The influence of acute life stressors on mass shooter outcomes

IF 3.3 1区社会学 Q1 CRIMINOLOGY & PENOLOGY

Journal of Criminal Justice Pub Date : 2025-01-01 DOI:10.1016/j.jcrimjus.2024.102322

Alex O. Widdowson, Katelyn M. McMahon, Holly M. Kratzwald

{"title":"The influence of acute life stressors on mass shooter outcomes","authors":"Alex O. Widdowson, Katelyn M. McMahon, Holly M. Kratzwald","doi":"10.1016/j.jcrimjus.2024.102322","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Purpose</h3><div>Existing studies indicate that acute life stressors often precede mass shootings and may contribute to the shooter's motivation or exacerbate underlying mental health issues. However, it remains unclear whether these stressors influence mass shooter outcomes—that is, whether the shooter is apprehended, dies by suicide, or is killed by law enforcement or citizens. This study advances the literature by examining the associations between five acute life stressors and mass shooter outcomes and whether these associations vary across different incident types.</div></div><div><h3>Methods</h3><div>Using data on 539 lone mass shooters in the United States from 1980 to 2018, we employed logistic regression to predict mass shooter outcomes (suicide/killed vs. detained) from measures of recent financial strain, job loss, romantic breakup, interpersonal conflict, and other life stressors. Multiplicative interactions assessed whether these associations vary across incident type.</div></div><div><h3>Results</h3><div>Our analyses revealed that mass shooters who experienced a recent financial strain and job loss had higher odds of suicide/being killed. In contrast, interpersonal conflict was associated with lower odds of suicide/being killed. Moreover, associations were statistically invariant across family, felony, and public mass shootings.</div></div><div><h3>Conclusion</h3><div>The findings provide new insights about the predictors of mass shooter outcomes and have implications for prevention.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48272,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Criminal Justice","volume":"96 ","pages":"Article 102322"},"PeriodicalIF":3.3000,"publicationDate":"2025-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Journal of Criminal Justice","FirstCategoryId":"90","ListUrlMain":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0047235224001715","RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"CRIMINOLOGY & PENOLOGY","Score":null,"Total":0}

引用次数: 0

Abstract

Purpose

Existing studies indicate that acute life stressors often precede mass shootings and may contribute to the shooter's motivation or exacerbate underlying mental health issues. However, it remains unclear whether these stressors influence mass shooter outcomes—that is, whether the shooter is apprehended, dies by suicide, or is killed by law enforcement or citizens. This study advances the literature by examining the associations between five acute life stressors and mass shooter outcomes and whether these associations vary across different incident types.

Methods

Using data on 539 lone mass shooters in the United States from 1980 to 2018, we employed logistic regression to predict mass shooter outcomes (suicide/killed vs. detained) from measures of recent financial strain, job loss, romantic breakup, interpersonal conflict, and other life stressors. Multiplicative interactions assessed whether these associations vary across incident type.

Results

Our analyses revealed that mass shooters who experienced a recent financial strain and job loss had higher odds of suicide/being killed. In contrast, interpersonal conflict was associated with lower odds of suicide/being killed. Moreover, associations were statistically invariant across family, felony, and public mass shootings.

Conclusion

The findings provide new insights about the predictors of mass shooter outcomes and have implications for prevention.

查看原文本刊更多论文

求助全文

约1分钟内获得全文求助全文

来源期刊

Journal of Criminal Justice CRIMINOLOGY & PENOLOGY-

CiteScore

6.90

自引率

9.10%

发文量

审稿时长

23 days

期刊介绍： The Journal of Criminal Justice is an international journal intended to fill the present need for the dissemination of new information, ideas and methods, to both practitioners and academicians in the criminal justice area. The Journal is concerned with all aspects of the criminal justice system in terms of their relationships to each other. Although materials are presented relating to crime and the individual elements of the criminal justice system, the emphasis of the Journal is to tie together the functioning of these elements and to illustrate the effects of their interactions. Articles that reflect the application of new disciplines or analytical methodologies to the problems of criminal justice are of special interest. Since the purpose of the Journal is to provide a forum for the dissemination of new ideas, new information, and the application of new methods to the problems and functions of the criminal justice system, the Journal emphasizes innovation and creative thought of the highest quality.