What do the tragedies of Columbine and Virginia Tech have in common? According to psychologist Bernardo Carducci, Ph.D., a researcher at the Shyness Research Institute at Indiana University, school shooters usually suffer from something called cynical shyness. Cynically shy students are most often male, rejected by peers, angry, and have poor family relations.
As part of a study presented at the 115th annual convention of the American Psychological Association, Carducci and Kristin Terry Nethery examined eight school shootings from 1995 to 2004 and found that school shooters managed their rejection by creating a “cult of one”. This self-imposed isolation helps to manage feelings of rejection but makes violent retaliation much more probable.
What can we do to prevent future tragedies? Carducci suggests that teachers, parents and mental health professionals need to watch for students who become isolated and angry. Although the majority of shy students never retaliate with violence, for those that are susceptible, there need to be links to bring them back into the community.
