Psychology prof analyzes Jonesboro massacre

By Alexander Dworkowitz

Kaufman is referring to the Tues., Mar. 24 massacre of four students and a teacher by two middle school boys in Jonesboro, Ark. The 13-year-old Mitchell Johnson and the 11-year-old gunmen, Andrew Golden, arrived at school clad in military camoflauge, pulled a fire alarm, and fired into the crowd as people filed out of the Westside Middle School, killing five and wounding 10 others.

Visiting professor Joan Kaufman points to several 'red flags' that help explain the Jonesboro massacre.

An expert in child psychology, Kaufman has followed the Jonesboro story closely. She currently teaches a class at Yale that explores the social, psychological, and biological causes and effects of childhood trauma. She began her career at the Western Psychiatric Clinic at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, where she directed Specialty Psychiatric Services for abused children and their families, conducted research, and provided expert testimony.

Although the Jonesboro shooting has sent shock waves across the country, Kaufman explains that the tragedy was not entirely unexplainable. "It looked like there were a number of opportunities that were missed to help this boy," she said. For example. Kaufman identifies one "red flag": a local mother's report that she had seen Johnson sexually abuse her child. Kaufman notes that John-
son's mother frequently reported her son missing from home when he was as young as eight, an act which in most states constitutes child neglect. And more recently, Johnson had spoken to his classmates in school about gangs--and even killing.

Yet these signs led to no action. "There was no effort to seek either support for the child or the family," Kaufman said. "People are very uncomfortable with the issues of children's mental health," she explained.

Nevertheless, the violence was still a shock. "The truth is violence is impossible to predict. We can identify risk factors, but there really is no way anyone could have predicted," she said. Kaufman points out, for instance, that most sexually abused children do not go on to commit acts of violence. In this incident, however, the children had the means to commit a crime far more gruesome than most. "Gun availability is clearly a piece in this formula," she said.

But as the tragedy falls from the headlines, the focus has shifted from finding explanations to encouraging the healing process. In the past weeks, psychologists from all over the nation, including Yale psychology professor Steven Marans, have traveled to Jonesboro to train counselors and help residents deal with the emotional and psychological effects of such a tragedy. "The availability of supports is one of the most significant factors in treating trauma," Kaufman explained.

According to Kaufman, the standard process for psychologists in such a case is the crisis intervention technique. This method involves letting people express their feelings individually, giving treatment for the symptoms, and explaining where to get further help if necessary.

In the case of the children's classmates, such methods have become especially important. "[The massacre] has to have changed how these children view the world," she said. "This is not something a kid by himself can make sense of; they need adult support." Kaufman cautioned that "violence is certainly one response to witnessing violence." Kaufman, however, also said most of the children's reactions will not be so extreme. Depending on their emotional ties to those killed and the meaning the children give to the crime, the children may experience depression and post traumatic stress disorder.

Considering the gravity of the situation, Kaufman believes that both the Jonesboro community and the nation have handled the case well. She commented that the solidarity of the Jonesburo community has been a therapeutic agent for the survivors and victims' families.

"The community had a very unified response, which will be helpful for everyone's healing," Kaufman said. "It's a very unnatural thing for a parent to bury a child."

Center photo by Liz Oliner. Left and right photos courtesy Associated Press. Collage by Patrick McGarvey.

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