Psychopathology in female offenders of terrorism and violent extremism: a systematic review

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Abstract

Introduction

Terrorism and violent extremism are major social threats worldwide and are committed not only by men but also by women. Previous research has shown indications of psychopathology, among other personal and contextual factors, as a potential risk factor for perpetrating terrorist and violent extremist crimes. Despite the fact that women have engaged in acts of terrorism and violent extremism throughout history, the vast majority of literature on psychopathology so far has been mainly focused on men with terrorist and violent extremist behavior. As women's engagement in terrorism and violent extremism is increasing, and gender differences in psychopathology in offenders of terrorism or violent extremism may exist based on empirical evidence for such differences in offenders of violence, gender-informed research into psychopathology as a potential risk factor for offending is of pivotal importance for improving the effectiveness of counter-terrorism interventions. The present systematic review was designed to examine what empirical knowledge exists on the presence and potential contributing role of psychopathology in female perpetrators of terrorism or violent extremism.

Methods

A literature search was conducted to identify primary source studies in PsycINFO, PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, and Sociological Abstracts. ASReview as an artificial intelligence software was used to screen references.

Results

In total, eight studies were included, of which only two studies distinguished prevalence rates and types of psychopathology separately for women, indicating personality disorder as most common. All four out of the eight studies that reported on the relationship between psychopathology and terrorism and violent extremism assumed psychopathology to be a contributing factor in engaging in terrorist or violent extremist acts. However, none of these four studies reported on potentially present female-specific mechanisms of the role of psychopathology in offenses.

Discussion

The present systematic review draws the striking conclusion that there is a lack of clearly described empirical studies on psychopathology in female perpetrators of terrorism and violent extremism and emphasizes the importance of more future empirically based inquiries on this topic by the forensic psychiatric field.

Systematic review registration

https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/prospero/display_record.php?RecordID=275354, identifier: CRD42021275354.

Related collections

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Author and article information

Contributors

Sadaf Rakhshandehroo: URI : http://loop.frontiersin.org/people/2138518/overview

Robbert-Jan Verkes: URI : http://loop.frontiersin.org/people/2017776/overview

Maaike Kempes: URI : http://loop.frontiersin.org/people/514253/overview

Journal

Journal ID (nlm-ta): Front Psychiatry

Journal ID (iso-abbrev): Front Psychiatry

Journal ID (publisher-id): Front. Psychiatry

Title: Frontiers in Psychiatry

Publisher: Frontiers Media S.A.

ISSN (Electronic): 1664-0640

Publication date (Electronic): 27 June 2023

Publication date Collection: 2023

Volume: 14

Electronic Location Identifier: 1123243

Affiliations

[1] ¹Department of Science and Education, Netherlands Institute of Forensic Psychiatry and Psychology , Utrecht, Netherlands

[2] ²Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Radboud University , Nijmegen, Netherlands

[3] ³Department of Criminal Law and Criminology, Radboud University , Nijmegen, Netherlands

[4] ⁴Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences, Leiden University , Leiden, Netherlands

Author notes

Edited by: Peter Andiné, University of Gothenburg, Sweden

Reviewed by: Stefano Ferracuti, Sapienza University of Rome, Italy; Emily Corner, Australian National University, Australia

*Correspondence: Sadaf Rakhshandehroo s.rakhshandehroo@ 123456dji.minjus.nl

Article

DOI: 10.3389/fpsyt.2023.1123243

PMC ID: 10333484

SO-VID: 283fda4c-c072-42a5-b768-3ae50567b529

License:

This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

History

Date received : 13 December 2022

Date accepted : 04 May 2023

Page count

Figures: 1, Tables: 2, Equations: 0, References: 53, Pages: 13, Words: 9049

Custom metadata

section-at-acceptance Forensic Psychiatry

ScienceOpen disciplines: Clinical Psychology & Psychiatry

Keywords: psychopathology,mental disorder,terrorism,violent extremism,systematic review

Data availability:

ScienceOpen disciplines: Clinical Psychology & Psychiatry

Keywords: psychopathology, mental disorder, terrorism, violent extremism, systematic review

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Psychopathology in female offenders of terrorism and violent extremism: a systematic review

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Abstract

Introduction

Methods

Results

Discussion

Systematic review registration

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Special Issue: Social Pedagogy and Anti-Extremism/Anti-Terrorism

Most cited references 45

Reprint--preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses: the PRISMA statement.

From Profiles to Pathways and Roots to Routes: Perspectives from Psychology on Radicalization into Terrorism

A new system for grading recommendations in evidence based guidelines

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