The core traits of INCELS: Scientists identify 12 key characteristics in disturbed, women-hating men

Daily Mail​

a day ago

A new study has shed light on incels - and exactly why some men are more likely to become women-hating recluses.
Researchers from Swansea University and the University of Texas at Austin surveyed 561 incels from the UK and the US.
And their results revealed 12 key characteristics shared by this group.
The surprising results show that the most important common factors are not right-wing ideology or ethnicity, but extremely poor mental health and a history of bullying.
Incels, or involuntary celibates, are a group of men who believe they are unable to have sex or form relationships and are often extremely hostile to women as a result.
Shows like Netflix 's Adolescence paint a picture of the stereotypical incel as y oung, white, right-wing, chronically online, and violent.
However, this research suggests that incel ideology is attracting a far wider section of society than previously thought.
Co-author Dr Joe Whittaker, a criminologist from Swansea University, says: 'While drama can be a useful tool for facilitating public debate, it is also important to have rigorous academic research to back it up.'
Although the survey found that incels had a 'broad range of characteristics', some factors were more common.
Dr Andrew Thomas, a psychologist at Swansea University, says: 'If we had to point to their most consistent characteristics, it would be incredibly poor mental health and their feelings of bitterness, frustration, and disdain towards women—though even these show variation within the sample.'
The most important factor was that incels typically suffered from exceptionally poor mental health.
More than a third of incels suffer from moderate depression or anxiety while 37 per cent said they had 'daily suicidal thoughts'.
Co-author William Costello, a researcher in psychology from the University of Texas at Austin, says: 'Incels are typically framed in terms of the threat they pose to others, but our findings suggest they may be just as dangerous, if not more so, to themselves.'
However, this finding may also be concerning given that incel ideology has already been the inspiration for several mass shootings and murders.
Studies have shown that over 70 per cent of all mass shooters were suicidal before or intended to die during their killing sprees.
Incels' high rates of poor mental health came alongside high rates of loneliness and a history of bullying.
Out of those surveyed, 86 per cent of incels reported having experienced bullying compared to just a third of the general population. Likewise, when asked to assess their loneliness, 48 per cent of incels selected the highest possible option.
This could be a product of the fact that almost half of all incels live with their parents or grandparents while a further quarter live alone.
In that isolation, the researchers point out that incel forums may become someone's only source of social contact or companionship
Another extremely common factor is incels' extremely high rates of autism and neurodivergence. During the study, the researchers gave incels the 'Autism Spectrum Quotient-10' test, a screening tool used to see whether someone should be referred for a formal autism assessment.
A third of all participants would have been referred for clinical assessment, compared to just one per cent of the general population.
In terms of ideology, incels beliefs were often varied but centred on a few key principles.
Just like in Adolescence, the majority of incels agreed with the so-called 80/20 principle - the belief that 80 per cent of women are attracted to 20 per cent of men.
This principle is the cornerstone of incel 'black pill' ideology which states that incels should give up on relationships because they can never improve their dating prospects.
Likewise, incels are unified in their belief that 'feminists', followed by 'the political left', 'wider society', and 'women', were the biggest threats to their community.
However, incels are not all members of the far right as they are often made out to be.
In fact, incels typically viewed themselves as 'centre-left' and shared left-wing views on issues such as homosexuality, corporate profits, and social benefits.
In another break with the stereotype, incels are also a far more diverse group than many people believe.
Only 58 per cent of incels taking the online survey said they were white while the remaining 42 per cent were from a variety of ethnicities.
Likewise, incels were mainly middle-class but reported coming from all socioeconomic backgrounds and the majority were either employed or in full-time education.
Dr Thomas says: 'Incels are often stereotyped in the media as young, white, right-wing men who are not in employment, education, or training.
'When we tested the accuracy of these stereotypes using primary data collection, we discovered misconceptions.'
However, one of the study's most important findings was the identification of which two sub-groups of incels were more likely to develop harmful attitudes which could lead to violence.
The first group are incels with psychological vulnerabilities such as autism spectrum disorder or a history of bullying and abuse who may be drawn to 'black pill' ideology by feelings of rejection.
The second were those on the 'dispositional extremism trajectory' whose innate characteristics disposed them to misogynistic violence.
These incels had high rates of narcissism, psychopathy, and Machiavellianism as well as right-wing political views which lead to a greater risk of violence.
The researchers hope these distinctions will help de-radicalisation and counter-extremism efforts target the right people with the right interventions.
What is an Incel?
'Incel' stands for 'involuntary celibate' and is a term used by a certain group of men who blame their inability to form relationships and have sex on women.
Incel groups have been accused of inciting violence and misogyny online and numerous communities and subreddits have been banned over their content.
A cryptic Facebook message posted by Toronto suspect Alek Minassian just before the incident suggested he was part of an online community angry over their inability to form relationships with the opposite sex.
The now-deleted post saluted Elliot Rodger, a community college student who killed six people and wounded 13 in shooting and stabbing attacks near the University of California, Santa Barbara, in 2014.
Calling Rodger 'the Supreme Gentleman', the Facebook post declared: 'The Incel Rebellion has already begun! We will overthrow all the Chads and Stacys!'
Chads and Stacys are names used in internet forums to denote people with more active sexual lives.
The reference to the term 'incel', meaning involuntarily celibate, was a term used by Rodger in online posts raging at women for rejecting him romantically.
The anti-women sentiment also recalled Canada's 1989 massacre at the Ecole Polytechnique, an engineering college in Montreal, when 25-year-old Marc Lepine entered a classroom.
He then separated the men from the women, told the men to leave and opened fire, killing 14 women before killing himself.