Stern Presents on Radicalization and the Role Families Play in Prevention
On February 3, 2026, Research Professor Jessica Stern of the Pardee School spoke to the Association of Threat Assessment Professionals in Orlando, FL, whose audience primarily consisted of professionals involved in threat assessment and law enforcement officers. Her presentation marked the conclusion of a research project that had been taking place since early 2022. The project examined adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), mental distress or illness, and bullying among individuals whose families or friends engaged the services of Parents4Peace (P4P), a Boston-based non-profit dedicated to preventing radicalization, extremism, and violence. While conducting this research, Stern was aided by eight Pardee students; some of whom were supported by the Hariri Institute, Harry Frank Guggenheim Foundation, and two supported by Boston University’s Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program (UROP).
Stern and her team had been tasked to go through over 7,000 pages of intervention notes from P4P to identify signs of trauma, mental distress or illness, and violent extremist ideologies. This project had three goals: First, to document the prevalence of ACEs, mental distress/mental illness, and bullying in a help-seeking population of radicalized individuals. Secondly, compare rates with both general population baselines and existing extremist samples to identify meaningful patterns. Third, explore potential explanations for any discrepancies between findings and previous research, with particular attention to the unique characteristics of help-seeking populations.
Stern cautioned that the findings should not be taken as representative of broader communities, noting:
It is imperative to understand that the vast majority of people who are traumatized or facing mental-health challenges are not drawn to violent extremism. However, traumatized and mentally-distressed persons were over-represented in the Parents4Peace cohort.
Their analysis revealed that individuals on the path toward radicalization often face complex and overlapping vulnerabilities rather than fitting a single profile. The study found high rates of mental health challenges (78.5%), and bullying victimization (43%), with many individuals experiencing multiple conditions at once. Importantly, every case represented an instance of “leakage”, or moments when individuals signaled distress or extremist involvement prompting loved ones to seek help. This pattern underscores the critical role families and friends can play in early prevention and in the “management” side of Behavioral Threat Assessment and Management (BTAM).
Based on these findings, Stern’s team recommended strengthening community‑based prevention programs, integrating radicalization awareness into mental‑health and autism‑related services, improving intake and data consistency for organizations like P4P, and expanding multidisciplinary BTAM teams with a stronger focus on long‑term management and support. The study concludes that radicalization is not inevitable and with proper resources, families can play a powerful role in preventing violence before it occurs.
Jessica Stern is a research professor at Boston University’s Pardee School of Global Studies and a globally leading expert on perpetrator psychology. A 2024-2025 Harry Frank Guggenheim Distinguished Scholar, Stern has taught courses on counterterrorism for over 25 years – at Boston University, Harvard, and CIA University. She has also been named a John Simon Guggenheim Fellow. She is the author of five books on perpetrators of violence and is currently at work on a book on prevention.