Desperate identities

• Author: Peter Langman
• Date: 01 February 2020
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1111/1745-9133.12468
• Published date: 01 February 2020

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

Correspondence

PeterLangman, 825 North Cedar Crest Blvd.

Allentown,PA 18104.

Email:peterlangman@yahoo.com

Research Summary: In this article, I provide a qualitative

analysis of ten perpetrators of mass violence, including five

school shooters and five attackers in nonschool settings

(a random public shooting, a familicide, and three attacks

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

[Correction added on 20 December 2019, after first online publication: the affiliation of Peter Langman has been changed to

Langman Psychological Associates, LLC].

Criminology & Public Policy. 2020;19:61–84. wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/capp © 2019 American Society of Criminology 61

62 LANGMAN

1INTRODUCTION

The fundamental question when studying people who engage in aberrant behavior is as follows:What

makes these people different from everyoneelse? When it comes to mass murder, the question becomes

most urgent.

Researchers who study the perpetrators of mass violence have noted identity issues as a significant

factor. Newmansaid of teenage school shooters: “[I]n addition to failing at adolescence, they were—at

least in their own eyes—failing at manhood” (2004, p. 143). Kellner viewed school shootings as acts

of violence that were driven by “crises in masculinities in which young men use guns and violence to

create ultramasculine identities” (2013, p. 497).

Scholars who study homegrown violent extremists have noted similar themes. Bergen described

these perpetrators as “Zeros trying to be heroes. . . . Losers who attached themselves to extremist right-

wing ideologies that gave meaning to their otherwise dead-end lives” (2018, para. 1, 3). Kruglanski,

Chen, Dechesne, Fishman, and Orehek viewed terrorists in terms of “the quest for personal signifi-

cance” (2009, p. 331).

Most people who struggle with their masculinity or who feel insignificant, however,do not commit

acts of mass violence. Thus, the question, “why these particular people?” still needs to be answered.

In this article, I explore a wide range of factors in the lives of perpetrators of mass violence. Based

on previous research (Langman, 2009, 2015b, 2017), these factors are categorized into three domains:

biological, psychological, and social.

1.1 Biological/body-related issues

One type of biological influence on violent behavior occurs in the brain as a result of problematic preg-

nancies, difficult births, oxygen deprivation, and other medical difficulties (Raine, 2013). Although

some of the shooters in this study experienced these problems, the primary focus here is on body-

related issues.

Body-related issues are factors that may interfere with the development of a positive male identity,

result in teasing, or pose challenges in terms of dating and sexuality. This includes birth defects, ill-

nesses, injuries, and lack of athletic ability, as well as appearance-related factorssuch as obesity, severe

acne, having an odd facial appearance, or being unusually short (Langman, 2015b, 2018a).

1.2 Psychological typology

The psychological domain is divided into psychopathic, psychotic, and traumatized shooters (Lang-

man, 2009, 2015b). Even though psychopathy is not a recognized diagnosis, there is a rich literature

on the concept. The works used to develop the concept of the psychopathic shooter include Hare (1999)

and Millon and Davis (1996, 1998). Psychopathic shooters are narcissistic, entitled, and callous. They

may also be sadistic and prone to explosive rage (Langman, 2009, 2015b; Millon & Davis, 1998).

The psychotic shooters had symptoms of schizophrenia or schizotypal personality disorder, includ-

ing hallucinations and/or delusions, odd thoughts, bizarre preoccupations, paranoid thinking, and sig-

nificantly impaired social and emotional functioning. Although schizotypal is classified as a personality

disorder rather than as a psychotic disorder, it can involve psychotic symptoms (Millon & Davis,1996).

Also, some common schizotypal symptoms resemble psychotic symptoms. These include paranoid

thinking versus paranoid delusions, unusual perceptual experiences versus hallucinations, and ideas

of reference versus delusions of reference (American Psychiatric Association, 2013). These similari-

ties can make it difficult, if not impossible, to distinguish schizophrenia from schizotypal personality

disorder. As a result, the two disorders are subsumed within the psychotic category of the typology.