a 27-yr-one-time Syrian refugee, carried out a suicide bombing in Ansbach, Germany. Only the assailant was killed. Investigators believe he had planned to detonate the device remotely, was planning follow-on attacks, and his death was an accident.25 Daleel, who had been treated past a trauma therapist who warned he might engage in a "spectacular" suicide effort,26 twice was reported every bit attempting suicide following failed aviary applications in Frg, after which his deportation was stalled.27 Eleven days before the bombing, Daleel was once more served a deportation order. Given the Islamic Country's merits that he was previously part of the group in Syria28 and detailed instructions he was receiving in advice with a suspected Islamic Country handler overseas,29 some have pointed to the possibility that he might have exaggerated his mental health problems to escape deportation.xxx Equally it is difficult to decide whether his earlier suicide attempts were used as a function to avert deportation or due to underlying distress, information technology is difficult to disentangle these actions from the form of violence he ultimately chose to engage in on behalf of the Islamic Country.
In other cases, specific diagnoses were made but are not publicly available. On March fourteen, 2016, Ayanle Hassan Ali, a 27-year-old Canadian, stabbed two soldiers at a recruitment center in Toronto, Canada. Post-obit the attack, Ali told officers "Allah told me to do this, Allah told me to come here and impale people." Ali was initially accounted unfit to stand trial due to "psychotic symptoms of a major mental illness," only post-obit mandatory treatment, Ali was found fit to stand trial for a range of charges.31
On July fourteen, 2016, Mohamed Lahouaiej-Bouhlel, a 31-year-old Tunisian with French residency, collection a 19-ton cargo truck into a crowd of individuals celebrating Guardhouse Twenty-four hours on the Promenade des Anglais, Nice. Lahouaiej-Bouhlel was shot and killed past police afterwards he managed to drive over one mile through the crowded streets and pedestrian areas. According to reports, Lahouaiej-Bouhlel had but started attending a mosque 2 months prior to the set on.32 Lahouaiej-Bouhlel's father claimed that his son had undergone psychiatric treatment prior to 2005 and had a nervous breakdown and a history of substance misuse and depression.33
On July 26, 2016, Adel Kermiche and Abdel Malik Petitjean took six people captive in the church of Saint-Étienne-du-Rouvray, Normandy, earlier killing a priest. Kermiche was born in Algeria, and he had twice attempted to travel to Syria in 2015 and was jailed.34 The attackers were shot and killed when police stormed the church building. Following the attack, psychological reports carried out at Kermiche'southward trial prior to the attack in October 2015 suggested that Kermiche had a history of mental health problems.35 This too highlights an additional problem: when the offenders dice at the scene of the assail, psychiatrists cannot access the offenders to assess their mental wellness. If not for his previous dalliance with the police force, Kermiche's mental health issues might have been missed entirely.
The fact is that confirmed diagnoses in recent cases remain few and far between. In December 2014, Man Haron Monis, a 50-year-erstwhile Iranian living in Australia, took hostages at the Lindt Buffet in Sydney. The siege lasted over 12 hours and ended when security officials stormed the cafe and shot Monis. Ii others were killed. Monis had claimed allegiance with the Islamic State, and following the siege, the Islamic Land praised his deportment in its propaganda.36 Monis had an all-encompassing history of mental health issues. Forensic psychologist Kate Barrelle, advisor to the coroner in Monis' case, concluded that the attacker suffered from "narcissism, paranoia, and antisocial behaviour disorder." 37 Forensic psychiatrist Jonathan Phillips concurred with Barrelle. He dismissed the possibility that Monis also suffered from comorbid disorders by explaining that before non-psychosis-related diagnoses were no unlike from "what everyone experiences 'from fourth dimension to time.'" Phillips explained that his diagnostic determination was based on Monis' history of sexual assaults and that he "orchestrated the incident in a meticulous and callous manner."38 Counsel assisting the coroner at the inquest, Jeremy Gormly, SC., surmised Phillips' conclusions: "[Monis] was suffering from some definable personality disorders, including anti-social, paranoid and egotistic tendencies, just did not suffer a mental illness and his actions cannot exist attributed to mental illness."39
On January vii, 2015, Amedy Coulibaly, a French extremist claiming to act on behalf of the Islamic State, shot and wounded a jogger in Paris.40 A day later, he is suspected of having killed a French municipal police officer. The post-obit day, he murdered four hostages at a kosher supermarket. A psychiatrist had previously assessed him post-obit earlier criminal beliefs and found that Coulibaly had an "immature and psychopathic personality" but stopped short of diagnosing a specific mental disorder.41
In Dec 2015, Muhaydin Mire attacked commuters at Leytonstone underground station in London with a breadknife, injuring iii. Mire reportedly claimed, "This is for Syria, my Muslim brothers."42 Mire had a history of mental illness and had spent time in psychiatric institutions for delusional and paranoid tendencies with some reports of paranoid schizophrenia.43 Mire's family had besides sought to have him admitted ane calendar month prior to the assault.44
In a recent and complicated example, Esteban Santiago-Ruiz killed 5 and injured some other six in a shooting at Fort Lauderdale airport in January 2017. Federal officials confirmed that Santiago-Ruiz had received psychological treatment. His family members claim that his issues stemmed from witnessing two fellow servicemen die in combat in Republic of iraq.45 Ii months prior to the attack, Santiago-Ruiz visited an F.B.I. field office and reported the U.South. government controlled his mind and made him watch Islamic Land-related videos. The C.I.A. was too forcing him to join the group, co-ordinate to Santiago-Ruiz. After the set on, Santiago-Ruiz initially made like claims. Still, after Santiago-Ruiz was transferred to an F.B.I. office following the set on, he claimed he carried out the attack on behalf of the Islamic State and had non over again mentioned mind control, an F.B.I. amanuensis testified on Jan 17. Despite Santiago-Ruiz' later claims, the Islamic Land are still to claim responsibleness for the attack.46 Investigators are continuing to disentangle Santiago-Ruiz' motivation, and whether the attack was motivated by voices in his caput telling him to commit acts of violence.47 Here, the link betwixt mental state and the violence appears to exist much clearer than in many other cases. Still, the depth of his ideological orientation toward the Islamic Land is highly questionable at the fourth dimension of writing. For the authors, he looks far more than like other mass murderers such equally Myron May (the Florida Land Academy shooter), Aaron Alexis (the Washington Navy Grand shooter and Jiverly Wong (the Binghamton shooter).j All three individuals reported existence 'targeted individuals' and acted violently in guild to get the government to turn off their listen-control machines.
In many other cases, when confirmed diagnoses were nowadays, there was a tendency to try dismiss the possibility of terrorism altogether. For example, on Dec 21, 2015, an unnamed 40-year-onetime ran over 11 pedestrians beyond the city of Dijon, France, while shouting "Allahu akbar," challenge he was "acting on behalf of the children of Palestine," and brandishing a knife. Police force knew the aggressor for previous minor offenses, and he had spent fourth dimension in psychiatric services. Due to the psychiatric history of the assaulter, authorities deemed the attack not to be an act of terrorism.48 A similar set on that injured 10 in December 2014 in Nantes was similarly dismissed as non-terrorism because the private was "unbalanced."49 On May 10, 2016, an individual attacked commuters with a pocketknife at Grafing train station near Munich. 1 victim died from his wounds. The aggressor reportedly shouted "Allahu akbar" and continued to espouse similar sentiments such as "all infidels must die." This was after confirmed by police force regime merely dismissed every bit terrorism because the individual was "mentally disturbed."fifty Moussa Coulibaly's stabbing of three anti-terrorism police officers in Prissy in Feb 2015 was similarly rejected by authorities as terrorism considering he was viewed every bit an "unbalanced individual."51
Nowhere was this debate on whether attacks were terrorism or non-politically motivated acts of mentally disturbed individuals more evident than in the Man Haron Monis inquest. Many commentators reasoned information technology was his history of mental disorder that best explains his deportment and that he should not be considered a terrorist. For example, Dr. Rodger Shanahan, a research swain at the Lowy Institute, argued at the inquest that Monis was "not motivated by political, ideological or religious causes, but rather was someone with mental health problems acting on his ain personal grudges."52 Shanahan as well argued that "if he [Monis] was following IS [Islamic Country] direction why didn't he go in there and kill everyone?"53 Shanahan instead believed that Monis chose the Lindt Cafe for personal rather than political reasons, highlighting Monis' historical grievance with Vii Network's Sunrise tv set plan, whose studios were across the route from the cafe. Shanahan too drew on Monis' lack of direct connection to the Islamic State and his wearing of a headband, which has an clan with the Shi`a sect of Islam and is considered heretical past the Islamic State.54 Clarke Jones of Australian National University agreed with Shanahan, explaining that due to his mental wellness bug, Monis was desperate to attach himself to a cause, further explaining that his actions were extremely hard to predict.55 Terrorism scholar Bruce Hoffman held an opposing view. Monis' history of mental disorder, in Hoffman's opinion, was "immaterial" as to whether he carried out a terrorist attack.56
The debate rests on the question well-nigh whether the presence of a mental health diagnosis is plenty to state that information technology was a driver of the radicalization-linked behavior or whether information technology was merely 1 ingredient in the individual's vulnerability contour and grievance construction. Some tentative answers are available in the wider research literature.
Corner and Gill57 utilized a sample of 119 lone-actor terrorists and investigated whether certain behaviors within the concatenation of events that led to a terrorist attack were more probable to co-occur with certain diagnoses than others. Those diagnosed with schizophrenia and associated disorders were the only diagnostic group to be significantly associated with previous violent behavior and this supports previous inquiry in the general violence literature.58 This could exist linked to the lowering of inhibitions against violence or potentially the increased chances the private had previously engaged in (non-terrorist) violence.k Those with personality disorders and autism were less probable to have a spouse/partner involved in a terrorist movement, which may be indicative of not having a spouse due to the detrimental nature of these disorders. Because mental disorders frequently share symptoms (and because diagnoses are oft non available), farther research may also focus on analyzing symptoms of mental illness rather than purely the diagnoses themselves.59 The results of this investigation offer insight into links betwixt specific disorder types, and specific behaviors, that in isolation tin can be linked to a wide range of activities, not merely those institute in a terrorist attack. Researchers are yet to study temporal trajectory of behaviors, and how these interact with each other and the wider environment in space and time. Nosotros but know some behaviors co-occurred at some point in the individual'southward life-course. John Horgan correctly notes that although studies of alone actors often discover high preponderance of mental health issues within the sample, "detailed inquiry would exist needed to further analyze the precise nature and role (if whatsoever) of mental health problems in the evolution of their vehement activeness."sixty
This debate is on-going inside the wider study of offense too. On the one hand, a strand of research assumes a consistent causal link between psychiatric symptoms (where they are constitute to be nowadays) and criminal beliefs.61 On the other hand, a more nuanced strand of research argues at that place are "a (small-scale) grouping of offenders whose symptoms chronicle direct to criminal offense and a (larger) group whose symptoms and crimes are not straight related."62 For example, various studies illustrate that the offender (across a range of crimes) experienced his/her psychiatric symptoms at the time of the (ofttimes violent) crime betwixt four% and eighteen% of the fourth dimension.63 There is no reason to suggest this should be any different for a terrorist subset of offenders. If anything, one might assume the figures to be lower given the wider ideology and ideologues underpinning it provide a grievance and gear up of instructions on who to target and how. A complex mixture of personality, situational, and personal drivers (among others) likely drives nearly general crime. Terrorism is no different simply for the addition of an overarching credo. The presence of this ideology in the motivational mix therefore likely lessens the relative cognitive response to mental wellness problems.
Conclusion
It is merely as well early to come to a definitive answer regarding the role of mental health problems and various forms of Islamic Country terrorism. Mental disorders announced more prevalent among those inspired by Islamic State than those directed past it. Across that, notwithstanding, it is difficult to make clear conclusions. The available open up-source information is clouded by poor reporting practices, the tendency to care for all mental health disorders equally, and the fetishized way mental health is reported. The answer is likely to differ wildly from case to example depending upon the individual's diagnosis, prior life experiences, co-existence of other stressors and vulnerabilities, and lack of protective factors. Researchers need to have a mature enough response in practise, research, and public discussion that is comfortable with this complexity; sympathize that where information technology is nowadays, it is usually 1 of several drivers; and practise so by not stigmatizing the vast bulk that suffer from mental health issues while remaining non-violent, not-radicalized, and in need of care.
What we meet from the existing research is that alone-histrion terrorism is normally the culmination of a circuitous mix of personal, political, and social drivers that crystalize at the same fourth dimension to drive the individual down the path of violent action. This should be no different for those inspired past the Islamic State. Whether the violence comes to fruition is usually a combination of the availability and vulnerability of suitable targets and the individual's capability to engage in an assail from both a psychological and technical capability standpoint. Many individual cases share a mixture of personal life circumstances coupled with an intensification of beliefs that later developed into the idea to engage in violence. What differs is how these influences were sequenced. Sometimes personal problems led to a susceptibility to ideological influences. Sometimes long-held ideological influences became intensified later the experience of personal problems. This is why we should be wary of mono-causal 'master narratives' nearly how this process unfolds. Mental health problems are undoubtedly important in some cases. Intuitively, we might encounter how in some cases it can make carrying out violence easier. In other cases, it may make the adoption of the ideology easier because of delusional thinking or fixated behaviors. However, information technology will only ever exist i of many drivers in an individual's pathway to violence. In many cases, it may be present but completely unrelated. The development of radicalization and set on planning behaviors is usually far more labyrinthine and dynamic than ane single factor can explain, be it mental disorders (today'due south go-to silver-bullet caption), online radicalization (some other popular silver-bullet explanation), or root causes that encompass socio-demographic characteristics.
Nosotros must also comport in mind that the relationship between mental wellness problems and terrorist engagement is just one part of the story. Given the scale and types of violence being conducted by the Islamic State, many perpetrators volition develop mental health issues as a byproduct of involvement as opposed to information technology being a driver of involvement. There will also be a generation of children who were born within the Islamic State and/or trained as fighters, many of whom will render to their parents' land of origin in the coming years. The interface of mental wellness practitioners and the Islamic Country volition, therefore, not only be limited to assessing the risk of whether someone will become a terrorist but will be extended to safeguarding and handling.
In determination, after many years in the dark, the link between mental health problems and terrorist engagement is now often the "get-to" explanation. This is partially due to the studies, cited above, that showed the relatively loftier rates within specific terrorist sub-samples. These studies coalesced in fourth dimension with an uptick in Islamic State lone-thespian plots and attacks and were latched onto by media, the public and policymaker communities hungry for intuitively appealing and straightforward answers. Much of the dash within these studies was lost, notwithstanding. Just considering a cistron (such as mental disorder) was present, does not make information technology causal. Nor does it necessarily arrive facilitative. It may exist completely irrelevant altogether. Gimmicky media reporting may have led to a potentially overinflated sense of how prevalent the link truly is and how closely tied it is to the individual'due south pathway into terrorism. CTC
Emily Corner is a inquiry associate at the University Higher London's Department of Security and Criminal offence Science. She is currently working on a European Union-funded project on lonely-actor terrorists.
Paul Gill is a senior lecturer at the University Higher London's Section of Security and Crime Scientific discipline. He is currently working on projects on decision-making and lone-thespian terrorism that are funded by CREST, the Eu, and Minerva.
Islamic State-directed attacks past individuals recruited in person into the group and tasked with launching attacks are shaded in gray. The Brussels Jewish museum shooting by a French Islamic State recruit was not categorized as Islamic State-directed because information technology is not however clear whether he was tasked by the group to launch an attack.
All the attacks involved one attacker except the Paris attacks (ix attackers), the Brussels attacks (five attackers), the stabbing attack on a Jewish teacher in Marseille (three attackers), the Sikh temple bombing in Essen (three attackers), the San Bernardino attack (two attackers), the Kvissel murder (2 attackers), the Saint-Étienne-du-Rouvray church attack (two attackers), the Rochdale murder (two attackers), and the Saint Julien du Puy attack (two attackers). In total, in that location were 55 cases involving 76 attackers. There was media reporting indicating psychological instability for 21 of the attackers (27.vi%). Excluding Islamic State-directed attacks, the per centum of attackers with reported psychological instability was 34.iv%.
Substantive Notes
[a] A lone-player terrorist is defined by John Horgan, Paul Gill, Noemie Bouhana, James Silver, and Emily Corner as "an individual lacking any ties to a terrorist/trigger-happy extremist group … These individuals typically engage in violence in back up of a grouping and/or credo." Lone actors within the sample included those inspired past Islamist, right-fly, left-fly, nationalist, and unmarried consequence ideologies. John Horgan, Paul Gill, Noemie Bouhana, James Silver, and Emily Corner, "Across the universe? A comparative analysis of vehement radicalization across iii offender types with implications for criminal justice grooming and didactics," National Constitute of Justice, June 2016. A "solo-role player terrorist" is defined as "an individual who either (a) carried out the act of terror solitary, only under didactics or (b) carries out the act through his/her own volition, simply has had previous contact with terrorist/violent extremist groups and/or radical environments to receive planning and support."John Horgan et al. A dyad in this context refers to two individuals who conceive, programme, and comport out an set on on their own. Ane or both individuals may have previously been attached to a terrorist group.
[b] A large-calibration worldwide epidemiological investigation based on the International Classification of Diseases (ICD) diagnostic tool highlighted that the boilerplate prevalence for a diagnosis of any disorder is 27.43%. Ronald Kessler and Bedirhan Üstün, The WHO earth mental health surveys: Global perspectives on the epidemiology of mental disorders (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2008). Whereas a worldwide written report utilizing the Diagnostic and Statisticians Manual (DSM) as a diagnostic tool identified a lifetime prevalence of 25.0%. Jordi Alonso et al., "Prevalence of Mental Disorders in Europe: Results from the European Study of the Epidemiology of Mental Disorders (ESEMeD) Project," Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica 109 (2004): pp. 21-22.
[c] The cases were based on data constitute in open source accounts, including courtroom documents. Diagnoses were confirmed through extensive cross-checking of sources. Court decisions were deemed most reliable, but in some cases, mental health status was not argued at trial as the individual had an established history.
[d] Adult from the MMPI past James Neal Butcher, it is utilized past mental health professionals to clinically appraise personality traits and mental health bug. James Neal Butcher, "Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI), International Encyclopedia of the Social & Behavioral Sciences (1989): pp. 9,891-ix,894.
[e] An individual in a grouping (three or more individuals) involved in or intent on conveying out acts of terrorism. This database consists of 544 actors, with links to 85 designated terror organizations. (Cross checked with Terrorism Research & Analysis Consortium, Global Terrorism Database, and the U.S. Department of State's list of terrorist designations and state sponsors of terrorism).
[f] Cases were chosen following expansive searches of multiple open source outlets, using the LexisNexis open up source archive of academic and media manufactures as a starting point. Cases were adamant to be "perhaps influenced" by the Islamic State following cross-referencing of information. The authors did not include cases where media reporting indicated inspiration came from Islamist terrorist groups other than the Islamic State, such as the July 2015 Chattanooga, Tennessee, attack. See Devlin Barret and Arian Campo-Flores, "Investigators See Radicalization in Chattanooga Shooter," Wall Street Journal, July 21, 2015.
[1000] By "Islamic State-directed" attacks, the authors mean attacks involving Islamic Country fighters recruited in person into the group and tasked by the group to launch attacks.
[h] The threshold the authors used for determining psychological instability was individuals reported to have had a history of psychiatric or psychological intervention for perceived mental problems or mental health interventions and/or diagnoses after their attacks. Cases in which family members reported depression or erratic beliefs or mental health issues that did not result in such interventions were not included. For example, Orlando nightclub shooter Omar Mateen was not classed as having psychological instability because although his former wife told reporters he was "mentally sick," the authors were not able to notice any evidence there was whatever mental health intervention. Greg Toppo, "Ex-wife: Orlando shooter 'very short-tempered,' vehement," United states of america Today, June 12, 2016.
[i] These results differ from the earlier piece of work of the authors, where more comprehensive cases, particularly regarding mental health condition, could be formed. The cases of Corner and Gill (2015), and Corner, Gill, and Mason (2016) were drawn from individuals who had either been bedevilled of a terrorist human activity or died in the commission of their offense. The large majority of Islamic State-linked cases referenced in this article have non reached trial stage, and at that place is therefore less concrete information to depict from and analyze.
[j] Myron May recorded an extensive explanation (1 hr. 47 min. video) of his opinion regarding beingness a targeted private shortly before carrying out the shooting at Florida State Academy. Within the recording, he refers to "other targeted individuals, Aaron Alexis, and Jiverly Wong." This video was uploaded following his set on and decease. "The Amateur of Award "Myron May mind command victim," YouTube, March 27, 2015.
[one thousand] For over xl years, statement has ensued in the schizophrenia and violence literature as to whether schizophrenia is definitively linked to an increased risk of engaging in violence. At that place are multiple extraneous risk factors that individuals with schizophrenia may be exposed to (e.g. drug utilize, homelessness) that are now recognized as increasing the risk of violence across populations, not just among those with schizophrenia.
Citations
[1] Robert Windrem, "Ranks of ISIS recruits include mentally ill," NBC News, Jan 1, 2016.
[2] Paul Karp, "Counter-terrorism: Turnbull defends plan that may increase admission to mental health records," Guardian, July 22, 2016.
[three] For a full history of the study of psychopathology and terrorist involvement, run into Paul Gill and Emily Corner, "There and Back Over again: The Study of Mental Disorder and Terrorist Involvement," American Psychologist, forthcoming April 2017.
[four] Anton Weenink, "Behavioral problems and disorders amidst radicals in law files," Perspectives on Terrorism nine:ii (2015): pp. 17-32.
[5] Esben Agerbo, Patrick F. Sullivan, Bjarni J. Vilhjalmsson, Cartsen B. Pedersen, Ole Mors, and Anders D. Borglum, "Polygenic Risk Score, Parental Socioeconomic Status, Family History of Psychiatric Disorders, and the Risk for Schizophrenia: A Danish Population-Based Study and Meta-Analysis," JAMA Psychiatry (2015): pp. 635–641; Jonna Perälä, Jaana Suvisaari, Samuli 50. Saarni,Kimmo Kuoppasalmi, Erkki Isometsä, Sami Pirkola et al., "Lifetime Prevalence of Psychotic and Bipolar I Disorders in a General Population," Archives of General Psychiatry 64 (2007): pp. nineteen-28.
[half dozen] Emily Corner, Paul Gill, and Oliver Stonemason, "Mental health disorders and the terrorist: A research note probing selection furnishings and disorder prevalence," Studies in Disharmonize & Terrorism 39:vi (2016): pp. 560-568.
[vii] Corner, Gill, and Mason.
[8] Michel Gottschalk and Simon Gottschalk, "Authoritarianism and pathological hatred: A social psychological profile of the Center Eastern terrorist," The American Sociologist 35:two (2004): pp. 38-59.
[9] Corner, Gill, and Bricklayer.
[x] Emily Corner and Paul Gill, "A Imitation Dichotomy? Mental Illness and Alone-Actor Terrorism," Constabulary & Human Behavior 39:ane (2015): pp. 23-34.
[11] Christopher Hewitt, Agreement terrorism in America (New York: Routledge, 2003).
[12] Ariel Merari, Driven to death: Psychological and social aspects of suicide terrorist, (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2010); Ariel Merari, Jonathan Fighel, Boaz Ganor, Ephraim Lavie, Yohanan Tzoreff, and Arie Livne, "Making Palestinian 'martyrdom operations'/'suicide attacks': Interviews with would-exist perpetrators and organizers," Terrorism and Political Violence 22:1 (2009): pp. 102-119; Ariel Merari, Ilan Dimant, Arie Bibi, Yoav Broshi, and Gloria Zakin, "Personality characteristics of 'cocky martyrs'/'suicide bombers' and organizers of suicide attacks," Terrorism and Political Violence 22:1 (2010): pp. 87-101.
[13] Marc Sageman, Understanding Terror Networks (Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2004), p. 81.
[14] Marc Sageman, Leaderless Jihad: Terror Networks in the Twenty-Commencement Century (Pennsylvania: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2008), p. 84.
[15] Paul Gill, John Horgan, and Paige Deckert, "Bombing Lone: Tracing the Motivations and Antecedent Behaviors of Lone-Actor Terrorists," Periodical of Forensic Sciences 59:2 (2014): pp. 425-435.
[16] Max Abrahms, "I've coined the term 'loon wolf' terrorist to draw a mentally unstable or deranged terrorist acting independently of a terrorist group," Twitter, December sixteen, 2014.
[17] Emily Corner and Paul Gill, "A False Dichotomy? Mental Disease and Lone-Actor Terrorism," Law & Human being Behavior 39:1 (2015): pp. 23-34.
[18] Will Gore, "Mental illness has go a user-friendly scapegoat for terrorism – simply the causes of terror are rarely so simple," Independent, July 25, 2016; Mubin Shaikh "What we MAY take hither in the #FLLshooting is a "Mentalhadist": a diagnosed mentally ill individual who takes on a Jihadist character role," Twitter, January seven, 2017.
[19] Cameron Houston, Tammy Mills, John Silvester, and David Wroe, "Terror suspect Numan Haider: heightened alert before AFL thousand final weekend," Age, September 24, 2014.
[20] Chip Le K, "Numan Haider Inquest: Teen Tried to Kill Policeman, Inquest Told," Australian, March 7, 2016.
[21] René Bruemmer, "From Typical Teen to Jihadist: How Martin Couture-Rouleau became radicalized after converting to Islam," National Mail, November 9, 2014.
[22] Mari A Schaefer and Julie Shaw, "Mom: Shooting suspect has been 'hearing voices,'" Philadelphia Inquirer, Jan ix, 2016.
[23] James Rothwell and Harriet Alexander, "Orlando shooter Omar Mateen was 'mentally unstable wife-chirapsia homophobe,'" Daily Telegraph, June 13, 2016.
[24] Frances Robles and Julie Turkewitz, "Was the Orlando Gunman Gay? The Answer Continues to Elude the F.B.I.," New York Times, June 25, 2016.
[25] Andreas Ulrich, "Germany Attackers Had Contact with Suspected IS Members," Spiegel, August five, 2016.
[26] Gabriel Gatehouse, "Germany 'was warned well-nigh Ansbach suicide bomber,'" BBC, August 12, 2016.
[27] Matthew Weaver and Martin Ferrer, "Ansbach bombing: Aggressor pledged allegiance to ISIS, says official – equally it happened," Guardian, July 25, 2016.
[28] Anthony Faiola, "Islamic Land claims German suicide bomber was former militant fighter, Washington Mail service, July 27, 2016; Samuel Osbourne, "Ansbach suicide bomber Mohammad Daleel 'fought for ISIS and al-Qaeda' earlier coming to Frg," Independent, July 27, 2016
[29] Andreas Ulrich, "Germany Attackers Had Contact with Suspected IS Members," Spiegel, August five, 2016.
[30] "Syrian suicide bomber in Germany 'had history of mental affliction,'" RTE, July 25, 2016; Paul Cruickshank, "There are lots of questions at present including whether Ansbach assaulter might have faked/exaggerated mental health problems to stay in Germany," Twitter, July 27, 2016.
[31] Michelle McQuigge, "Man accused in military stabbing ruled not fit to stand trial soon later RCMP lays charges," Canadian Press, 2016.
[32] Tom Morgan, David Chazan, and Camilla Turner, "Nice killer Mohamed Lahouaiej Bouhlel 'only started going to mosque this April,'" Sydney Morning Herald, July 17, 2016.
[33] David Chazan, Tom Morgan, and Camilla Turner, "Bastille Twenty-four hours terrorist was radicalised within months and sent £84,000 to his Tunisian family days before attack," Telegraph, July 17, 2016; "Nice aggressor Lahouaiej-Bouhlel had breakdowns says father,'" BBC, July fifteen, 2016; "Assail on Nice: Who was Mohamed Lahouaiej Bouhlel?" BBC, August 19, 2016.
[34] Caroline Mortimer and Samuel Osbourne, "French republic church attack: Normandy attacker identified by authorities as 18-year-old Adel Kermiche," Independent, July 26, 2016.
[35] Kim Willsher, Elle Chase, and Olivia Solon, "French priest's killer was freed from jail despite aiming to bring together jihadis," Guardian, July 27, 2016.
[36] Michael Safi, "Sydney siege gunman Man Haron Monis praised in Isis publication," Guardian, December xxx, 2016.
[37] Michael Safi, "Sydney siege inquest: Monis a 'terrible mix' of disorders and violent beliefs," Guardian, April seven, 2016.
[38] "Sydney siege inquest: Human Haron Monis was a 'psychopathic lone wolf terrorist,'" Guardian, May 2, 2016.
[39] Michael Safi, "Sydney siege inquest: Monis may have been driven in 'by unknown accomplice,'" Guardian, March 21, 2016.
[40] David Gauthier-Villars, Asa Fitch, and Raja Abdulrahim, "Islamic State releases video calling grocery store gunman its 'soldier,'" Wall Street Journal, January 11, 2016.
[41] Angelique Chrisafis, "Profiles: Key Suspects in Paris Attacks," Guardian, January 9, 2015.
[42] Laura Proto, "Dramatic footage of police tasering human being accused of Leytonstone Tube station set on played to Jury," Evening Standard, June 1, 2016.
[43] Vikram Dodd and Esther Addley, "Leytonstone knife set on: Human being bedevilled of attempted murder," Guardian, June 8, 2016; Lizzie Dearden, "Leytonstone Tube stabbing: Isis-inspired attacker Muhiddin Mire 'thought Tony Blair was his guardian angel,'" Independent, July 27, 2016.
[44] Tom Morgan, Tom Whitehead, and Camilla Turner, "Family of Tube Terror Accused Chosen in Police Three Weeks Before Leytonstone Attack," Telegraph, Dec 7, 2015.
[45] David Fleshler, Susannah Bryan, Paula McMahon, and Linda Trischitta, "Esteban Santiago: Details sally of suspect in airport shooting," Southward Florida Sun-Sentinel, January seven, 2017.
[46] Boris Sanchez and Kevin Conlon, "Fort Lauderdale shooter says he carried out the attack for ISIS, FBI claims," CNN, January 17, 2017.
[47] Kyle Clayton, Christopher Brennan, Jessica Schladebeck, and Denis Slattery, "Suspected Fort Lauderdale Aerodrome gunman Esteban Santiago, 26, told FBI that CIA was forcing him to join ISIS," New York Daily News, January 7, 2017; Lizette Alvarez, Richard Fausset, and Adam Goldman, "Florida Airport Assailant May Have Heard Voices Urging Violence, Officials Say," New York Times, January vi, 2017.
[48] "French republic Dijon: Commuter targets metropolis pedestrians," BBC, December 22, 2014.
[49] "France attack: Van driven into shoppers in Nantes," BBC, Dec 23, 2014.
[50] Kate Connolly, "One dead, three injured in knife attack at train station nigh Munich," Guardian, May ten, 2016; Rory Mulholland, "Munich knife attack: I dead after man shouting 'Allahu Akbar' attacks four at railroad train station in Grafing, Federal republic of germany," Telegraph, May xi, 2016.
[51] John Lichfield, "Moussa Coulibaly: Three French anti-terror soldiers stabbed on patrol outside Jewish radio station in Nice," Contained, February 3, 2015.
[52] Michael Safi, "Sydney siege inquest: Media use for suppression orders to be lifted," Guardian, August 25, 2015.
[53] "Sydney siege would have been extremely difficult to predict, inquest told," Guardian, August 26, 2015.
[54] Michael Safi, "Sydney siege inquest: Experts disagree over Monis' motives–as information technology happened," Guardian, August 25, 2015.
[55] "Sydney siege would have been extremely hard to predict, inquest told."
[56] Safi, "Sydney siege inquest: Experts disagree over Monis' motives – as it happened."
[57] Corner and Gill.
[58] Menachem Krakowski, Jan Volavka, and David Brizer, "Psychopathology and violence: A review of the literature," Comprehensive Psychiatry 27:2 (1986): pp. 131-148.
[59] Kevin S. Douglas, Laura S. Guy, and Stephen David Hart, "Psychosis as a risk factor for violence to others: A meta-analysis," Psychological Bulletin 135:five (2009): pp. 679-706.
[sixty] John Horgan, The Psychology of Terrorism (2nd Ed.) (Oxon, England: Routledge, 2014), p. 63.
[61] E. Fuller Torrey, "Deinstitutionlization and the rise of violence," CNS Spectrums 20:3 (2015): pp. 207-214.
[62] Jillian Thousand. Peterson, Jennifer Skeem, Patrick Kennealy, Beth Bray, and Andrea Zvonkovic, "How often and how consistently exercise symptoms directly precede criminal behavior amongst offenders with mental illness?" Law and Human Behavior 38:v (2014): pp. 439-449.
[63] Peterson et al.
Source: https://ctc.usma.edu/is-there-a-nexus-between-terrorist-involvement-and-mental-health-in-the-age-of-the-islamic-state/
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