Trauma as a Precursor to Violent Extremism

Though violent extremism has recently begun to receive increased scrutiny, less attention has been paid to understanding how non-ideological factors influence the process of joining an extremist group and the onset of committing violent crimes. Violent extremism involves a variety of pathways and manifests itself along a broad continuum. Although there is no single pathway to violent extremism, this study empirically identifies a pathway where non-ideological risk factors accumulate over time beginning during childhood and serve to push the person toward a variety of violent behaviors including violent extremism.

Using life histories of violent white supremacists, START researchers based at the University of Nebraska at Omaha examined how non-ideological factors, including trauma, conduct problems and mental health issues, influence becoming involved in a violent extremist group. This study focuses on the individual’s experiences leading up to entry into violent extremism rather than the person’s experiences with violence during involvement in the group.