Mental illness is not a major driver of extremism on its own

Evidence

PIRUS data indicate that “extremists and terrorists are no more likely to suffer from mental health problems than members of the general population,” with mental illness accounting for or coinciding with only a small percentage (a mean of ~11 percent) of the examined radicalization cases. However, in one study of former white supremacists, 32 percent of the sample reported experiencing mental health problems (that were unspecified in the report) before or during involvement in an extremist group, whereas 44 percent reported experiencing suicidal ideation. By comparison, according to the National Institute of Mental Health, about 16 percent of the population in the United States as of 2019 suffers from some form of mental illness. According to these findings, it appears that mental illness—if it predates entrance into an extremist organization—could potentially increase vulnerability to radicalization but is not a major driver 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

Categorization

• XREF: The unusually high 44% suicidal ideation among former white supremacists complicates any purely ideological account and bears on what emotional states fuel and abandon extremism. — connects to: 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; Terrorism is not generally a product of mental pathology — John T. Jost and Jim Sidanius, Political Psychology, 4088; The mental-disorder theory of terrorism lacks reliable clinical evidence — John T. Jost and Jim Sidanius, Political Psychology, 4089 (+8 more)

Broader Connections

• Terrorism is not generally a product of mental pathology #corroborates (1.00) — John T. Jost and Jim Sidanius, Political Psychology, 4088
• The mental-disorder theory of terrorism lacks reliable clinical evidence #corroborates (0.90) — John T. Jost and Jim Sidanius, Political Psychology, 4089
• Treating mental illness would eliminate only four percent of violence #corroborates (0.90) — Albert Bandura, Moral Disengagement, 1274
• Trauma alone does not explain right-extremist voting; economic decline does #corroborates (0.85) — Manuel Borutta and Jan C. Jansen, Vertriebene and Pieds-Noirs in Postwar…, 847
• Attributing blame to mental illness rather than guns is a moral disengagement strategy #expands (0.80)
• Gun-violence apologists shift blame to mental illness to avoid condemning firearms #expands (0.80) — Albert Bandura, Moral Disengagement, 1269
• Biologizing mental illness conveniently depoliticizes its social causes #expands (0.70) — Mark Fisher, Capitalist Realism, 82