Underground organizations screen 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 (#corroborates, via linked claim)

One former white supremacist described sharing with a friend the emotional impact of bullying. That friend then started the focal individual on the radicalization pathway. As the focal individual recalled, the friend stated: “‘I think I might be able to help.’ And he pulled out a flyer from his bookbag, and he said, ‘I belong to this organization that is a lobby group for people like us. You know, with European backgrounds.’” — 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, 288 (#complicates, via linked claim)

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; Terrorist groups’ screening practices filter out mentally unstable recruits — John T. Jost and Jim Sidanius, Political Psychology, 4090; Terrorist groups actively screen out emotionally unstable recruits as security risks (+2 more)

Broader Connections

• Terrorist groups’ screening practices filter out mentally unstable recruits #corroborates (1.00) — John T. Jost and Jim Sidanius, Political Psychology, 4090
• Terrorist groups actively screen out emotionally unstable recruits as security risks #expands (0.95)
• Recruiters convert expressed emotional pain into a gateway into radical groups #complicates (0.78) — 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, 288
• Cults attract people whose identity pillars have collapsed in a crisis #complicates (0.72) — Holm Gero Hümmler, Ulrike Schiesser, Fact and Prejudice, 401