Radical extremists join groups partly to resolve anger left by unaddressed childhood harm

Evidence

Four cases described anger as a critical driver for joining radical groups or engaging in radical violence. In such cases, involvement in radical groups seemed to provide partial solutions to harmful early experiences with long-term emotional effects. For example, one former Islamic extremist was abused by a family member as a child and described how the lack of a family response was a push factor toward learning to protect themselves: “I became very, you know, angry at the fact that nobody did anything about it. Nobody could do anything about it. There was a pure—a sense of powerlessness. As I started to get older and more independent and more confident—so really from the age of 12, you know, when you kind of start to get over that hill … if anyone ever did that to me again, or my kids, or whatever, like I would destroy them.” — 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, 289

Categorization

• QUESTION: Anger driven by powerlessness (not ideology) was a stated precursor — worth testing whether group membership supplied a sense of efficacy that later withdrawal of conflict would have to address.
• XREF: Connects to the reader’s therapeutic hypothesis: if joining was a bid for power against early helplessness, then exit intervention would need to restore agency, not just remove conflict. — connects to: Extremist groups recruit by supplying the kinship and belonging that members lacked. — 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:…, 372; Most extremists radicalize alone before seeking out groups rather than being recruited top-down. — 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:…, 40; Unremedied childhood abuse produces a powerlessness that radical anger then compensates — 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:…, 289 (+3 more)

Broader Connections

• Unremedied childhood abuse produces a powerlessness that radical anger then compensates #expands (0.93) — 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, 289
• Terrorist groups function as substitute families meeting unmet developmental needs #expands (0.88) — John T. Jost and Jim Sidanius, Political Psychology, 4124
• Extremist recruitment recruits through belonging and fellowship, not hatred #qualifies (0.78) — Mark Fisher (edited by Darren Ambrose), K-Punk, 2020
• Extremist involvement has addictive properties tied to joint risk and struggle #qualifies (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, 59