Incel Identity Development: A Scoping Review of Biopsychosocial Markers

Involuntary celibates, or incels, are an online international community of misogynistic boys and men who perceive themselves as victims of women’s sexual agency. Incels represent a public health concern, presenting maladaptive internalizing behaviors, like suicidality, and deviant externalizing behaviors, like mass murder. Mapping biopsychosocial markers to developmental stages paves the way for tailored prevention that curbs incel violence. Engel’s biopsychosocial model is used to examine incel identity development across psychosocial stages by investigating biological, psychological, and social markers to inform developmentally appropriate prevention. This scoping review examined peer-reviewed articles and gray literature published in English or Spanish that collected data or theorized about biopsychosocial markers of identifying as an incel. This review searched databases, such as PsycINFO, in 2024 and used team-based data extraction for 89 sources. Biological markers, the least identified, centered on perceiving physical appearance as not conforming to white, hegemonic masculinity. Psychological markers included mental health struggles, social incompetencies, and maladaptive, prejudiced cognitions. Social markers included victimization experiences, material or employment insecurity, and oppressive social structures. Prevention efforts could address body image, peer victimization, algorithm risk audits, social programs, and sex education.