The Problem of Overgeneralization: The Case of Mental Health Problems and U.S. Violent White Supremacists:

One of the oldest and most controversial issues in the study of terrorism involves the mental health status among actors who commit this type of violence. A consensus has emerged among scholars that terrorists are relatively normal in terms of mental health, and thus, studying mental health is not a useful line of investigation. In contrast, we find a large portion of our sample of former violent U.S. White supremacists report mental health problems before and/or during their involvement. Individuals with mental health problems may be attracted to the White supremacist movement because of the ideological similarities to certain types of mental health symptoms such as paranoia, elevated levels of anger, and a sense of persecution. Additionally, results suggest that violent White supremacist groups do not actively filter prospective or current members for mental health problems. Findings provide evidence for the ongoing need to examine mental health factors among a variety of terrorist organizations and sug...