Explaining the Links Between Poor Mental Health and Violent Extremism

Abstract The determination of the explanatory value of poor mental health for violent extremism is not clear-cut. To date, most empirical research focusing on poor mental health and violent extremism centers on determining the prevalence of disorders across a range of samples. Such approaches leave us with various “counts,” within-group comparisons, and across-group comparisons, presenting us with a sense of how present specific disorders are. In some cases, they identify common relationships between antecedents. However, they do not hold explanatory value. To increase our understanding of the role of poor mental health in violent extremism, we need to move beyond presence—we need an understanding of relevance. In more advanced research, the relevance of antecedents, including poor mental health, is being determined following the interrogation of how each antecedent impacts on violent extremism, and why each antecedent does not impact every extremist equally.