Question

Recently there has been an epidemic of massive killings in the U.S. What ways might frustration (stress) have led to many of these acts of violence?

Answer 1

• Men don’t just constitute almost all mass shooters in recent history; they are also responsible for the vast majority of gun-associated deaths in the country. Men own guns at triple the rate of women in the U.S., at 62 percent compared to 22 percent and also commit suicide at nearly triple the rate of women. Eighty-nine percent of murder-suicides are committed by men.
• A variety of factors are associated with committing serious violence, such as a history of binge drinking, childhood abuse, living in a neighborhood with a high rate of violent crime and experiencing stressful life events. But being a male is often listed as one of the top two predictive risk factors for committing serious violence.
• In addition to gender, a history of alleged or convicted domestic abuse has also been found to be more prevalent among mass shooters than a definitive mental health diagnosis.
• The male gender-mass shooter connection may stem from cultural standards of how men are expected to react to stress and perceived victimization as compared to women.Women tend to internalize blame and frustration, while men tend to externalize it through acts of aggression.
• This suggests that societal influences probably play a larger role in violence than any biological factor.Many men who commit mass shootings tend to be those who have failed to achieve financial and romantic success in ways that our society values and accredits as “manly.”
• As a result, men may feel emboldened to resort to violence to gain both revenge and some level of notoriety as compensation for being denied what they thought they were owed, or felt pressure to attain.
• Also,it has been seen,a young male between the ages of 16 and 25 who is depressed and has a fascination with violence. Their depression is either undiagnosed or untreated.But depression itself, or any of the other two conditions, does not motivate someone to carry out an overwhelming, vengeful act of violence that destroys innocent lives. There is usually a triggering event.For example,Nikolas Cruz, the 19-year-old suspect that killed 17 people in a mass shooting in Parkland, Florida,was armed with an assault rifle and had a gun obsession. In Cruz's case that event was being expelled from school for disciplinary reasons.A major experience like that in an already-depressed person causes a great deal of anger and rage; a serious break that fuels their viciousness.