Killers in mass shootings linked by narcissistic rage

Dr. Winston Chung is a psychiatrist with Sutter Pacific Medical Foundation and is affiliated with the California Pacific Medical Center in San Francisco. Dr. Winston Chung is a psychiatrist with Sutter Pacific Medical Foundation and is affiliated with the California Pacific Medical Center in San Francisco. Photo: Cpmc, Courtesy Dr. Winston Chung Photo: Cpmc, Courtesy Dr. Winston Chung Image 1 of / 3 Caption Close Killers in mass shootings linked by narcissistic rage 1 / 3 Back to Gallery

While the motives behind the mass shootings in the U.S. over the past 15 years may vary, there is one common theme linking the shooters at Columbine, Virginia Tech, Santa Barbara and possibly Seattle: narcissistic rage from narcissistic wounds.

Heinz Kohut, a prominent psychoanalyst, coined the term "narcissistic rage," describing the narcissist as having a fragile sense of self that is oversensitive to perceived rejection or slights (narcissistic injuries), sometimes resulting in uncontrolled, violent rage.

In "Thoughts on Narcissism and Narcissistic Rage," Kohut wrote that the rage exists in many forms but has a unique characteristic: "The need for revenge, for righting a wrong, for undoing a hurt by whatever means and a deeply anchored, unrelenting compulsion in the pursuit of all these aims which give no rest to those who have suffered a narcissistic injury."

The Santa Barbara shooter's words reveal an entitled and envious self as a victim: "Humanity struck at me first by condemning me to experience so much suffering," leading him to seek "revenge on all of the hedonistic scum who enjoyed lives of pleasure they don't deserve. If I can't have it, I will destroy it."

The Virginia Tech shooter directed his hate at people of privilege: "Oh the happiness I could have had mingling among you hedonists, being counted as one of you." He describes himself as the victim whose hand was forced to revenge: "You had a billion chances and ways to have avoided today, but you decided to spill my blood. You forced me into a corner and gave me only one option. The decision was yours."

The writings of one of the two Columbine shooters revealed aspirations for godlike power, frustration from his inability to obtain sex and a sense of rejection: "I hate you people for leaving me out of so many fun things. And don't [expletive] say 'well that's your fault' because it isn't, you people had my phone number, and I asked and all, but no."

Though last week's Seattle shooter did not leave his words in writing, authorities believe he aspired for admiration. This is a narcissistic trait tied to a sense of rejection that also seemed to motivate the previous mass shooters. Police reports indicate that the Seattle shooter felt "no one cares about him" and that he wanted the SWAT team to "make him famous." He had called 911 two years ago to confess a "rage inside him" that made him want to hurt others and himself.

It's important to note that there is healthy narcissism, which exists on a continuum in humanity. Psychoanalysts describe narcissistic traits being more prominent during particular stages in the normal development of a child; these can become problematic if the child is exposed to an unhealthy environment.

We can't definitively identify the causes of the narcissistic rage displayed in the writings of these shooters, but current evidence suggests that narcissistic personality disorder might be caused by a combination of factors: A biological vulnerability to having an oversensitive temperament and an environment that might include excessive praise, indulgence or admiration, excessive criticism, emotional abuse or unpredictable or unreliable caregiving from parents.

Researchers, including Jean Twenge, a professor of psychology at San Diego State University and author of the book, "The Narcissism Epidemic: Living in the Age of Entitlement," believe a culture of self-esteem (in which every parent praises a child as "special") is a factor in what she describes as a rise in narcissism in America, particularly among Millennials, those born from the early 1980s to early 2000s. This period would take in the aforementioned mass shooters.

No one can say for sure what caused these shooters to do what they did. Gun opponents will call for gun control, and some mental health advocates will call for more treatment. But all three of these shooters had received psychiatric treatment in their adolescence; the Santa Barbara shooter had received mental health treatment since the age of 8.

Perhaps we should also consider focusing more on preventing these traits from becoming malignant in our children by scrutinizing the earliest family relationships and cultural influences that might be contributing to this disturbing trend.