DOI: 10.1111/1745-9133.12468 SPECIAL ISSUE ARTICLE COUNTERING MASS VIOLENCE IN THE UNITED STATES Desperate identities A bio-psycho-social analysis of perpetrators of mass violence Peter Langman Langman Psychological Associates, LLC Research Summary: In this article, I provide a qualitative Correspondence analysis of ten perpetrators of mass violence, including five Peter Langman, 825 North Cedar Crest Blvd. school shooters and five attackers in nonschool settings Allentown, PA 18104. (a random public shooting, a familicide, and three attacks Email:
[email protected] by White supremacist homegrown violent extremists). The killers are discussed in terms of body-related issues, three psychological categories (psychopathic, psychotic, and traumatized), and social failures. I describe how the attackers sought to overcome their perceived inadequacy, framed as damaged masculinity, through acts of violence. I also demonstrate the many factors that contribute to acts of mass violence. Policy Implications: Violence prevention can be sup- ported by policy initiatives in multiple domains, including mandating the use of threat assessment in educational settings, government support for expanding the use of threat assessment across the nation, training professionals engaged in threat assessment in the broad factors that con- tribute to mass violence, educating the public about mental health issues, destigmatizing the use of mental health services, increasing access to mental health treatment, and improving child protective services. KEYWORDS bio-psycho-social, damaged masculinity, homegrown violent extremists, mass murderers, mass violence, psychology, rampage attacks, school shooters, typology, white supremacists Criminology & Public Policy. 2019;1–24. wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/capp © 2019 American Society of Criminology 1 2 LANGMAN 1 INTRODUCTION The fundamental question when studying people who engage in aberrant behavior is as follows: What makes these people different from everyone else? When it comes to mass murder, the question becomes most urgent.