School shooting: are psychiatrists capable of preventing tragedies?
- Authors: Portnova A.A.1, Sivolap Y.P.2
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Affiliations:
- National Medical Research Center of Psychiatry and Narcology named after V.P. Serbsky
- RUDN University
- Issue: Vol LVI, No 1 (2024)
- Pages: 5-13
- Section: Editorial
- URL: https://journals.rcsi.science/1027-4898/article/view/256804
- DOI: https://doi.org/10.17816/nb626772
- ID: 256804
Cite item
Abstract
Armed attacks with numerous victims committed in educational institutions of various levels, mainly (but not always) with the use of firearms, have received the generic name “school shooting”, and attackers are most often called “school shooters”. The United States is the leader in the prevalence of mass murders in educational institutions, although these tragic incidents also occur in other countries, and their number shows a tendency to constantly increase. Since any murder is an abnormal phenomenon, the question of the mental health of school shooters naturally arises. Research shows that not all assailants show symptoms of mental disorders; the most common cause of armed attacks is bullying and the desire to take revenge on offenders for cruel humiliation. In cases where a mental disorder is still diagnosed, not all students, as well as their family members, agree to receive psychiatric care. The prevention of armed attacks must be carried out by the efforts of school counsellors and school psychologists with the possible involvement of psychiatrists, although the potential of psychiatric care in the prevention of school murders, according to the authors of the article, is quite limited.
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##article.viewOnOriginalSite##About the authors
Anna A. Portnova
National Medical Research Center of Psychiatry and Narcology named after V.P. Serbsky
Email: aapserbsky@mail.ru
ORCID iD: 0000-0001-5938-0202
SPIN-code: 5899-0069
M.D., D. Sci. (Med.)
Russian Federation, MoscowYury P. Sivolap
RUDN University
Author for correspondence.
Email: yura-sivolap@yandex.ru
ORCID iD: 0000-0002-4494-149X
SPIN-code: 3586-5225
M.D., D. Sci. (Med.), Prof.
Russian Federation, MoscowReferences
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