A Different Perspective on the UCSB Mass Murderer

Ellen, O'TooleMary

doi:10.1089/vio.2014.1508

Cited by 7 publications

(5 citation statements)

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“…It is important to recognize that even if media coverage of mass killings does not produce a significant short‐term contagion effect, it may be increasing the frequency and lethality of these crimes by providing an incentive for some offenders. Prior research has found that a significant number of mass shooters are motivated by desires for fame, and the outsized media attention these incidents receive seems to give them exactly what they want (Langman, ; Lankford, ; Larkin, ; Levin & Madfis, ; Newman et al., ; O'Toole, ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mass Killings in the United States from 2006 to 2013: Social Contagion or Random Clusters?

Lankford

Tomek

2017

Suicide & Life Threat Behav

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In line with previous research on suicide and social contagion, there has been widespread speculation that mass killings-which often involve suicidal offenders-are socially contagious for up to 14 days. This study tested these claims by making comparisons (i) between observed chronological clusters of mass killings in the United States from 2006 to 2013 and clusters in 500 simulations containing 116,000 randomly generated dates, and then (ii) between observed mass killings receiving varying levels of public attention. No evidence of short-term contagion was found, although longer term copycat effects may exist. Further scholarly and policy implications are discussed.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mass Killings in the United States from 2006 to 2013: Social Contagion or Random Clusters?

Lankford

Tomek

2017

Suicide & Life Threat Behav

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“…Educating the public over these events, while at the same time avoiding sensational language, unnecessarily explicit details and undue repetition of stories, are reasonable approaches to pursue. 45 51–53 …”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The impact of economic austerity and prosperity events on suicide in Greece: a 30-year interrupted time-series analysis

et al. 2015

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ObjectivesTo complete a 30-year interrupted time-series analysis of the impact of austerity-related and prosperity-related events on the occurrence of suicide across Greece.SettingGreece from 1 January 1983 to 31 December 2012.ParticipantsA total of 11 505 suicides, 9079 by men and 2426 by women, occurring in Greece over the study period.Primary and secondary outcomesNational data from the Hellenic Statistical Authority assembled as 360 monthly counts of: all suicides, male suicides, female suicides and all suicides plus potentially misclassified suicides.ResultsIn 30 years, the highest months of suicide in Greece occurred in 2012. The passage of new austerity measures in June 2011 marked the beginning of significant, abrupt and sustained increases in total suicides (+35.7%, p<0.001) and male suicides (+18.5%, p<0.01). Sensitivity analyses that figured in undercounting of suicides also found a significant, abrupt and sustained increase in June 2011 (+20.5%, p<0.001). Suicides by men in Greece also underwent a significant, abrupt and sustained increase in October 2008 when the Greek recession began (+13.1%, p<0.01), and an abrupt but temporary increase in April 2012 following a public suicide committed in response to austerity conditions (+29.7%, p<0.05). Suicides by women in Greece also underwent an abrupt and sustained increase in May 2011 following austerity-related events (+35.8%, p<0.05). One prosperity-related event, the January 2002 launch of the Euro in Greece, marked an abrupt but temporary decrease in male suicides (−27.1%, p<0.05).ConclusionsThis is the first multidecade, national analysis of suicide in Greece using monthly data. Select austerity-related events in Greece corresponded to statistically significant increases for suicides overall, as well as for suicides among men and women. The consideration of future austerity measures should give greater weight to the unintended mental health consequences that may follow and the public messaging of these policies and related events.

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“…Many of these at-risk individuals recognize that murdering large numbers of men, women, or children will guarantee them fame. They believe their names and faces will adorn newspapers, television, magazines, and the Internet—and unfortunately, they are right (Langman, 2015; Lankford, 2016b; Lankford & Hakim, 2011; Larkin, 2009; Levin & Madfis, 2009; Newman et al, 2004; O’Toole, 2014).…”

Section: Consequences Of Media Coverage Of Mass Shootersmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Ultimately, however, it is important to remember that these fame-seeking offenders typically have far-reaching delusions of grandeur that would not be satisfied by merely receiving social media attention or comment board posts. They typically want capital “F” fame: to have their names and faces featured everywhere and known by everyone (Langman, 2015; Lankford, 2016b; Lankford & Hakim, 2011; Larkin, 2009; Levin & Madfis, 2009; Newman et al, 2004; O’Toole, 2014; Rocque, 2012; Schildkraut & Elsass, 2016). As the 2015 Umpqua Community College shooter summarized prior to his attack,when they spill a little blood, the whole world knows who they are.…”

Section: Anticipated Challengesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Don’t Name Them, Don’t Show Them, But Report Everything Else: A Pragmatic Proposal for Denying Mass Killers the Attention They Seek and Deterring Future Offenders

Lankford

Madfis

2017

American Behavioral Scientist

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Prior research has shown that many mass shooters have explicitly admitted they want fame and have directly reached out to media organizations to get it. These fame-seeking offenders are particularly dangerous because they kill and wound significantly more victims than other active shooters, they often compete for attention by attempting to maximize victim fatalities, and they can inspire contagion and copycat effects. However, if the media changes how they cover mass shooters, they may be able to deny many offenders the attention they seek and deter some future perpetrators from attacking. We propose that media organizations should no longer publish the names or photos of mass shooters (except during ongoing searches for escaped suspects), but report everything else about these crimes in as much detail as desired. In this article, we (1) review the consequences of media coverage of mass shooters, (2) outline our proposal, (3) show that its implementation is realistic and has precedent, (4) discuss anticipated challenges, and (5) recommend future steps for consensus building and implementation.

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A Different Perspective on the UCSB Mass Murderer

Cited by 7 publications

References 0 publications

Mass Killings in the United States from 2006 to 2013: Social Contagion or Random Clusters?

Mass Killings in the United States from 2006 to 2013: Social Contagion or Random Clusters?

The impact of economic austerity and prosperity events on suicide in Greece: a 30-year interrupted time-series analysis

Don’t Name Them, Don’t Show Them, But Report Everything Else: A Pragmatic Proposal for Denying Mass Killers the Attention They Seek and Deterring Future Offenders

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