Vulnerability to Ideologically-Motivated Violence Among Individuals With Autism Spectrum Disorder

Abstract

People with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are represented among those who espouse extremist thought and have committed violent acts associated with their beliefs. Media often highlight a perpetrator's psychiatric diagnosis following acts of mass violence, which in some instances has included ASD. ASD may itself not provide useful information for understanding motivations. Instead, understanding specific traits and neuropsychological and other vulnerabilities may offer an opportunity to make sense of these very complex events.

Incels, autism, and hopelessness: affective incorporation of online interaction as a challenge for phenomenological psychopathology

“…That said, hopelessness is also mentioned in several studies as one of the key risk factors for violent behavior ( van Brunt et al, 2021 ; Broyd et al, 2022 ; Speckhard and Ellenberg, 2022 ; Woodbury-Smith et al, 2022 ). Even if there is not necessarily a link between hopelessness and violence, it is worrisome that in the survey by Speckhard et al (2021) , the majority of incels (54.4%) reported that these specific online forums make them feel hopeless.…”

“…Several studies have also addressed the question of the extent to which the violent behavior of certain incels and autism can be associated ( Speckhard et al, 2021 ; Broyd et al, 2022 ; Speckhard and Ellenberg, 2022 ; Woodbury-Smith et al, 2022 ; Moskalenko et al, 2022a , b ). Some studies argue that perceiving incels as violent and misogynistic terrorists only increases their stigmatization, even though the majority of incels do not exhibit violent traits ( Moskalenko et al, 2022a , b ).…”

“…It would therefore appear that certain vulnerabilities in autism spectrum traits may increase the risk of radicalization in the context of online communication ( Williams D. J. et al, 2021 ; Williams G. L. et al, 2021 ; Broyd et al, 2022 ). In addition to difficulties in social interaction, these vulnerabilities include a tendency toward literal thinking and interpretation ( Broyd et al, 2022 ; Woodbury-Smith et al, 2022 ). Importantly, violent incels on the spectrum also exhibit other risk factors – most commonly a history of being bullied ( Moskalenko et al, 2022b ), suggesting that it is not enough to treat autism merely as an individual problem, but to focus on the social interactions and environments in which people are trying to navigate.…”

“…Even if there is not necessarily a link between hopelessness and violence, it is worrisome that in the survey by Speckhard et al (2021) , the majority of incels (54.4%) reported that these specific online forums make them feel hopeless. In general, hopelessness is highlighted in the first-person narratives of autistic people who struggle with interpersonal dynamics but observe that socially skillful individuals are always the popular ones ( Woodbury-Smith et al, 2022 , 3). When Speckhard & Ellenberg asked their incel participants whether they would date themselves, some of those who replied negatively referred explicitly to their autism: “I’m too autistic for any normal person to even relate to,” or “I’m just a regular guy who is socially autistic and sub-human looking” ( Speckhard and Ellenberg, 2022 ).…”

“…There would appear to be specific links between autism and inceldom, and roughly a quarter of the users of incel forums have reported a formal diagnosis of autism ( Hoffman et al, 2020 ; Speckhard and Ellenberg, 2022 ; Moskalenko et al, 2022b ). In addition, research that focuses on incels in forensic psychiatry, radicalization and terrorism studies became interested in autism after noticing that many of the incels who committed violent attacks and mass shootings against women had a formal autism spectrum disorder (ASD) diagnosis ( Broyd et al, 2022 ; Woodbury-Smith et al, 2022 ). Studies by Broyd et al (2022) and Hoffman et al (2020) mention 50 incel-related violent incidents since 2014.…”