Identifying characteristics of school shooters in the United States
Identifying characteristics of school shooters in the United States
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Issue Date
2018
Authors
White, Melissa
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Abstract
With school shootings on the rise, it is important to know the characteristics that previous school shooters have in common. By analyzing whether similar characteristics exist between previous school shooters, teachers, school counselors, law enforcement, and the community can develop plans to enact in school systems in the hopes of identifying and preventing future school attacks. This study will specifically focus on whether bullying, mental disorders, and poor performance/isolation/behavioral problems have shared characteristics among previous school shooters. By analyzing several scholarly articles and two reports created from research in the wake of Columbine, this study found that previous school shooters were overwhelmingly bullied than not, that mental disorders, specifically depression and suicidal thoughts could be found among previous school shooters, and that there was not enough research done on the performance and social interactions between school shooters and their classmates, teachers, counselors, etc. In fact, the two main reports analyzed in this study were in contradiction about whether shooter had a history of poor performance and socialization in school or normal performance and socialization in school. Overall, this study showed that there is not a checklist that can be created to determine whether an individual will carry out a school shooting; rather it is important to view each characteristic and event collectively and seek necessary help for the individual when necessary.
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Keywords
School shooting , Shooter characteristics , Bullying , Mental disorders