Menninger experts helping to make threat-assessment guide

Topeka Capital-Journal, The, Jul 24, 1999 by HEATHER HOLLINGSWORTH

Schools nationwide were flooded with a barrage of threats last spring after two student gunmen in Colorado killed 12 students and a teacher before firing on themselves. Of the thousands of student threats issued in the wake of the shootings at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colo., about 400 made their way to the Federal Bureau of Investigation. And the FBI at a meeting in Leesburg, Va., last weekend asked for help developing a threat assessment tool from two Menninger researchers, other nationally renowned psychiatrists and officials from schools involved in shooting incidents or foiled attempts.

A handbook to help schools evaluate and address threats should be available within the next six months, said Stuart Twemlow, a Menninger res-earcher who designed the format for the meeting.

The concept behind a threat assessment is simple, Twemlow said. "If someone threatens to kill, how likely is it that it will happen," Twemlow said.

Topeka Unified School District 501 first began conducting threat assessments about 18 months ago.

Following the school shootings nationwide, some criticized officials at those schools of not taking warning signs more seriously. Twemlow said many of the psychiatrists and teachers from those schools who attended the conference were guilt ridden.

"One of the teachers who felt she should have picked up on the signs left teaching she was so upset," Twemlow said. "But, there were no guidelines. Homicide is rare. Any rare event is difficult to predict."

The FBI will identify factors -- such as personality, psychiatric illness, family structure, school structure and influence of the media -- that could offer clues to when a student is likely to commit violent actions.

Twemlow and fellow Menninger researcher Kathie Nichols presented their findings.

Twemlow completed a violence prevention pilot at Ross Elementary and will begin a three-year study this fall to determine whether the positive results can be duplicated. Menninger has already raised $300,000 to $700,000 from the business community. In four years at Ross, suspensions dropped and student achievement on standardized tests improved.

Nichols is examining the effects of movie violence on 8- to 12- year-old boys. She found boys who are classified as normal become agitated from the violent clips but return to normal soon afterwards. Some boys with depression or disruptive behavior disorders become excited after watching the clips and stay that way.