School Shootings

1. Front Matter

   Pages i-xv

   PDF

2. School Shootings: Conceptual Framework and International Empirical Trends

   • Nils Böckler, Thorsten Seeger, Peter Sitzer, Wilhelm Heitmeyer

   Pages 1-24

3. Theories, Models and Empirical Findings

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 25-25

      PDF

4. Theories, models and empirical findings

   1. Social Disintegration, Loss of Control, and School Shootings

      • Wilhelm Heitmeyer, Nils Böckler, Thorsten Seeger

      Pages 27-54

   2. Adolescent Culture and the Tragedy of Rampage Shootings

      • Katherine S. Newman

      Pages 55-77

   3. School Rampage in International Perspective: The Salience of Cumulative Strain Theory

      • Eric Madfis, Jack Levin

      Pages 79-104

   4. On the Relevance of Phantasy for the Genesis of School Shootings

      • Frank J. Robertz

      Pages 105-129

   5. Thirty-Five Rampage School Shooters: Trends, Patterns, and Typology

      • Peter Langman

      Pages 131-156

5. Case Studies and Perspectives

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 157-157

      PDF

6. Case Studies and perspectives

   1. Legitimated Adolescent Violence: Lessons from Columbine

      • Ralph W. Larkin

      Pages 159-176

   2. Jeffrey Weise and the Shooting at Red Lake Minnesota High School: A Behavioral Perspective

      • Mary Ellen O’Toole

      Pages 177-188

   3. Jokela: The Social Roots of a School Shooting Tragedy in Finland

      • Atte Oksanen, Johanna Nurmi, Miika Vuori, Pekka Räsänen

      Pages 189-215

   4. A Catastrophic Solution: Psychoanalytic Perspectives on a Samurai School Attack in South Africa

      • Duncan Cartwright

      Pages 217-243

   5. Unforgiven and Alone: Brenda Spencer and Secret Shame

      • Jonathan Fast

      Pages 245-261

7. Media Reporting and Media Effects

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 263-263

      PDF

8. Media reporting and media effects

   1. School Shootings as Mediatized Violence

      • Glenn W. Muschert

      Pages 265-281

   2. The Role of Media Content in the Genesis of School Shootings: The Contemporary Discussion

      • Peter Sitzer

      Pages 283-307

   3. Revolution of the Dispossessed: School Shooters and their Devotees on the Web

      • Nils Böckler, Thorsten Seeger

      Pages 309-339

9. Prevention and Intervention Concepts

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 341-341

      PDF

10. Prevention and intervention concepts

    1. International Perspectives on Prevention and Intervention in School Shootings

       • Rebecca Bondü, Herbert Scheithauer, Vincenz Leuschner, Dewey G. Cornell

       Pages 343-362

School shootings are a topic of research in a variety of different disciplines—from psychology, to sociology to criminology, pedagogy, and public health—each with their own set of theories. Many of these theories are logically interconnected, while some differ widely and seem incompatible with each other, leading to divergent results about potential means of prevention. In this innovative work, leading researchers on the topic of school shootings introduce their findings and theoretical concepts in one combined systematic volume. The contributions to this work highlight both the complementary findings from different fields, as well as cases where they diverge or contradict each other. The work is divided into four main sections: an overview of current theoretical approaches and empirical models; application of these theories to international cases, including Columbine (USA), Emsdetten (Germany), and Tuusula (Finland); a critique of the influence of the media, both in the portrayals of past events and its effect on future events; and finally an overview of existing models for prevention and intervention, and measures of their success. The result is a comprehensive source for current research on school shootings, and will provide a direction for future research.

• Causes of school shootings
• Empirical studies on school shootings
• Juvenile violence and homicide
• Prevention of school shootings
• Risk assessment methods
• School shootings case studies
• School violence
• Social Disintegration and school violence
• Violence and media

From the reviews:

“School Shootings: International Research, Case Studies, and Concepts for Prevention represents an important contribution to the emerging field of research on school rampage shootings, a field that draws from expertise in criminology, psychology, sociology, and media studies. … The volume fills a unique niche and provides a rich foundation for this emerging area of study. This is a book for specialists in this research area as well as for practitioners focused on attenuating risk factors.” (Kellina M. Craig-Henderson, PsycCRITIQUES, Vol. 58 (24), June, 2013)

• , Institute for Interdisciplinary Research, University of Bielefeld, Bielefeld, Germany

  Nils Böckler

• Institute for Interdisciplinary Research, University of Bielefeld, Bielefeld, Germany

  Thorsten Seeger

• University of Bielefeld, Bielefeld, Germany

  Peter Sitzer

• Inst. Interdisziplinäre Konflikt- und, Gewaltforschung, University of Bielefeld, Bielefeld, Germany

  Wilhelm Heitmeyer

Nils Böckler is a member of the graduate college Group-focused Enmity which is founded by the German National Science Foundation and associated with the Institute for Interdisciplinary Research on Conflict and Violence at Bielefeld University. In his PhD-project (science of education) he deals with patterns of online-hate and online-radicalization with a main focus on juveniles.

Thorsten Seeger is a member of the Institute for Interdisciplinary Research on Conflict and Violence at Bielefeld University. From a background of educational science his main scholarly interests lie in the fields of traumatic childhood experiences, attachment theory, socialization, and violence research. He deepened his knowledge in psychoanalytic ideas and methods during a study stay at the University of Vienna.

Dr. Peter Sitzer has studied science of education at Bielefeld University. Since 2002 he is member of the Faculty of Educational Science at the Bielefeld University. His main research interests are theories of socialization, youth violence, right-wing extremism, media and violence, and cyber bullying.

Wilhelm Heitmeyer is professor of socialization and director of the Institute for Interdisciplinary Research on Conflict and Violence at Bielefeld University. His research interests concentrate on violence, social disintegration, right-wing extremism, and ethnic-cultural conflicts. He is editor of the International Handbook of Violence Research (co-edited with John Hagan), and editor-in-chief of the International Journal of Conflict and Violence (with D. Massey et al.).

Policies and ethics