"Our research shows that a crisis is really a change in behavior from baseline. So it's just the student acting differently than they normally do and then any sort of fascination with school shootings, with past shootings, with violence, any sort of leakage about threatening violence towards themselves or others. But really, that crisis is a … [Read more...]
School shootings: It’s hard to spot the warning signs. Prevention steps can help.
Two Minnesota professors have devoted their careers to researching mass shooters
"Something like mass shootings are all about shades of gray," Densley said. "One solution would be imperfect, so people were pitting imperfect solutions off each other. 'Because this one thing won't fix everything, we won't do it.' So we've ended up doing nothing. But if you layer those imperfect solutions, they start to add up to something close … [Read more...]
A Moral Panic Is Brewing About Instagram and Video Games. Don’t Fall for It | Opinion
"There's a new moral panic brewing about Instagram. It began with the testimony of Facebook whistleblower and a leaked internal Facebook study about the supposed harmful effects of Instagram on teenage girls, including suicidal ideation and eating disorders. This led to a national freak-out over social media and its corrupting influence over the … [Read more...]
FBI warns of ‘bystander fatigue,’ says it was likely a factor in Oregon District mass shooting
"In our study, there was an association between leaking plans and suicidality and prior counseling, suggesting that threats of violence may best be characterized as a cry for help,” Densley said. “Any threat is a critical moment for intervention. So we need to people to be attuned to behavioral change.” The following article discusses the Oregon … [Read more...]
What This Week’s Mass Shooting Can Teach Us About School Safety
“We have really failed this generation of kids. Basically we’ve put this problem on their backs. We’ve said you need to go through active shooter drills and metal detectors and have police in your schools in order to feel safe, because we’ve failed to act on other things that would keep guns out of schools in the first place,” said James Densley, a … [Read more...]