Abstract
This chapter traces the evolution of research examining possible connections between mental disorders and maladaptive psychological characteristics. Early studies exploring rates of mental disorders among terrorist samples found rates comparable to the general population. But those efforts lacked scientific rigor and did not provide a credible scientific basis for any firm conclusions. A second generation of studies using improved research methods also found that overall rates of most mental disorders were similar among samples of group-based terrorists and the general population, but a different pattern emerged for lone offenders, where mental health problems were regularly found in a third or more of the cases. The construct of psychopathy (not "psychpathology"), though one of the most robust and consistent predictors and correlates of antisocial behavior generally, there has been very little empirical evidence suggesting that it is a major cause of terrorism. Studies have also consistently failed to find a constellation of personality variables that characterized all terrorists or explained terrorist behavior, probabaly--in part--because there are such vast differences among terrorists.
Original language | American English |
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Title of host publication | Routledge Handbook of Transnational Terrorism |
State | Published - 2024 |
Keywords
- mental illness
- mental disorder
- psychopathology
- terrorism
- violent extremism
- psychology
- personality
- psychopathy
Disciplines
- International and Area Studies
- Psychology