In light of the horrific mass murder at Virginia Tech this week I am focusing this blog on the symptoms of a Mass Murder. These studies were published a few years ago in The Journal of Psychiatry. More information about paranoia, schizophrenia and other disorders can be found at Psych-Net Mental Health.
These statistics were derived from a study of mass murders age 13-19 who killed 3 or more people in one event. The sample consisted of males with a median age of 17.
The majority were described as loners
Most abused alcohol or drugs
Almost half were bullied by others
Preoccupied with violent fantasy
Had a violent by history
23% had a documented psychiatric history but only 6% were judged to have been psychotic at the time of the mass murder
Depressive symptoms
A history of antisocial behaviors
A precipitating event in most cases-usually a perceived failure in love or school
Most subjects made threatening statements regarding the mass murder to third parties
The majority of the sample clustered into three types:
the family annihilator,
the classroom avenger,
and the criminal opportunist.
The adolescent mass murderer is often predatorily rather than affectively violent and typically does not show any sudden or highly emotional warning signs. Although the act of mass murder is virtually impossible to predict because of its extremely low frequency, certain clinical and forensic findings can alert the clinician to the need for further, intensified primary care, including family, school, community, law enforcement, and mental health intervention.
1 comment:
This article is positivley informative. I thank you so much for this vital information that can someday save a person. >_>
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