Luke, S.S. (1999, June 14). Parents awaken to mental health. Associated Press, published in The Boston Globe, p. A7.

OVERVIEW

The shootings at Columbine High School shocked the world in a special way. Analyses of this event pointed to a culture of violence. Clearly, the media’s glamorization of and popular attraction to violence, the availability of guns, the reinforcement of violent instincts through video games, and the instructions and encouragement available on the Internet were worrisome. Among all other factors, however, parents also became concerned about the mental health of their children.

After April 20, 1999 (the day of shootings that left 14 students and one teacher dead, and others permanently impaired), mental health clinics and therapists began to see a surge of teenage patients. Parents took a new look at emotional problems in teenage children.

The chief operating officer of the Indianapolis Health Care System said that their hospital had a 30% increase in patients under 17 in the six weeks after the shooting: " ‘We had to open up 12 more beds in the last six weeks for adolescents and children.’ "

The national Magellan Behavioral Health reported its calls in May, 1999 were 25% higher than in May, 1998.

A mother in Alexandria, Virginia learned her son was suffering from manic depression (a bipolar disorder producing extreme mood swings). Her 12-year-old Danny was suspended for five days in December, 1998 for threatening a classmate, saying that he planned "to get a gun and kill her." In this mother’s opinion, " ‘People and schools have become more aware that mental illness is out there...Now since Littleton, the school is more aware that kids suffer from mental illness. If it happened now, they would have demanded Danny get a psychological evaluation before coming back to school.’ "

From the Chicago suburb of Northbrook, a child psychiatrist noted that he received 15 referrals from schools to evaluate students in the seven weeks after the shootings—in comparison to one or two in any previous such periods: " ‘I’ve been doing this for 20 years and I’ve never had this many.’ "

A Burlington, Vermont child psychiatrist found a similar increase. He worries that despite heightened concerns, not enough will be done to treat mentally ill children: " ‘Only one child in four receives the help they need.’ "

QUESTIONS FOR REFLECTION AND DISCUSSION

1. How do you react to statements like: "It boils down to one thing," or "It’s guns; we’ve got to have strict gun control," or "Video games are like military training to kill; we’ve got to get rid of violent video games," or "We must censor media that glorifies violence and music that encourages kids to kill," or "It’s all the parents’ fault; they’ve got to pay attention to their kids."
2. Would you agree with someone who says, "Regardless of the influences, kids who kill are responsible for what happened in these many tragedies."
3. Besides holding a teenager killer responsible, is it important to know if he or she is severely depressed or schizophrenic? Why?
4. Do you think teenage killings can be prevented or reduced, and do you think mental illness can be treated?

IMPLICATIONS

1. Most of us believe only the most vulnerable young people will act out the extreme violence found in media these days. Others say more bluntly, "It’s only crazy kids who are doing the killing." Behind these beliefs and statements, we must ask ourselves what it means to be vulnerable and how "crazy" youth can be treated.
2. We don’t usually think of teenagers when we think of mental illness, and when we consider the problems of youth, mental illness does not emerge at the top of our list. Young people are not quick to seek help for emotional problems and tend to mask their illness by self-medication with alcohol and drugs. Still, mental illness is prevalent among young people and suicide and homicide are symptoms of emotional diseases.
3. Some emotional illnesses are preventable; prevention and treatment are both needed. Though prevention is always more important, we must also give attention to the treatment of young people suffering from mental illness.

Dean Borgman cCYS