Psychopathologies Among European Women Involved in Islamist Radicalization: A Review

Diba S. Hosseini, Felix Brandes, Rashid Bajwa, Kaser Ahmed, Sabrina Kunze, Mohammad Nadeem and Isgard Ohls

Terrorism and Political Violence, 2025, vol. 37, issue 8, 1048-1059

Abstract: Various factors have been found to contribute to an individual’s pathway to Islamist radicalization. Signs of psychiatric disorders and psychological problems have been reported to be one of them. While European women have supported and joined the Islamic State (IS), their psychopathologies have rarely been systematically recorded. We set out to review the literature on psychopathologies among European women involved in Islamist radicalization. Out of the seven included studies, two reported psychiatric diagnoses in line with official diagnosis systems. Three studies indicated that they were official psychiatric diagnoses among the sample, without specifying the diagnosis at hand. Psychological problems at the subclinical level were reported among three studies. Psychological familial control and a resulting lack of autonomy during adolescence was reported in three studies. Experienced trauma in the childhood and/or adolescence was reported in four studies. The current review highlights the need for well-designed empirical studies on existing psychopathologies among European women involved in Islamist radicalization. Future studies reporting on female-specific psychiatric disorders and psychological problems while using standardized psychiatric assessment making them comparable to each other are urgently needed.

Date: 2025
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DOI: 10.1080/09546553.2024.2379522

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