NCJ Number
189987
Journal
Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry Volume: 40 Issue: 6 Dated: June 2001 Pages: 719-728
Editor(s)
Mina K. Dulcan M.D.
Date Published
June 2001
Length
10 pages
Annotation
A study was conducted on adolescent mass murderers to identify demographic, clinical, and forensic characteristics.
Abstract
A descriptive, archival study of adolescent (19 years of age or younger) mass murderers, adolescents who intentionally killed three or more victims in one event, was conducted to identify demographic, clinical, and forensic characteristics. Data from this study was gathered from a nonrandom sample of 27 incidents of adolescent mass murder involving 34 perpetrators between 1958 and 1999. The sample consisted of males with a median age of 17. A majority was described as loners and abused alcohol or drugs; almost half were bullied by others, preoccupied with violent fantasy, and violent by history. Although 23 percent had a documented psychiatric history, only 6 percent were judged as psychotic at the time of the mass murder. Depressive symptoms and historical antisocial behaviors were predominant. The precipitating event in most cases was a perceived failure in love or school. 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. A mass murder is almost impossible to predict due to its low frequency, yet it is a very high-intensity event. Tables and references