Psychological and Behavioral Factors Most Prevalent Among Lone Wolf Terrorists/Extremists

Lone Wolf Extremists/Terrorists

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Lone Wolf Extremists/Terrorists

Specific behavioral and psychological factors are most prevalent among lone-wolf terrorists and extremists. The prevalence of mental illness is considerably higher among lone extremists compared to their group-based counterparts. Statistics show that lone extremists are 13.49 times more likely to have a mental condition compared to their group-based counterparts (La-Montagne 2019). Research shows that 43% of all lone-actor terrorists had previously been diagnosed with mental illness (Crimando, 2021). Although mental illness is not theorized as the cause of terrorism, it is one of the contributing factors to violence. Cognitive illness presence could result in specific vulnerabilities that make an individual vulnerable to radicalization and thus perpetrate lone attacks. In addition, lone wolf extremists are more socially isolated