SchoolShooting_Langman
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Education Can school shootings be prevented?By Peter Langman, Ph.D.The tragedy at Columbine High School on April 20, 1999, captivated the nation’s attention and stirred up great speculation about school violence. What the media fails to report is that, despite occasional incidents that receive national coverage, school violence is actually declining. School shootings are rare events that are committed by fewer than one out of one million students. Nevertheless, there have been school shootings since Columbine, and, when these incidents are investigated, common warning signs are found. If these signs had been identified earlier, the attacks might have been prevented. Mental health professionals, educators and parents need to learn what to look for in potential shooters and develop clear actions that they can take to prevent future school shootings.
Who are the School Shooters?There is no typical demographic profile of a school shooter. Some come from intact families and some from broken homes. Some are excellent students, and some are poor students. Some are bullies, and some are not. Some are victims of bullying, and some are not. Some use drugs, and some do not. Most are male, but some are female. Thus, profiling is not a productive course to pursue in identifying potential school shooters.
Despite the lack of apparent demographic variables common to all school shooters, research has identified psychological features that many school shooters share. In reviewing these features, however, it is critical to keep in mind that: No one student is likely to have all these traits, and the absence of particular traits does not mean an absence of risk. That being said, key features can be grouped into six categories:
Healing Magazine: REPRINT© KidsPeace 2005. All rights reserved. For reprint information, please call 1.800.25.PEACE x 8340.uuuAttitudinAl: This includes traits such as narcissism, blaming others for their problems, bigotry and paranoia.uuuBehAviorAl: This includes what is called “leakage,” or communicating their plans through talking about the attack, writing threats, composing hit lists or warning their friends to stay away from the area of attack. Another behavioral factor is any action relevant to carrying out the threat, including drawing diagrams of the school, buying guns or explosives or recruiting friends to be part of the attack.uuuemotionAl: This category includes such traits as poor frustration tolerance and coping skills, depression and/or suicidal thoughts, difficulty coping with loss and poor anger management.uuuhistoricAl: There often is a precipitating event that causes overwhelming stress for the student. This could be a failed love relationship or other event involving rejection and/or loss. The perceived loss of status is sometimes a factor behind school violence. Many school shooters had histories of depression and suicidality. In contrast, some events that might seem predictive are not. For instance, though some school shooters had prior histories of violence and/or arrest, most did not, and most school shooters were doing well in school. The significance of victimization by bullies is hard to determine. Researchers are not consistent in their reports of the extent of such victimization among school shooters.uuurelAtionAl: The literature describes school shooters as “injustice collectors,” meaning that they tend to hold grudges and go through life with an accumulating sense of being wronged by people. They tend to be alienated from people. They may be loners, or belong to a small, closed social group. In keeping with their frequent bigotry, they tend to lack empathy and to dehumanize others. This often takes the form of using derogatory terms for people, speaking of them, for example, as “scum.” These students often have a strong need for attention that has not been met.uuuPreoccuPAtions: School shooters are often fascinated with violence and seek out violent entertainment in the form of books, movies, video games or Web sites. They are attracted to negative role models (such as Hitler, serial killers, neo-Nazis). They may also be overly involved in fantasy through books, movies or games, resulting in decreased contact with people and a loss of connection to the real world. However, they are usually not psychotic. Making a Threat vs. Posing a ThreatThe literature on school shooters makes a distinction between those students who “make” a threat, and those students who “pose” a threat. The actual making of a threat is not a good predictor of violent behavior for two reasons. First, many students make threats that they have no intention of carrying out. Second, the absence of a direct threat to an intended victim does not mean that there is no risk. A study by the Secret Service concluded that threats were made to the intended victims in fewer than 20% of the shootings. The method of threat assessment recommended by the FBI is to focus on students who pose a threat. A proper threat assessment involves gathering specific facts and evaluating them in terms of risk.
