British Muslims whose families have lived in the UK for generations more likely to become radicalised than recent migrants according to a study from the University of London published in the online open-access journal
PLOS OnePrincipal findings
Depressive symptoms (PHQ score of 5 or more indicating at least mild depression) were more common among those showing the most sympathy towards violent protest and terrorism. Although previous studies of terrorists have not shown significantly greater levels of severe mental illness (for example, psychoses with delusions and hallucinations), small studies of convicted terrorists and of teenagers in Palestine have suggested depressive and anxiety symptoms are important [23] [13]. One study seeking to define religious terrorism proposed the presence of ‘dogma induced psychotic depression’ but this investigation was not based on a structured diagnostic or screening instrument. The place of psychological distress in terrorism is controversial [48]. It is known that low mood is associated with hopelessness about the future, and suicidal feelings, perhaps mediated through feelings of low self-esteem, cognitive distortions in weighing up everyday events and experiences as more negative [38]. These cognitive biases may be seen as adaptive if they reflect social and economic injustices, and experiences of structural violence; or these may reflect depressive illness if there is not a history of such adversity. Our findings suggest the latter, that depressive symptoms independent of psychosocial adversity were associated with sympathies towards violent protest and terrorism.
More generally, depression has been implicated in acts of aggression [49], [50]. Although depression and aggression can be present from an early age and have genetic and neurochemical origins [50], [51], depression can also be a consequence of chronic adversity, and can lead to maladaptive behaviour, social strain [33] or abnormal personality development [51]. Personality disorder is often implicated in crime, but is an unlikely explanation of our finding as the majority of our sample were in employment and reported active social networks (and additionally did not report frequent hospital attendance due to accidents and injuries; unreported data).
Social isolation has been proposed as a risk factor for radicalization [52], and is also implicated as a link between biological mechanisms of aggression and depression when tested in animal models [53]. Consistent with this perspective, we found that the group showing the strongest condemnation appeared to have more social contacts. Isolation from the wider community, together with feelings of identification and cohesion within terrorist organisations, are a proposed mechanism by which people are persuaded to take up violence, under the influence of newly formed radical affiliations [12], [19]. In multivariate analyses, women seemed more likely to be in the most sympathetic group, indicating greatest risk; this finding did not reach statistical significance. A higher risk for women has previously been reported but only where social isolation, powerlessness and oppression limited alternative opportunities or lifestyles [54]. More in-depth qualitative work exploring Muslim women's experiences of disadvantage and oppression may offer useful insights into the place of gender politics and gender disadvantage as mechanism of radicalisation.
A surprising finding was that low levels of social capital were not related to sympathies towards terrorism but were associated with greater condemnation of terrorist acts. In our study, social capital was measured by satisfaction with residential area, trust in neighbours and feelings of safety. As expected in accord with the wider literature, poor social capital was associated with depression (unreported data), suggesting that the survey questions seem to tap the appropriate concepts [55]. A low score, therefore, reflected fears associated with the neighbourhood, including violence in the community, and explains condemnation of perceived threats. This finding is also consistent with a recent analysis suggesting that higher social capital can actually foster the formation of terrorist groups through greater opportunities for co-operation and by the exploitation of altruistic aspirations in a open democratic political system [27]. However, a study of social capital and terrorism, conducted over 12 years in 150 countries, showed that as well as fostering more terrorist organisations, higher social capital actually correlated with fewer terrorist attacks. So the influence of social capital is complex and it does not seem to be easily modified for predictable preventive effects.
Strengths and Weaknesses
Although the three-group solution was selected by a statistically acceptable method of cluster analysis using a variety of sensible criteria to indicate the ‘correct’ number of groups, the clusters derived should be regarded as a preliminary and useful basis for understanding and describing the survey responses. Replication is recommended as one study does not provide definitive conclusions on which to base policy.
As a cross-sectional study, causality cannot be directly inferred but the three groups derived from cluster analysis are akin to an ordinal variable permitting the comparison of specific characteristics across the three groups. However, no single variable showed linear trends across all three clusters. This suggests protective factors associated with condemnation are different to those associated with the development of sympathies for violent protest and terrorism. Alternatively, we may have not included other factors that might be linearly related with developing sympathies for radicalisation.
Importantly, this study does not show which people who are sympathisers are likely to progress to terrorist acts. However, there is a sequence of events consistent with the stages of radicalization [35], each with specific contexts and risk of progression [7]. This model of public health epidemiology recommends that those ‘infected’ with radical ideology, or already radicalised, need to be isolated so that they cannot influence those around them. The criminal justice system fulfils this function. Those who are vulnerable require inoculation through a wider set of ideas, including orthodox religious texts that decry homicide and terrorism. Furthermore, social networks promote resistance by offering a range of cultural identities and opportunities and this in itself may be protective; for example, integrated cultural identities protect against psychological distress in young people by offering bridging social capital across contrasting identity groups [56]. Studies of resilience to such radicalising ideas, where resilience consists of resistance despite exposure to radicalising ideas in the presence of SVPT, are needed.
Another reason for studying and preventing SVPT in the population is that these become part of the political rhetoric of terrorists and are used to justify their actions. Through encouraging SVPT, terrorists and extremists can seek resources for their cause. There may be communalities with other extremist movements, for example, animal rights protesters, or in situations of war and conflict, or where extreme right wing parties target particular ethnic, racial or religious groups [57], [58]. Indeed, the boundaries between protest movements and terrorism require further investigation.
We had interpreted condemnation of sending British troops to conflict zones as consistent with radicalisation because terrorists have reported such actions as justification for their acts [4]. We generated our items to measure radicalisation by reference to such literature and by focus groups assuring us of face and content validity. However, such condemnation could also indicate a position of conscientious objection. In people of Muslim heritage, this stance might be misunderstood to indicate radicalisation rather than an anti-war or pacifist political position. Future studies will need to carefully discern whether such political objections are separate from beliefs that are on the pathway to radicalisation. We did not find political engagement to be associated with radicalisation suggesting that our findings are unlikely to reflect political activism or conscientious objection.
Terrorist organisations in the past and in other cultures were motivated by different social and political factors. As a result, our findings relate to the current priorities of counter-terrorism in Europe and North America, namely of understanding and preventing the radicalisation of home-grown youth. It would not be prudent to generalise the findings to other contexts and types of terrorism, although similar research is feasible in other contexts. For example, although ‘psychotic depression’ was implicated in a study undertaken in a conflict zone [24], our findings indicate a modest effect of depressive symptoms; we did not measure clinical symptoms of psychosis directly. The attribution of psychosis defined on the basis of delusions is subject to criticism, as delusions are culturally shaped and can be seen as psychopathological only if the beliefs held are culturally inappropriate. Fear of the enemy, paranoia and depressive symptoms may be seen as ordinary responses to war and conflict. Thus the study of psychological distress in future studies must consider context: the influence of conflict, culture and war on SVPT. Furthermore, our finding suggest that depressive symptoms may be both protective and risk factors, but it was only depressive symptoms meeting a screening threshold for mild depressive illness that were risk factors. The place of depressive symptoms clearly warrants further investigations.
Implications
Terrorist acts not only result in death, illness, and severe injury to members of the public and emergency services, they also impact adversely on social cohesion, accentuating divisions between different racial and religious groups [59]–[61]. They raise legitimate fears about safety and security [61], [62]. Trauma, multiple bereavements, and fear can have long-term consequences for psychological health [63]. A preventive approach to radicalisation is not part of current UK counter-terrorism policy, which focuses on those likely to commit terrorist acts. Our study shows that there are modifiable risk and protective factors for the earliest stage on the pathway to violent protest. The potential benefits of disrupting the pathways to radicalisation go beyond security issues and have implications for preventing significant depressive symptoms, promoting wellbeing and perhaps social capital [64]. More research is needed into the causes of depressive thinking implicated in our study. Future studies must investigate the place of different types of social assets, depressive symptoms, and psychosocial adversity in the process of radicalisation in different heritage groups and in different country and regional contexts. Our methods do offer an alternative paradigm for testing interventions aimed at preventing or reversing the early stages of violent radicalisation.
Key Messages
Studies of sympathies for terrorism and violent radicalisation are needed and feasible to undertake in a Muslim minority country.
Mild depressive symptoms as assessed on the PHQ9 are associated with sympathies for violent protest and terrorism.
A greater number of social contacts and being a migrant were associated with more condemnation. Poorer social capital and being unavailable for work because of housewife roles and disability were associated with condemnation.
Future work needs to investigate whether standardised measures of social capital to replicate this unexpected finding and to help understand the mechanisms.
Topic: 'Islamic State' a.k.a. ISIL