Focus on victims: Experts warn of the danger of amotlets

Focus on victims: Experts warn of the danger of amotlets

Graz, Österreich - amo runs are a shocking phenomenon that has to be considered carefully by society. Emergency psychologist Barbara Juen currently expresses her concerns about reporting on the perpetrator. She warns of giving it a stage and calls on to focus on the community and the victims. Juen, the extraordinary professor at the University of Innsbruck and the professional director of the psychosocial services of the Austrian Red Cross, emphasizes that blame to the families of the perpetrators or certain groups can only stir up anger and feelings of revenge. According to her, this could also produce imitators if gunner is staged as "heroic". The likelihood that uninvolved mental disorders will develop is low, and most people will recover from such a trauma if they receive the necessary support.

Nevertheless, Juen criticizes the inadequate resources for psychological help in Austria and emphasizes that there have been improvements in the past, such as the "Healthy from the crisis" initiative. She recommends paying attention to changes in the behavior of children, for example if you deny school or lose friendships and seek support in good time.

background research on amokäters

Research on amoks, as carried out by Professor Britta Bannenberg, show that many of these perpetrators come from unobtrusive middle class families and are not typical bullying victims. In her investigation, which is part of the Target composite project and analyzed 19 amocates from 20 perpetrators between 1992 and 2013, she found that the perpetrators are often difficult to access, withdraw and computer objects. They moved in a social environment in which they could not build up trusting relationships. In most cases, there were no violent or socially neglected conditions in their families.

Another striking feature was the pattern of mental disorders. The perpetrators often had narcissistic-paranoid personal trains; They showed self -relation and sensitivity to criticism. It becomes clear that in their already tense life situation, they often develop vengeance and project culpable responsibility for their suffering in society. The reports about the killing spree on the Columbine High School served as role models for some of these perpetrators.

prevention in schools

In Germany, amo runs are relatively rare in schools, but there have been 15 such acts since 2000. North Rhine-Westphalia's Interior Minister Herbert Reul emphasizes the preparations of the police for such situations, but also explains that perpetrators can often cause considerable damage before the officials arrived. The schools themselves face the challenge of not becoming fortresses and must research the causes of such acts.

For teachers and school management in North Rhine -Westphalia, there is the emergency folder "Looking and acting", which provides instructions for the emergency. Karoline Roshdi, a criminal psychologist, recommends that every school should have a team of crisis. These teams, many of whom only exist on paper, could help recognize and defuse potential threats at an early stage. A guide to deal with violence incidents was recently sent to all schools.

Experiences from past cords show that warnings were often already available. A functioning crisis team could help to take these information seriously and, if necessary, to initiate further analyzes to reduce the risk of amotlets.