Terrorism is an act of violence designed to terrorise people and has long-term consequences for both the physical environment and the mental health of individuals affected. The implications for mental health are far-reaching, impacting not just victims and survivors but even the terrorists themselves. Terrorist attacks frequently cause bodily pain, grief, and the destruction of personal property. In addition to these material losses, victims also experience profound psychological distress. Post-trauma disorder syndrome, or PTSD, is a common diagnosis that involves intrusive thoughts, flashbacks, nightmares, and aggressiveness. Anxiety, freak out, and a sense of isolation following an assault may be overpowering. Furthermore, a lack of confidence in society and a sense of insecurity can significantly impact their daily routines and relationships.
The psychological impact on terrorists is sometimes underestimated. While holding people accountable for their actions is essential, understanding the factors that lead to radicalisation may help shape strategies for preventing it. According to study findings, like in Weine et al. (2017), many criminals have indications of mental illness, such as depression, anxiety, and personality disorders. The values and environment in which individuals become interconnected could worsen their pre-existing problems. Furthermore, the humiliation and grief that certain criminals experience after committing acts of violence can cause significant emotional trauma even if they are not prosecuted.
Islamic State members or supporters, for instance, feel the euphoria and then the downfall after seeing what they experienced was so different or outside their imagination. Muhammad and Neuner (2022) argued that they discovered significant levels of PTSD and sadness that were linked to trauma exposure. Even after adjusting for the impact of continuous affiliation with the armed organisation, trauma exposure was linked to subjective willingness to reintegration into communities, which was mediated by sadness. The study concludes that trauma-related mental illness should be addressed in attempts to rehabilitate young former terrorists. Then, even after initiating the reintegration process, social isolation, prejudice, or a lack of chances can lead to sentiments of marginalisation and alienation, making them even more vulnerable and very susceptible to extremist recruiting again. Then, exposure to extremist ideology via online platforms or social networks can also contribute significantly to radicalisation.
Thus, how can we overcome this phenomenon? In recent years, where mental awareness is more acceptable, mental health-related issues should be campaigned more. Like the terror of the Christchurch incident or school shooting in the US, the impact and volume for how mental health could perceive the judgment of the gunmen. Sommer et al. (2014) show that in 88.1% of school shootings in the US, the potential criminal encountered social conflict in the school setting. A small percentage of offenders (29.9%) were physically bullied, whereas 53.7% faced verbal or nonverbal rejection from their peers. Romantic rejection was observed in just 29.9% of instances. Conflicts with instructors (43.3%) were a decisive reason. To better comprehend the significance of social dynamics in the events leading up to school shootings, it is crucial to examine the offenders’ position within their social network, as well as how they interacted with their classmates and others at school. In addition, we must acquire exact information on their perceptions of themselves as victims throughout time.
Further, Brenton Tarrant, the shooter of Christchurch’s mosque, is found to have no remorse, narcissistic, and a lack of willingness to rehabilitate, as stated by his psychological report by the New Zealand prosecutor, as reported by NZ Stuff Daily (2020). They discovered that the shooter’s narcissistic and mistaken views in his abilities to self-diagnose, as well as his lack of insight into his offending, demonstrated a considerable risk of future offending. Then how do we deal with this? In general, guided resocialisation and education could be the main answer. However, the necessity of a fully supported community for the reintegration process is very imminent. In Surabaya, Indonesia, for example, a community-based team developed a way to improve psychological intelligence and financial assistance to former local terrorists.
The perpetrator and the victims also need to be rehabilitated and reintegrated into society in general. They needed to be maintained as the trauma could be hazardous for their life. Thus, spiritual or mental coaching in educational institutions is set to be able to master awareness and emotions for helping the victims. Religious authorities could also help the victims through capacity building of religious matters of the victims so that they do not carry out radical actions from their trauma. Then, fostering an attitude of love for the homeland, with local wisdom valuing nationalism, is needed to lock the victim’s values, hence not moving the other way. The implementation of this strategy and cooperation from the government and the community to prevent and counter terrorism must continue to be pursued to create harmony in the community at large. It’s a big step, but it must be started and used immediately.
References
Budiarsih, Budiarsih, and Sri Setyadji. “Desain Penanganan Masyarakat Korban Faham Terorisme Berbasis Kesehatan Mental,” December 7, 2023. https://pelita.pri.or.id/index.php/pelita/article/view/146.
Kurniawan, Andi. “Rehabilitasi dan Reintegrasi Sosial Narapidana Terorisme.” Kurniawan | Gema Keadilan, June 6, 2023. https://ejournal2.undip.ac.id/index.php/gk/article/view/20072/9642.
Mohammed, Rezhna and Frank Neuner. “Conflict and Health,” March 18, 2023. https://conflictandhealth.biomedcentral.com/articles?searchType=journalSearch&sort=PubDate&page=3.
New Zealand Stuff Daily. August, 27 2020. https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/christchurch-shooting/122581954/no-remorse-and-narcissistic-the-psychology-of-the-christchurch-mosque-shooter.
Sommer, F., Vincenz Leuschner, and H. Scheithauer. “Bullying, Romantic Rejection, and Conflicts with Teachers: The Crucial Role of Social Dynamics in the Development of School Shootings – A Systematic Review,” 2014. https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/Bullying%2C-Romantic-Rejection%2C-and-Conflicts-with-of-Sommer-Leuschner/b5fa605304bd194c45a25ec6bebd21fea58e46ef.
Weine, Stevan M. MD*; Stone, Andrew MD†; Saeed, Aliya MD‡; Shanfield, Stephen MD§; Beahrs, John MD∥; Gutman, Alisa MD†; Mihajlovic, Aida MD*. Violent Extremism, Community-Based Violence Prevention, and Mental Health Professionals. The Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease 205(1):p 54-57, January 2017. | DOI: 10.1097/NMD.0000000000000634