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An Examination of School Shootings and Mental Health: a Comparative Case Study Emily Kaufman

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An Examination of School Shootings and Mental Health: a Comparative Case Study Emily Kaufman Union College Union | Digital Works Honors Theses Student Work 3-2018 An Examination of School Shootings and Mental Health: A Comparative Case Study Emily Kaufman Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalworks.union.edu/theses Part of the Child Psychology Commons, Counseling Commons, Educational Psychology Commons, Health and Physical Education Commons, and the School Psychology Commons Recommended Citation Kaufman, Emily, "An Examination of School Shootings and Mental Health: A Comparative Case Study" (2018). Honors Theses. 1684. https://digitalworks.union.edu/theses/1684 This Open Access is brought to you for free and open access by the Student Work at Union | Digital Works. It has been accepted for inclusion in Honors Theses by an authorized administrator of Union | Digital Works. For more information, please contact [email protected]. An Examination of School Shootings and Mental Health: A Comparative Case Study By Emily A. Kaufman ********** Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for honors in the Department of Sociology Union College 2018 Abstract KAUFMAN, EMILY. An Examination of School Shootings and Mental Health: A Comparative Case Study. Department of Sociology, March 2018. ADVISOR: Deidre Hill Butler School shootings have become more relevant in our society over the past few decades, yet the debate over the cause of these shootings never seems to reach a conclusion. The current study looks at the connection between mental illness and school shootings, as well as the roles that media, gun control, violence, and masculinity play in the common phenomena. Prior literature has debated over the main causes of school shootings, but many researchers state differing opinions regarding the motivations for perpetrators. This study found that severe mental illness is the main cause of school shootings, and while mental illness may be the main explanation, a lack of social capital, alongside male pressure to conform to societal stereotypes, play significant parts as well. 96% of shooters are male, and when addressing the notion of male stereotypes, it is important to note that men, specifically men with mental illnesses, are socialized to not seek help. Other aspects that pertain to the possible causes of school shootings are the immense lack of gun control in the United States and the sensationalization of perpetrators in the media. The combination of all of these factors, with mental illness as the most prominent, contribute to the overwhelmingly sizable problem that has become school shootings. The rate of school shootings only seems to be increasing, and while school shootings may never cease to exist, the United States can certainly decrease the rate at which shootings occur through increased mental health resources in schools. ii Acknowledgments To Professor Hill Butler, thank you for providing the constant support and encouragement that I needed to push through this project. I could not have completed this process had it not been for your guidance and our Monday meetings, which always started my week off on an upbeat note. To Professor Stablein for teaching my first introductory course in sociology and sparking my interest, not only in sociology, but in my thesis topic as well. As a professor, academic advisor, and second reader, I am grateful for your help throughout my four years at Union. Thank you to my friends for sitting by me in the library for hours, no matter what time of day and for listening to my endless rants about school shootings. Finally, I would like to thank my parents for their support every single day, not just in academics, but in everything I do. I would like to dedicate this thesis to all of the victims of school shootings around the world. Thank you for speaking out and working to make our world a better place. iii Table of Contents Abstract……………………………………………………………………………………………ii Acknowledgments…………………………………………………………………………….….iii Chapter 1: Understanding School Shootings ……………………………………….………….1 1.1 Introduction………………………………………………………………………………...1 1.2 Comparing Countries………………………………………………………………………6 1.3 A Brief History of School Shooting in the United States………………………….……….9 1.4 Literature Review…………………………………………………………………...…….15 Chapter 2: Methods……………………………………………………………………………..24 2.1 Introduction……………………………………………………………………………….24 2.2 Columbine High School…………………………………………………………………..26 2.2A Columbine and the Media……………………………………………………………….30 2.3 Virginia Polytechnic Institute……………………………………………………………..35 2.4 Sandy Hook Elementary School…………………………………………………………..42 Chapter 3: Theory………………………………………………………………………………52 3.1 Introduction……………………………………………………………………………….52 3.2 Anomie……………………………………………………………………………………52 3.3 Social Capital Theory………………………………………………………………......... 55 3.4Network Theory………………………………………………………………………….. 57 3.5 Hirschi’s Social Bond Theory………………………………………………….………….58 3.6 Life Course Perspective Theory…………………………………………………………...60 3.7 Differential identification Theory ………………………………………………………...64 3.8 Technological Determinism………………………………………………………………67 Chapter 4: Memorializing School Shootings…………………………….…………………….71 4.1 Introduction……………………………………………………………………………….71 4.2 Rebuilding Columbine……………………………………………………………………71 4.3 Policy Post-Columbine……………………………………...…………………………….73 4.4 Rebuilding Virginia Tech………………………………………………………………....74 4.5 Policy Post-Virginia Tech………………………………………………………………...75 4.6 Rebuilding Sandy Hook…………………………………………………………………...77 4.7 Policy Post-Sandy Hook…………………………………………………………………..79 4.8 Moving Forward…………………………………………………………………………..81 iv Chapter 1: Understanding School Shootings 1.1 Introduction Since I first started my thesis in September of 2017, there have been 66 school shootings. While school shootings have become more of a public concern in the last two decades since the Columbine High School shooting in 1999, such shootings have been problematic starting as early as the 1700s. Alongside an immense increase in shootings, there has been a drastic upsurge in mental health illnesses and diagnoses. Given the prevalence of both school shootings and mental health concerns in contemporary society, I have decided to investigate the connection between school shootings and mental health in the United States. Although these phenomena are not new within society, both have become significant concerns given their increased frequency within the last two decades. Several sociologists, researchers, and studies have made the claim that mental health is not a main factor or indicator in perpetrators opening fire on schools; however, I am arguing that severe mental health concerns are one of the most significant unifying factors of all the perpetrators. It is important to note that this argument does not assert that someone with generalized anxiety disorder or depression, for example, is likely to commit school shootings. This argument does not seek to claim that someone with bipolar disorder or schizophrenia will shoot their peers and teachers. My position is that perpetrators of school shootings are more likely than not to exhibit signs of severe mental health concerns, and that those issues, mixed with social unrest in daily life, lead to greater chances of school shootings. Shootings and mental health issues are difficult to address given the complexities they each inherently have. School shootings are perplexing because they directly relate to other issues, such as gun control laws, bullying, and media frenzies. Mental illnesses are closely linked to genetics, medications, and 1 socialization. While I maintain that school shootings and mental illnesses are directly related, it is important to remember that there are a multitude of other issues that are difficult to separate from one another but relate to shootings as well. This topic is important because of the prevalence of school shootings and the lack of mental health awareness in contemporary society. In today’s society there are very few days that go by in the news, in the classroom, or in conversation with peers without a mention of either of these topics. They have become part of our daily lives, either in relation to one another or as their own entities, but they are unavoidable. After any shooting occurs, news outlets are fast to make claims about the perpetrators and their mental states. Why is this? Statistics from one report suggest up to 60% of perpetrators since 1970 in the United States alone have shown symptoms of acute paranoia, delusions, and depression prior to opening fire (Metzl and MacLeish 2015); however, this report is discussing mass shootings in general, not school shootings. It is difficult to gauge how many school shooters have or had mental health problems because many shooters are undiagnosed at the time of their shootings and end up taking their own lives after them. While there are often suspicions from psychologists, therapists, family members, and friends regarding the mental state of many shooters, a legitimate diagnosis for the purpose of statistics is difficult to secure and utilize if one has not been made prior to the death of the shooter. In many case studies mentioned hereafter, the majority of perpetrators of school shootings either had a legitimate diagnosis of mental illnesses or warning signs that directly would lead to a diagnosis of a mental illness had it been brought to the attention of a specialist prior to their death. I am working on the topic of school shootings because I want to establish the connection with mental health so that I can help others better understand
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