Terrorist groups’ screening practices filter out mentally unstable recruits

Evidence

A possible reason for the apparently small numbers of pathologically ill individuals among the ranks of terrorists is that most terrorist organizations, as conspiratorial undergrounds, are careful about whom they recruit. Centralized, efficient organizations screen out potential members who could be dangerous to the survival of the group. This practical rule of organizational security and maintenance excludes the person of unpredictable or uncontrolled behavior. In less hierarchical organizations, those with a loose structure and relaxed central direction in the anarchist model, there is less control over membership. Hence, group exclusivity would be less of an obstacle to mentally ill persons who might be attracted to terrorism. — John T. Jost and Jim Sidanius, Political Psychology, 4090

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: Organizational screening, not just disposition, filters out mentally ill recruits — John T. Jost and Jim Sidanius, Political Psychology: Key Readings, 4090; 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