Defense Date

10-20-2016

Graduation Date

Fall 1-1-2016

Availability

Worldwide Access

Submission Type

dissertation

Degree Name

EdD

Department

Professional Doctorate in Educational Leadership (ProDEL)

School

School of Education

Committee Chair

Carol Parke

Committee Member

Rick McCown

Committee Member

Daniel Gittins

Keywords

Biopsychosocial, Criteria-based, Predictor Variables, Quantitative, Rampage School Shooter, School Counselor

Abstract

Rampage School Shootings are a violation of one’s right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of individual happiness. Little children, school teachers head out to school, only to never return home at the end of the day. Idiosyncratic psycho-social behaviors drive Rampage School Shooter (RSS) violence. The fact of the matter remains true; Rampage School Shooters don’t “… ‘just snap’… They plan” (U.S. Secret Service, 2002, p. 11). This descriptive, exploratory study consists of RSS cases (N=59) derived from triangulated, retrospective, historical accounts (1995-2015). A quantitative, non-experimental research design was employed.

The purpose of this epidemiological (i.e., descriptive, exploratory, predictive) investigation is an understanding of biopsychosocial factors associated with criteria-based Rampage School Shootings (1995-2015). Eighteen RSS variables (i.e., behavioral attributes) were abstracted from the literature. RSS variables were statistically analyzed using descriptive statistics, Pearson Correlation, One-Way Analysis of Variance (ANOVA), Chi Square, an independent t-Test, and Standard Multiple Regression (IBM SPSS® Statistics 22 for Windows). This study is driven by two research questions:

Question 1: Is there an association a) between RSS assailants 11-36 years of age (1995-2016) and psychological therapy and/or anxiety/depression medication? And b) between the number of RSS deaths and criteria-based RSS assailants who were 11-36 years of age?

Question 2: Which of the following RSS variables is the best predictor of a Rampage School Shooter: a) Age in years; b) Gender; c) Race; d) Attempted Suicide or Successful; or e) Psychological therapy; f) State; g) Anti-social Personality Disorder; h) Internet activity; i) Bullied/Bullying, or j) Schools?

The Biopsychosocial model was utilized to advance prevailing Rampage School Shooting knowledge, particularly with respect to 1) Biological; 2) Psychological; 3) Social; and 4) Environmental factors. Limitations of the study and the potential for further Rampage School Shooter violence investigation are discussed.

Format

PDF

Language

English

Download

Share

COinS