A false dichotomy? Mental illness and lone-actor terrorism.

Abstract

We test whether significant differences in mental illness exist in a matched sample of lone-and group-based terrorists. We then test whether there are distinct behavioral differences between lone-actor terrorists with and without mental illness. We then stratify our sample across a range of diagnoses and again test whether significant differences exist. We conduct a series of bivariate, multivariate, and multinomial statistical tests using a unique dataset of 119 lone-actor terrorists and a matched sample of group-based terrorists. The odds of a lone-actor terrorist having a mental illness is 13.49 times higher than the odds of a group actor having a mental illness. Lone actors who were mentally ill were 18.07 times more likely to have a spouse or partner who was involved in a wider movement than those without a history of mental illness. Those with a mental illness were more likely to have a proximate upcoming life change, more likely to have been a recent victim of prejudice, and experienced proximate and chronic stress. The results identify behaviors and traits that security agencies can utilize to monitor and prevent lone-actor terrorism events. The correlated behaviors provide an image of how risk can crystalize within the individual offender and that our understanding of lone-actor terrorism should be multivariate in nature.

Radicalization patterns and modes of attack planning and preparation among lone-actor terrorists: an exploratory analysis

“…Numerous data-driven studies on the characteristics of lone-actor terrorists have been published (Corner & Gill, 2015;Ellis, Pantucci, de Roy van Zuijdewijn, & Bakker, 2016;Gill et al, 2014;Hamm & Spaaij, 2017;Liem, Van Buuren, de Roy van Zuijdewijn, Schönberger, & Bakker, 2017;Schuurman et al, 2017). Some of these have looked at elements of their pre-attack behavior, such as targeting preferences (Gartenstein-Ross, 2014;Gill & Corner, 2016;Gill, Silver, Horgan, & Corner, 2017).…”

How identity crisis, relative deprivation, personal characteristics, and empathy contribute to the engagement of Western individuals in Islamist terrorist behavior

“…The emphasis in Bakker's study is on psychopathology, which reflects the initial bias in terrorism research. Although in the context of lone wolf terrorism the contribution of individual character traits and psychopathology to violent radicalization has been discussed extensively, this focus is not justified especially when it comes to group-based terrorism (Corner & Gill, 2015). A more balanced approach to conceptualizing the determining factors of violent radicalization should include examination of 'normal' psychological variables, such as personality traits.…”

Triggerfactoren in het radicaliseringsproces

“…Buijs et al, 2006). Ook uit criminologisch onderzoek blijkt dat problemen op de basisschool en de middelbare school, en ook schooluitval samenhangen met crimineel gedrag (Corner & Gill, 2014;Blomberg, Bales, & Piquero, 2012;Lopes et al, 2012 …”