Trauma before joining creates psychological vulnerability that radicalization later exploits

Evidence

Fourteen cases (nine white supremacists and five Islamic extremists) described traumatic experiences faced by focal individuals. Seven of these cases were ones in which mental health issues were also discussed. Accounts of traumatic events that focal individuals experienced included physical or sexual abuse, war trauma, accidents, and the death of a family member. Four focal individuals experienced or witnessed traumatic events before joining an extreme group and linked these experiences in some way to radicalization. For example, one focal individual described joining a radical organization as a way to cope with losing several friends to suicide. Meanwhile, six cases described how traumatic experiences led to psychological changes that created greater vulnerability to radicalization later in life. — 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, 294

Categorization

• QUESTION: Cases split between trauma directly linked to radicalization (four) and trauma creating later vulnerability (six) — the temporal structure of the causal chain matters for the hypothesis.
• XREF: connects to: Negative life events predispose but never alone cause radicalization — 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:…, 56; American radicalization is driven by psychology and emotion, not material deprivation — 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:…, 151; The most powerful radicalization pathways combine personal psychological vulnerabilities with perceived community victimization. — 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:…, 156 (+8 more)

Broader Connections

• Personal crises precede and open receptivity to religious radicalization #corroborates (0.90) — 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, 327
• Unconscious aggression drives some traumatized individuals to terrorism while others choose cults or conformity #expands (0.85) — John T. Jost and Jim Sidanius, Political Psychology, 4098
• Mental health problems create radicalization vulnerability only by blocking other life opportunities #qualifies (0.80) — 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
• Personal uncertainty, perceived injustice, and group threat jointly drive radicalization #expands (0.75) — Lea Echelmeyer, Anne-Marie Slotboom, and Frank Weerman, The Putative Effect of Identity on…, 267
• Poverty mediates radicalization chiefly by blocking access to mental health care #complicates (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, 304
• Physical crises can both trigger radicalization and catalyze deradicalization #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, 298
• A trusted friend’s offer of belonging can initiate the radicalization pathway #expands (0.72)