NCJ Number
206003
Journal
Studies in Conflict & Terrorism Volume: 27 Issue: 4 Dated: July-August 2004 Pages: 283-295
Date Published
July 2004
Length
13 pages
Annotation
After reviewing existing research on the characteristics of terrorist suicide bombers, this paper argues that, contrary to previous commentary, the development of psychological profiles of suicide bombers may be feasible and they may be characterized by the risk factors that increase the probability of suicide.
Abstract
The review of previous studies of suicide bombers focuses on findings related to their sociodemographic characteristics and researchers' psychodynamic speculations about their personalities. In the latter case, some researchers have suggested that suicide bombers may have the following characteristics: feelings of hopelessness and anger, disturbed personal identities, an urge for vengeance against perceived enemies, borderline personality disorder, identification with a charismatic leader, and a strong desire to be a martyr. Regarding the sociodemographics within which suicide bombers develop, this paper notes DeMause's (2002) documentation of the violence, cruelty, and sexual exploitation of children in Islamic societies. This paper also explores the possibility that suicide bombers are characterized by the following traits of the "authoritarian personality" identified by Adorno and his colleagues (1950): conventionalism, authoritarian submission, authoritarian aggression, power and toughness, anxiety about feelings and analyses of the psychodynamics of the mind, and projection. In supporting this thesis, this paper notes that Middle Eastern terrorists and suicide bombers are typically raised in very strict fundamentalist Islamic sects whose teachings they accept. The paper briefly discusses the possibility that suicide bombers have traits typical of persons at risk for suicide. Although relevant studies are few, they do suggest that such traits are prevalent. The paper reasons that the absence of such studies makes it premature to conclude, as have some commentators, that suicide bombers are not suicidal. 8 notes and 45 references