Langman Peter: Zašto deca ubijaju?

Peter Langman: Why do children kill?

Peter Langman is a psychologist and the leading American expert when it comes to child perpetrators of mass school killings and the study of psychological causes and early signals that indicate possible violence. In the book Why do children kill? - How can a child do such a thing he presented detailed stories and psychological analyzes of ten school killers in American schools who killed a total of 74 and wounded 92 people. By studying the enormous documentation, Dr. Langman tries to answer the question "what is in the mind" of school killers and how a child can do such a thing.   In the 1990s, school massacres became part of the American cultural milieu, and after a boy killed nine students and a security worker with his father's gun, and wounded six more children and a teacher in the Belgrade elementary school Vladislav Ribnikar, which he himself attended, they unfortunately became part of the Serbian reality as well.

What, exactly, is a school massacre? What problems do they have and what drives young people to commit school massacres? Why that particular boy and not another one? Is it true that the killer's children are not ordinary children? Who are potential school killers, how to recognize and prevent them from criminal intent? How to teach students the difference between snitching on peers and informing adults about dangers? Are school massacres simple responses to peer violence, lack of empathy, existential rage, shame, envy, depression, social rejection, family relationships, availability of guns? What is the role of parents and what is the role of schools and society  in preventing school shootings? Why should parents not lie to protect their child? Why is the punishment of suspension or expulsion ineffective?

Unfortunately, there is no simple explanation or single reason why a child will become a mass school murderer. It is a combination of causes, and the author classified school killers at the level of different personality types into three groups: psychopathic (narcissists, without compassion and conscience), psychotic (mental illness, schizophrenia...) and traumatized school killers (from chronically and severely dysfunctional families). The book defines and illustrates all three types, and in additional chapters the author cites cases of successfully and timely prevented school murders, as well as a series of useful recommendations on how to design and implement protocols and rules to distinguish real threats from harmless situations. 

WHAT CAN BE TAKEN TO PREVENT SCHOOL SHOOTINGS?

● Three types of school killers: psychopathic, psychotic and traumatized. What connects them and how to recognize them?
● What moves children and young people towards extreme violence? Understanding and analyzing the causes that lead to school shootings.
● Prevention in action: How can schools design and implement effective strategies to keep students safe?
● How can schools effectively distinguish real threats from harmless situations and teach students the importance of notifying adults?
● Consider threats serious until proven otherwise!