“In the wake of the shooting in Plymouth, that resulted in the deaths of five people and then later the shooter himself, as is frequently the case, the media turned it’s focus onto the ‘why’. From discussing the shooter’s ‘incel’ or ‘involuntary celibate’, ideology, his autism diagnosis to his mental health struggles over lockdown. Sometimes, our propensity to ‘explain away’ violent acts inadvertently stigmatises those who already experience discrimination and misunderstanding – so how can we be more responsible?”
Jillian Peterson spoke with Bryony Porteous-Sebouhian at Mental Health Today about the impact of mental health on violent crime. Dr. Peterson states:
“Mass shootings are crimes that are terrifying and irrational, so we look for explanations to help them make sense. Media and politicians often focus on mental illness as an explanation. Mental health histories are common among mass shooters, but so are other factors such as histories of violence and hateful beliefs. Our research shows that mass shooters follow a pattern of traumatic childhoods, reaching a state of crisis, suicidality, radicalization to hate, studying other mass shooters for validation, and access to guns. Mental illness is often a part of the pathway to violence for these perpetrators, but it doesn’t fully explain their crime.”
Author: Bryony Porteous-Sebouhian
Source: Mental Health Today