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Suicide Bombers: Are Psychological Profiles Possible?

Studies In Conflict & Terrorism

July 2004
27:283-295

DOI:10.1080/10576100490461033

Authors:

David Lester

Stockton University

Bijou Yang Lester

Drexel University

Research on the characteristics of suicide bombers is reviewed. Contrary to previous commentary, it is suggested that suicide bombers may share personality traits (such as the "authoritarian personality") that psychological profiles of suicide bombers might be feasible, and that the suicide bombers may be characterized by the risk factors that increase the probability of suicide.‐

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Quantifying the Socio-Psychological Impacts of Suicide Bombing on the Victims: A Case Study of Balochistan

Article

Full-text available

May 2023

Suicide bombing, a comparatively modern and highly devastating form of terrorism, severely impacts the victims. However, the long-term impacts of such incidents are not comprehensively explored in the context of educational institutes in Balochistan, the largest province of Pakistan. This study empirically quantifies the long-term socio-psychological consequences of suicide bombings on victims in educational institutions, specifically women's universities in Balochistan, by analyzing the 2013 suicide bombing attack on the Sardar Bahadur Khan Women's (SBKW) University in Quetta, Pakistan. The study was conducted using a quantitative research design approach where the primary data was collected from a random representative sample of 357 direct victims using a cross-sectional survey approach. The questionnaire captured various socio-psychological variables such as trauma, doubtfulness, social support and isolation, and coping mechanisms, while different inferential statistical analyses, such as regression, correlation, and ANOVA tests, were employed to evaluate the relationships between variables. Our analysis revealed that victims of the SBKW University suicide bombing experienced significant psychological distress and social dissatisfaction with a strong correlation of r = 0.16, p < 0.001, and r = 0.19, p < 0.001, respectively. This study provides a quantitative understanding of the long-term impacts of suicide bombings on victims to inform policy development and intervention strategies. Overall, this research provides nuanced insights into the complex effects of suicide bombings on victims by highlighting the need for improved security measures and resilience-building initiatives and underscoring the need to address their socio-psychological well-being in post-conflict an post-disaster contexts

Suicide Among Monotheistic Religions: Between Sacrifice, Honour and Power

Article

Full-text available

Sep 2023
J RELIG HEALTH

Amadeusz Citlak

This article discusses the problem of suicide in monotheistic religions (Judaism, Christianity and Islam), focusing on their early existence and considering the original contribution of Christianity. The first part presents the main theses of E. Durkheim on altruistic suicide and the concept of honour. This provides an opportunity to examine the problem of suicide in monotheistic religions from a more comprehensive perspective and recognise a certain specificity of suicide that was absent in altrusitic suicide. The analysis of the problem in relation to the concept of honour is also a valuable starting point for complementary psychological theories. The second part of the article is a more detailed discussion of suicide in Judaism, Christianity and Islam. The results provide a better understanding of the origins and nature of suicide in monotheistic religions whilst opening up a discussion on the possibility of suicide prevention.

Tuning in to Terrorist Signals

Thesis

Full-text available

Jun 2017

Shaun Wright

Twitter, social media and big data promise much in terms of terrorist signals amenable to analysis. As, however, these signals are noisy, subjectively ambiguous and new, this thesis addresses four questions that are key to reliably ‘tuning in’ to these signals. Each chapter uses big data to investigate patterns too subtle to have been amenable to prior study, with the importance of controlling for the noise associated with big data a central theme running through the thesis. Chapter 1 introduces the work, Chapter 2 reviews the relevant literature and Chapter 3 introduces and discusses the overarching methodology. Chapter 4 considers the validity of inferring information about users from their Twitter language and tweets. I demonstrate that language can be horizontally transmitted and inherited; with behaviour and interactions leading to and predicting, changes in language. This extends previous work with small sample work that did not exclude imitation. In Chapter 5, I characterise jihadist-linked accounts that resurge back from suspension—as identified with novel methods. I show that suspension is less disruptive than previous case studies implied, but that pseudoreplication has been underestimated (Wright, 2016). Having demonstrated the scale of resurgence, Chapter 6 tests whether automated machine methods can improve identification. I develop a text similarity based model and validate it against human-annotated data. The final research chapter, Chapter 7, tackles noise in big data when inferring information about events in the offline world. Extending similar work, I evaluate computational and human coded predictions of how positive geopolitical events are for Daesh. I demonstrate that while the Baqiya family tweets differently on different types of day, most patterns emerge as easily by chance in the negative control data. The work is novel as although some attempts have been made to address the questions in this thesis—or similar ones—using case studies, small samples and laboratory studies, all of these suffer limitations. Some studies have not asked the exact same question, some conclusions have been insufficiently supported with evidence and others have simply been beyond the reach of existing methods. Together, the pieces of work in this thesis shows that computational analysis of big data enables tuning in to subtle signals and sometimes reveals conclusions that contradict less developed research. Control noise, however, often contains as many patterns and thus, future studies should pay particular attention to their methodologies when using noisy, subjective, social media data. [Full text: ttps://pure.royalholloway.ac.uk/ws/portalfiles/portal/28018827/Shaun_Wright_Doctoral_Thesis.pdf]

The Politics of Compassion in the Age of aids

Chapter

Jan 2007

Karen Zivi

The Allure of Authoritarianism: Bush Administration Ideology and the Reconsolidation of Patriarchy

Chapter

Jan 2007

R. Claire Snyder

Feminists versus Feminization: Confronting the War Logics of the George W. Bush Administration

Chapter

Jan 2007

M. Hawkesworth

Mental disorder, psychological problems and terrorist behaviour: A systematic review and meta‐analysis

Article

Full-text available

Aug 2022

Background The link between mental health difficulties and terrorist behaviour has been the subject of debate for the last 50 years. Studies that report prevalence rates of mental health difficulties in terrorist samples or compare rates for those involved and not involved in terrorism, can inform this debate and the work of those responsible for countering violent extremism. Objectives To synthesise the prevalence rates of mental health difficulties in terrorist samples (Objective 1—Prevalence) and prevalence of mental health disorders pre‐dating involvement in terrorism (Objective 2—Temporality). The review also synthesises the extent to which mental health difficulties are associated with terrorist involvement compared to non‐terrorist samples (Objective 3—Risk Factor). Search Methods Searches were conducted between April and June 2022, capturing research until December 2021. We contacted expert networks, hand‐searched specialist journals, harvested records from published reviews, and examined references lists for included papers to identify additional studies. Selection Criteria Studies needed to empirically examine mental health difficulties and terrorism. To be included under Objective 1 (Prevalence) and Objective 2 (Temporality), studies had to adopt cross‐sectional, cohort, or case‐control design and report prevalence rates of mental health difficulties in terrorist samples, with studies under Objective 2 also needing to report prevalence of difficulties before detection or involvement in terrorism. For Objective 3 (Risk Factor) studies where there was variability in terrorist behaviour (involved vs. not involved) were included. Data Collection and Analysis Captured records were screened in DisillterSR by two authors. Risk of bias was assessed using Joanna Briggs Institute checklists, and random‐effects meta‐analysis conducted in Comprehensive Meta‐Analysis software. Results Fifty‐six papers reporting on 73 different terrorist samples (i.e., studies) (n = 13,648) were identified. All were eligible for Objective 1. Of the 73 studies, 10 were eligible for Objective 2 (Temporality) and nine were eligible for Objective 3 (Risk Factor). For Objective 1, the life‐time prevalence rate of diagnosed mental disorder in terrorist samples (k = 18) was 17.4% [95% confidence interval (CI) = 11.1%–26.3%]. When collapsing all studies reporting psychological problems, disorder, and suspected disorder into one meta‐analyses (k = 37), the pooled prevalence rate was 25.5% (95% CI = 20.2%–31.6%). When isolating studies reporting data for any mental health difficulty that emerged before either engagement in terrorism or detection for terrorist offences (Objective 2: Temporality), the life‐time prevalence rate was 27.8% (95% CI = 20.9%–35.9%). For Objective 3 (Risk Factor), it was not appropriate to calculate a pooled effect size due the differences in comparison samples. Odds ratios for these studies ranged from 0.68 (95% CI = 0.38–1.22) to 3.13 (95% CI = 1.87–5.23). All studies were assessed as having high‐risk of bias which, in part, reflects challenges conducting terrorism research. Author's Conclusions This review does not support the assertion that terrorist samples are characterised by higher rates of mental health difficulties than would be expected in the general population. Findings have implications for future research in terms of design and reporting. There are also implications for practice with regards the inclusion of mental health difficulties as indicators of risk.

Ethnicity, Identity, and Rohingya Security: At the ‘Olive Tree’–‘Lexus’ Crossroads

Chapter

Jun 2022

Obydullah Al Marjuk

Sporadic violence and systematic discrimination against Rohingyas (1978, 1992, 2001, 2009, and 2012), then eviction from Rakhine (from August 2017), have sharply exposed Myanmar’s harsh identity crisis. Yet, comprehending how Zawacki’s triangulated spillover model (ethnic discrimination → statelessness → external responsibility) got projected upon Bangladesh can improve through the dichotomous Friedman ‘olive-tree’–‘lexus’ lenses. Placing Bangladesh’s camp experiences and reflections under the microscope helps understand the length, breadth and nature of global security threats. Multifaceted outlets got exposed, raising global concern levels.KeywordsDiscriminationDisplacementEthnic frameworkGlocal extremismIdentity Rohingyas SecurityTerrorism

A comparison of target types, weapon types, and attack types in suicide-terrorism incidents before and after 9/11 terrorist attacks

Article

Full-text available

Jun 2021

The empirical research on the effects of 9/11 attacks on suicide terrorism is limited. The purpose of this research is to examine the effects of the 9/11 terrorist attacks on attack types, weapon types, and target types in suicide terrorism worldwide and the trends in the suicide attack outcomes before and after 9/11. The data were obtained from the Global Terrorism Database (GTD) and included suicide-terrorism incidents between 1981 and 2018. The results of monthly interrupted time-series analyses and negative binomial regression tests comparing pre-9/11 and post-9/11 showed that the 9/11 terrorist attacks had significant impacts on the target types, attack types, and weapon types in suicide-terrorism incidents. The results, limitations, and policy implications are discussed.

A global comparison of suicide and non-suicide terrorism

Article

Feb 2021

Suicide terrorism has become an increasingly popular attack strategy among terrorist organisations over the last 40 years. The number of empirical studies on suicide terrorism has increased, but further research is necessary to understand the strategies of terrorist organisations that engage in suicide terrorism. Using the Situational Crime Prevention (SCP) theory as the framework, this study examines whether suicide terrorism differs by region, attack type, target type, weapon type, and type of terrorist organisation from non-suicide terrorism in global terrorist attacks that occurred between 1981 and 2017. Bivariate and multivariate analyses show that relative to non-suicide terrorism, suicide terrorism is more likely to occur in the Middle East and Africa, involve bombing/explosion as attack type, explosives/incendiary devices as weaponry, target security forces, and be committed by religious-based terrorist organisations. The results of this research indicate that situational terrorism prevention approach needs to be revised to consider the role of ideology in terrorist attack strategy since the ideology of a terrorist organisation plays a significant role in suicide terrorism. The findings of the research and its policy implications are discussed, and further research is warranted to expand the base of knowledge about suicide terrorism.

Katie's diary: unlocking the mystery of a suicide [Title and Contents pages only]

Book

Full-text available

Jan 2004

David Lester

Experts on suicidal behavior read the diary covering the last year of a young woman's life and comment on the diary from their perspectives.

The 'suicide' bomber: Is it a psychiatric phenomenon?

Article

Full-text available

Aug 2002

Harvey Gordon

Although there is an association between suicide and suicidal behaviour and homicide and violence to others (van Praag, 2000), few, if any, major texts on suicide comment on the phenomenon of the ‘suicide’ bomber. However, the events in the USA of what Americans have now come to call ‘9/11’, have left an enduring traumatic memory throughout the world. On the morning of 11 September 2001 four aeroplanes were hijacked and transformed from a means of mass transportation to a means of terror and destruction, killing a total of 233 passengers, 33 crew members and some 3000 people on the ground in the USA (Alexander & Swetnam, 2001). It is not clear whether all of the hijackers knew that they were on a ‘suicide’ mission because in only six cases were ‘suicide’ notes found (Jenkins, 2001). Indeed, the term ‘suicide bombers' may be misleading because the main objective seems to have been not suicide but mass homicide, albeit carried out by means of self-destruction designed to inflict lethal harm on others. Those who planned and perpetrated the acts of 11 September 2001 would not conceptualise the acts as suicide but instead would perceive them as martyrdom, rationally underpinned by a legitimate struggle in a conflict of national and religious dimensions (Juergensmeyer, 2001).

How suicide bombers are made

Article

Sep 2001
COMMENTARY

F Nirenstein

Are Suicide Bombings Morally Defensible?

Article

Oct 2003

R. Wolin

The morality of the suicide bombings is discussed. The controversies raised by After the Terror, a book written by Ted Honderich, which states that first-world nations bear responsibility for third-world nation's impoverishment are presented. The Honderich's endorsement of Palestine suicide bombing is also elaborated.

Evil as love and as liberation: The mind of a suicidal religious terrorist., in Hating in the first person plural

Article

Jan 2003

R. Stein

The psychological make-up of a suicide bomber

Article

Mar 2002
J PSYCHOHIST

J Lachkar

Torn Between God, Family, and Money: The Changing Profile of Lebanon's Religious Terrorists

Article

Jul 2000

Ayla Hammond Schbley

Based upon this researcher's prior work and the conceptual denouement from geocultural immobility to religious terrorism, the author speculates that the reverse may be achieved and a zealot's motivation for religious terrorism might be purged once his or her basic Moslovian needs are fulfilled. Thus, this article attempts to empirically assess in some elements of Hizbullah, the effect of newly found wealth, money, and family exigencies on the Lebanese Shi'a's religious zealotry, his or her perceived religious commitments, and their acts of terrorism. This research concluded that Hizbullah in Lebanon, an organization originally established as a religious network with narrowly defined politico-socioeconomic goals, has eroded. Many of its individual cells now serve primarily their own self-interest instead of their perception of God's will. These cells are defying Hizbullah's main leadership wishes and committing criminal actions designed to serve cell or family interests. Its sophisticated network is already being used to transport and harbor criminals across the Mid-East and Europe. This research stress that the well-established Hizbullah cell organizations that protect each and every element and coordinate with other terrorist organizations are ripe to be exploited for international criminal activities. More importantly, this research attempts to explain and delineate the process by which nations may manage, control, reform, or even eliminate such international affliction.

Islamikaze and their significance

Article

Sep 1997

Raphael Israeli

This article dismisses the terminology of ‘suicide‐bombing’ used to describe the acts of mass murdering committed by Muslim fundamentalists worldwide, posits the Japanese Kamikaze as a control group to depict the nature of this terrorism and coins the term of Islamikaze in consequence. This essay first pieces together the information about the places where these terrorists are trained, and then analyses the psychological and doctrinal make‐up of these groups and individuals, with an emphasis on the jihad and self‐sacrifice that have taken root in certain Islamic traditions. This piece concludes with practical policy guidelines to be adopted by countries who confront this brand of terrorism.

Suicide Bombers: Business as Usual

Article

Jan 1996

Harvey Kushner

Muslims have been using religion sanctioned suicide as an effective tool against the West for several centuries. In keeping with this practice, Islamic suicide bombers attack a superior Israeli military and government. Suicidal terrorism is actually an act of martyrdom that can trace its origins back 13 centuries to the Battle of Karbala. Appealing to tradition, recruiters enlist potential bombers from schools and mosques in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Bombers study religion, politics, and explosives. Students willingly become martyrs to secure a future for their families. Understanding that suicidal terrorism is not anathema to a significant proportion of the Muslim population is the first step in countering the problem.

Terror in the Mind of God

Article