“We had a lot of fun”: Psychological rewards of white supremacy group membership

Abstract

AbstractWhite supremacist organizations pose a serious and growing threat to democracy and public safety. This article analyzes nonideological ways in which these groups attract and maintain membership. The primary data comprises interviews with 15 former white supremacist group members. Each was asked about their experience of group participation and exit. Interview data were analyzed via thematic analysis. Five distinct themes emerged: belonging, perceived importance, empowerment, emotional intensity, and long‐term psychological rewards. Based on the analysis, it is argued that group membership maintenance can be partially explained by psychologically rewarding experiences that may, for them, seem difficult to attain elsewhere. The analysis is consistent with the assumptions of the good lives model, a strength‐based approach to the rehabilitation of criminal offenders. This model provides a theoretical way forward in the understanding and prevention of (re)engagement through the promotion of prosocial ways of achieving the psychological rewards that are important to the individual and that membership of white supremacy groups offers.