Adversity, Criminality, and Mental Health Problems in Jihadis in Dutch Police Files

This Research Note addresses the backgrounds in terms of demography, adversity, criminality, and mental health of 319 jihadist travelers and at-risk travelers from the Netherlands. It is a follow-up on a 2015 paper describing behavioral problems and disorders in 140 jihadi travelers. The study is informed by life course criminology and the distinction made in Situational Action Theory between an individual’s ‘susceptibility’ to radicalization to violent extremism, and ‘exposure’ to a radicalizing environment. Individual backgrounds are typically thought to affect such susceptibility. Data are from police files on the subjects. Results indicate heightened ‘susceptibility’ in all categories, and cast doubts on the often-presumed ‘normality’ of this specific group of ‘terrorists’.