Mental health care targeted at extremists may directly support disengagement

Evidence

Community organizations: Expand opportunities for mental health care. Although it is not possible to establish the causal effect of mental illness on extremism, the plausibility may provide incentives to buttress mental health services in locales at high risk of extremist recruitment and activity. And targeting mental health care toward active extremist populations may provide an opportunity to directly support disengagement. — Ryan Andrew Brown, Todd C. Helmus, Rajeev Ramchand, Alina I. Palimaru, Sarah Weilant, Ashley L. Rhoades, and Liisa Hiatt (RAND Corporation), Violent Extremism in America, 58

Categorization

• XREF: Therapeutic-intervention angle connects to the reader’s test of what changes identity - mental health treatment as a mechanism worth weighing against pure conflict withdrawal. — connects to: Mental illness is not a major driver of extremism on its own — Ryan Andrew Brown, Todd C. Helmus, Rajeev Ramchand, Alina I. Palimaru, Sarah Weilant, Ashley L. Rhoades, and Liisa Hiatt (RAND Corporation), Violent Extremism in America:…, 150; Mental health problems create radicalization vulnerability only by blocking other life opportunities — Ryan Andrew Brown, Todd C. Helmus, Rajeev Ramchand, Alina I. Palimaru, Sarah Weilant, Ashley L. Rhoades, and Liisa Hiatt (RAND Corporation), Violent Extremism in America:…, 285; Extremists show no elevated mental illness rates relative to the general population — Ryan Andrew Brown, Todd C. Helmus, Rajeev Ramchand, Alina I. Palimaru, Sarah Weilant, Ashley L. Rhoades, and Liisa Hiatt (RAND Corporation), Violent Extremism in America:…, 150 (+1 more)

Broader Connections

• The mental-disorder theory of terrorism lacks reliable clinical evidence #complicates (0.80) — John T. Jost and Jim Sidanius, Political Psychology, 4089
• Mental illness is not a major driver of extremism on its own #qualifies (0.75) — Ryan Andrew Brown, Todd C. Helmus, Rajeev Ramchand, Alina I. Palimaru, Sarah Weilant, Ashley L. Rhoades, and Liisa Hiatt (RAND Corporation), Violent Extremism in America, 150
• Extremists show no elevated mental illness rates relative to the general population #qualifies (0.75) — Ryan Andrew Brown, Todd C. Helmus, Rajeev Ramchand, Alina I. Palimaru, Sarah Weilant, Ashley L. Rhoades, and Liisa Hiatt (RAND Corporation), Violent Extremism in America, 150
• Mental health problems create radicalization vulnerability only by blocking other life opportunities #complicates (0.72) — Ryan Andrew Brown, Todd C. Helmus, Rajeev Ramchand, Alina I. Palimaru, Sarah Weilant, Ashley L. Rhoades, and Liisa Hiatt (RAND Corporation), Violent Extremism in America, 285