Incels 30 times more likely to be autistic, study finds
A link has been found between men who identify as being an “incel” and being autistic, in a major study.
Incels, which is a shortening of the term “involuntarily celibate”, are generally childless men in their 20s who are hostile to women.
They were found to be up to 30 times more likely to be autistic than the general population, according to the study published by the Commission for Countering Extremism (CCE), which advises ministers.
There has been some previous evidence suggesting a higher rate of autism among mass killers including Elliot Rodger, the incel murderer, who shot and stabbed six people to death, and among teenagers referred to the UK’s counter-terrorism Prevent programme.
The CCE study of 561 incels, by three leading academics, is the first to use clinical measures to assess levels of autism and provide hard evidence of a link based on questionnaires and psychological assessments.
It found that 30 per cent of them were at a level of autism where they should be referred to doctors for a medical diagnosis to establish their condition. That is around 30 times the rate of one in 100 in the general population who are on the autism spectrum.
Extremely poor mental health
The researchers, led by criminologist Joe Whittaker of Swansea University, found that the incels they surveyed also suffered from “extremely poor” mental health with a high incidence of depression and suicidal thoughts.
Incels are estimated to number in the tens of thousands and have been behind terror attacks that have claimed 59 lives in the past decade.
“There is some troubling evidence that ASD (Autism Spectrum Disorder) may be a correlate, but not a cause, of extreme violent acts such as mass shootings like in the case of Elliot Rodger,” said the researchers.
Their study found a quarter (26 per cent) of their sample said they “sometimes” or “often” justified violence against people that incels perceived as causing harm.
Five per cent said it was “often” justified, and this subset was more likely to hold misogynistic views, feel discriminated against, have poorer mental health and a higher tendency to displace their aggression.
Because of their isolation, they often sought out fellow incels via encrypted anonymous social media platforms like 4chan or forums, where they could share grievances and develop strong social bonds.
“If the group supports violence, then it is possible to act as an incubator for individual violence,” said the report.
Incels and the far Right
Many commentators have suggested a link between incels and the far Right but, using specialist research tools, the academics found that their sample was “slightly left of centre on average”.
However, those who held Right-wing views were more likely to agree that violence was “often” justified against people who threatened them.
The incels in the study acknowledged a “shared worldview” which included identifying feminists as a “primary enemy.” “Participants perceived high levels of victimhood, anger and misogyny,” said their report.
In an article for The Telegraph, Mr Whittaker said: “Radicalisation may require a ‘perfect storm’ of the right psychological predispositions and conditions, the right ideology to take hold, and the right people to communicate with and inflame each other.
“It is unlikely that one, or even two of the factors, leads to problematic beliefs or behaviours, but if all three are present, it may be a cause for concern.”
Most of the incels in the study considered themselves middle or lower-middle class, and most had gone to college, university or done some post-school further education. Most were either living at home or renting.
“The results suggest that interventions targeting mental health and ideology may yield more effective harm reduction than interventions targeting networking,” said the report.
Radicalisation requires perfect storm and autism is one factor
By Joe Whittaker
Involuntary celibates have become something of a cultural cornerstone in recent years, particularly in the wake of three high-profile terrorist attacks in the US and Canada in 2018.
The word “incel” has entered popular vocabulary since these attacks and clear references to the subculture have been made in Hollywood films as diverse as Don’t Worry Darling and The Batman.
Often, the reaction when discussion turns to incels is to label them as women-hating losers who should be treated as a security threat. It is easy to see why people think this.
Anyone who has spent any time in incel spaces online knows that they are full of vile sexist comments, regularly justifying appalling or degrading acts. This view of incels, while understandable, misses an important component of inceldom.
Alongside my colleagues William Costello and Andrew Thomas at University of Texas, Austin and Swansea University respectively, I have conducted a survey of 561 self-professed incels – the largest survey of the online subculture to date. We wanted to understand their psychological experiences, their adherence to incel ‘ideology’, and the ways in which they communicated with like-minded people.
Our starkest finding is that incels suffer from exceptionally poor mental health. When measured by the PHQ-9 questionnaire used by the NHS, just over 40 per cent received a score which would suggest “moderately severe” depression or higher. Around one in five (20 per cent) said that they had suicidal thoughts on a daily basis. They also had extremely high levels of anxiety; four in ten hit the threshold for a medical referral. In this group, those who had poor mental health were more likely to adhere to an incel worldview.
The incels in our study showed high levels of neurodiversity. When given an autism screening questionnaire slightly more than three in ten scored high and hit the threshold for a specialist diagnostic assessment for autism. As around 80 per cent of people who are referred for this assessment are diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder, we can infer that around one in four of the incels studied (25 per cent) are autistic. The rate of autism in the general public is estimated to be around 1 per cent. Autism may have a direct relationship to incel ideology; it is a common trope on incel forums to blame their neurodiversity for their lack of success finding a partner.
Neurodiversity does not cause radicalisation
It is important to stress that neither poor mental health nor neurodiversity causes radicalisation, and it is not an excuse for anything that incels say or do. However, they play an important role when we statistically predict certain types of problematic attitudes (such as the justification of violence, hostile sexism, acceptance of rape myths, and revenge planning). Poor mental health, adherence to the incel worldview, and communication with other incels all predict these harmful attitudes, demonstrating a complex relationship.
To put this more simply, radicalisation may require a “perfect storm” of the right psychological predispositions and conditions, the right ideology to take hold, and the right people to communicate with and inflame each other. This is what Psychologist Arie Kruglanski has called the “3Ns” of radicalisation: Needs, Narrative, and Network. It is unlikely that one, or even two of the factors lead to problematic beliefs or behaviours, but if all three are present, it may be a cause for concern.
We also found that there was a strong relationship between incel’s mental health and their adherence to a shared worldview. They believed that the dating market was rigged against them because the vast majority of women were interested in only the most attractive, rich, and high-status men. They think they were discriminated against by society and that their biggest enemies were feminists and the political Left. However, poor mental health predicted these beliefs, suggesting that the two operate in tandem and exacerbate each other, and leading to the formation of harmful attitudes.
These findings offer a window for thinking about how we intervene when incels display problematic attitudes. Currently, incels are included in the UK’s Counter-Terrorism Prevent Strategy, making up around 1 per cent of referrals. Our findings suggest social care provision and effective mental health programmes may be the best method of intervention, but it is vital that counter-terrorism practitioners also have a robust knowledge of mental health and neurodiversity.
It is not merely enough to challenge the incel worldview, but rather we must understand and tackle the factors that help it to take root.
Joe Whittaker is a research fellow at ICCT and lecturer in cyber threats at Swansea University’s Department of Criminology, Sociology and Social Policy
