Date of Graduation

5-2024

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Arts in Sociology (MA)

Degree Level

Graduate

Department

Sociology and Criminology

Advisor/Mentor

Kayla Allison

Committee Member

Jeff Gruenewald

Second Committee Member

Michael Niño

Keywords

gun violence; masculinity; mass shooting; mental health

Abstract

Few studies have explored how intersecting challenges to masculinity and mental health can precipitate mass shootings. This study examines how responses to strained masculinity and mental health disorders combine across varying situational and social contexts to explain why and how offenders commit mass shootings. Data come from the U.S. Extremist Crime Database, Bias Homicide Database, and other open-source data on mass shootings. Drawing from Allison and Klein’s (2021) concept of “strained masculinity”, this study utilizes a qualitative narrative approach to uncover themes of strained masculinity and mental health issues among perpetrators of mass shootings. Different storylines emerge capturing ways some men use mass violence to address challenges in their pursuit of hegemonic masculinity. The “strained masculinity” framework is extended by examining how challenges to mental health and masculinity can intersect in ways that influence offenders’ decisions to commit mass shootings. Findings contribute to the literature on the causes and consequences of mass shootings as well as the utility of the “strained masculinity” concept for understanding why these violent crimes occur. Future research should continue to consider how challenges to mental health and masculinities intersect in ways that can inform mass violence preventative initiatives

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