## Trigger events

Imagine the following scenario. You have strong opinions about international conflicts and follow the news every day. Then one day a close relative dies suddenly and you lose your job around the same time. Are these experiences likely to lead to alarming behaviour? Probably not. But in combination with other factors, difficult experiences like these could trigger high-risk ideas or even actions.

#### Catalysts and triggers

Experiences of this kind are called ‘trigger events’. Triggers are experiences or occurrences in a person’s life that lead to further escalation or de-escalation on the pathway to violence. Catalysts accelerate these processes. The underlying causes of escalation are always related to psychosocial factors, but an actual event – a trigger event – is often decisive.

In the table to the right you can see the process our three students will undergo. Each student has their own pathway to violence and specific trigger events, i.e. points where they take the next step towards escalation or de-escalation. Click on the table to enlarge the image.

#### Three levels​

Trigger events occur at micro (personal), meso (social group) and macro (national/international) level. The table below gives an overview of trigger events that frequently lead to further escalation or the possible use of violence:

Micro level | Meso level | Macro level
- Loss of employment | - Meeting a radicalised person | - Attack on ‘own’ group
- End of a relationship | - End of friendships | - ‘Adverse’ government policy
- Confrontation with death | - Encounter with propaganda | - International events
- Experience of racism/exclusion | - Joining a radicalised group | - Conspiracy theories

#### Causal factors​

What lies at the root of alarming behaviour? Is every student who displays alarming behaviour exposed to the same causal factors?