Does life-coaching reduce CT concerns in neurodivergent individuals?
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Does specialised life-coaching reduce the risk of neurodivergent individuals being drawn into terrorism and related activities?
IRAS ID
299857
Contact name
nicola fowler
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Birmingham and Solihull Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 7 months, 24 days
Research summary
The Governments Prevent Strategy aims to reduce the risk that people will be drawn towards terrorism by identifying vulnerable individuals and providing bespoke support to divert them away from terrorist offending.
It is recognised that individual differences, social, situational and contextual factors and ‘catalyst events’ can create a “perfect storm” where by individuals feel distress, cognitive dissonance or a sense of grievance which can then be exploited, oftentimes through providing ‘an explanation’ and the promise of a remedy to their problems or grievance (Carthy ey al, 2020). Rather than targeting the individuals ‘problematic solution’ (support or engagement in extremist narratives or terrorist groups or behaviours) it is hypothesised that some individuals’ risk of being drawn into terrorism may be more effectively mitigated by developing a collaborative formulation (understanding of why they are being drawn towards extremist narratives, groups or behaviours) and supporting them to address the challenges in their lives through more prosocial, less risky strategies.
The RUSI Prevention Project conducted a comprehensive research programme on the effectiveness of countering violent extremism projects. Winterbotham (2020) was cautiously optimistic about the effectiveness of mentorship programmes that focussed on equipping individuals with life skills, managing social concerns and supporting the realisation of life goals. However, the mentor-mentee relationship was cited as key to intervention effectiveness and furthermore it was asserted that it was crucial that mentors much have a thorough understanding of the target group’s social setting and context.
The aim of the current study is to explore the impact of time-limited, goal directed autism-informed life-coaching delivered by experienced autism mentors on the engagement of autistic individuals' with extremist narratives, groups or behaviours and promoting positive, prosocial strategies to address difficulties and achieve their personal goals thus increasing their resilience against being drawn into terrorism over time.
ACRONYM LIST
BSMHFT Birmingham and Solihull Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust
PAR Participatory Action Research
PiP Prevent-in-Place
CT Counter Terrorism
PLP Police Led Partnership Panel
CTPHQ Counter Terrorism Policing Headquarters
CPD Continuing Professional Development
PICO Population, Intervention, Comparison, Outcome
CTCO Counter Terrorism Case Officer
SC National security vetting clearance at the Security Check level
WMP West Midlands PoliceREC name
South Central - Oxford A Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
22/SC/0183
Date of REC Opinion
22 Jun 2022
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion