Are Radicalization and Terrorism Associated with Mental Disorders? A Systematic Review

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpsychires.2021.07.002

Commentary

Knowledge of the association between the sociological, political, and criminological profiles of radicalized people and terrorists with mental disorders is lacking, and it is not known whether they are prone to mental disorders. This study conducted a systematic review of the literature on mental disorders in both radicalized and terrorist populations.

Results.

2,856 records were screened, including a total of 25 articles. Although the majority of these were of poor methodological quality, three population groups were assessed: those at risk of radicalization, radicalized populations, and terrorist populations.

We found important variations in the prevalence of mental disorders, depending on the population studied and the methodology. These at-risk populations were reported to have depressive disorders, a condition for which there are conflicting findings. The prevalence of mental disorders ranged from 6 to 41 percent in the radicalized population and from 3.4 to 48.5 percent among terrorists. Also, among terrorists, mental disorders have been shown to be more frequent in solitary terrorists than in groups of terrorists.

In conclusion, 

the systematic review failed to identify any significant association between radicalization, terrorism, and mental disorders.