Mental Health Disorders and the Terrorist: A Research Note Probing Selection Effects and Disorder Prevalence

Corner, Emily; Gill, Paul; Mason, Oliver

doi:10.1080/1057610x.2015.1120099

Cited by 119 publications

(117 citation statements)

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“…Using odds-ratios they found lone-actor terrorists were 13.5 times more likely to have a history of mental illness than group-based actors. Corner, Gill and Mason (2015) examined these results further and found a negative correlation between the level of co-offending and the rate of mental disorder prevalence. Whereas There and Back Again 24 their sample of lone-actor terrorists included over 40% with a history of mental disorders, the figure for solo-terrorists (e.g.…”

Section: Disaggregating the Terroristmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…A further 20% of There and Back Again 21 cases displayed indications of mental health problems but were undiagnosed at any point in their life. In Corner, Gill, and Mason's (2015) sample of 153 lone-actor terrorists, 1.3% experienced Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI), 0.7% drug dependence, 8.5% schizophrenia, 0.7% schizoaffective disorder, 2.0% delusional disorder, 0.7% psychotic disorder, 7.2% depression, 3.9% bipolar disorder, 1.3% unspecified anxiety disorder, 0.7% dissociative disorder, 1.3% Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD), 3.3% PostTraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), 0.7% unspecified sleep disorder, 6.5% unspecified personality disorder, and 3.3% autism spectrum disorder. Three disorders exhibited a higher prevalence in the lone-actor sample than in the general population (schizophrenia, delusional disorder, autism spectrum disorders).…”

Section: Expanding Psychopathological Approachesmentioning

confidence: 99%

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There and back again: The study of mental disorder and terrorist involvement.

Gill¹,

Corner²

2017

American Psychologist

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For the past forty years, researchers studied the relationship between mental disorder and terrorist involvement. The literature developed in four paradigms, each of which differs in terms of their empirical evidence, the specific mental disorders studied, and their conceptualizations of terrorist involvement. These paradigms have not, however, witnessed linear and incremental improvements upon one another. Although one paradigm has generally tended to dominate a temporal period, many false assumptions and incorrect interpretations of earlier work permeate into today's discourse. This paper provides a history of the study of mental disorders and the terrorist. First, we briefly outline the core fundamental principles of the first two paradigms, The paper then outlines the core arguments produced by the seminal reviews conducted in paradigm three. We highlight how these findings were consistently misinterpreted in subsequent citations. We then highlight recent innovations in the study of terrorism and mental disorder since the various influential literature reviews of 1997-2005. We conclude by outlining how future research in this area may improve in the coming years by broadening our understanding of both terrorist involvement and psychopathology away from simple dichotomous thinking.

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Section: Disaggregating the Terroristmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Expanding Psychopathological Approachesmentioning

confidence: 99%

There and back again: The study of mental disorder and terrorist involvement.

Gill¹,

Corner²

2017

American Psychologist

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“…In another study, Corner and Gill disaggregated the incidence of specific psychiatric diagnosis among lone‐actor terrorists. Results showed that the rate of individuals diagnosed with schizophrenia is much higher in the lone‐actor terrorist sub‐group compared to rates found in the general population . This also applies to autism spectrum disorder and delusional disorder but not for other severe disorders such as unipolar depression or bipolar disorder.…”

Section: Review Of the Literaturementioning

confidence: 89%

Religious Radicalization and Lone‐Actor Terrorism: A Matter for Psychiatry?

Prats¹,

Raymond²,

Gasman³

2018

Journal of Forensic Sciences

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This article discusses the place of the psychiatric field in the ongoing phenomenon of religious radicalization. First, the article provides an overview of the existing literature on lone‐actor terrorists and the link with mental illness. Current research is focusing increasingly on lone‐actor terrorists. This is the most recent and rising development on the global terrorism scene. The literature is currently developing a more precise and informed definition of lone‐actor terrorism. The article then describes and discusses the case study of a mentally ill patient arrested following his assault on a military serviceman on the grounds of religious radicalization. The patient, diagnosed with schizophrenia, is taken as an example of the specific case of religious radicalization in patients with schizophrenia. Finally, the article discusses the curative and preventive roles that can be played by psychiatrists and other professionals who are in contact with these types of patients.

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“…Studying information from police files on Dutch possible jihadists, Weenink (2015) for example finds that a majority of these individuals has some behavioural and/or psychological problems. While one should be careful not to overgeneralize results (Corner, Gill & Mason, 2016), most empirical data do however not seem to support the idea of an insane terrorist. On the other extreme of the continuum some authors suggest that terrorist are perfectly rational human beings.…”

Section: Literature On Terrorist Behaviourmentioning

confidence: 99%

A prospect theory perspective on terrorism

Bois

2017

IJBSR

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This paper presents a new approach to the study of terrorist behaviour and argues that a framework based on Prospect Theory can provide novel insights on the understanding of the terrorist mind-set. Such a framework allows different pathways to become a terrorist and although individual decisions are studied, the model also takes into account environmental factors. By changing these environmental factors and/or framing the choice differently, PT also shows how the terrorist group and/or a charismatic leader can influence the individual's whether or not to turn to terrorism. Having a clear conceptual framework is a first crucial step towards comprehension and in the case of terrorism, towards detection and/or prevention. In this way, the PT framework can also contribute significantly to counter-terrorism policy and can guide the budgetary means in efficient way. INTRODUCTIONThe events of 9/11, the bombings in Madrid and London and more recently, the attacks in Paris, Nice, Brussels, Berlin and Quebec make it painfully clear that terrorism is no longer a remote event for the Western world. Hence, also the number of academic papers studying the concept has snowballed the last decade trying to understand the phenomenon. In order to effectively reduce terrorism and to efficiently use our limited budgetary means it is indeed crucial to comprehend the terrorist's reasoning. As Hoffman (2002, p. 306) notes "knowing your enemy is a cardinal rule in warfare". Will we increase the probability of detection and interception by increasing the budget for internal security or will we invest more in de-radicalization programs? In order to optimize our counterterrorism policy and to allocate our resources efficiently, we need a clear conceptual framework. Literature on terrorism abounds with different models suggesting different causes and determinants. The purpose of this paper is not just to add to this list but rather to present a unifying framework.

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Mental Health Disorders and the Terrorist: A Research Note Probing Selection Effects and Disorder Prevalence

Cited by 119 publications

References 0 publications

There and back again: The study of mental disorder and terrorist involvement.

There and back again: The study of mental disorder and terrorist involvement.

Religious Radicalization and Lone‐Actor Terrorism: A Matter for Psychiatry?

A prospect theory perspective on terrorism

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