Kip Kinkel And Michael Carneal-Assisted Suicide Case Study

Kip Kinkel and Michael Carneal have many factors in common, as well as many factors that they do not share between one another. The timing of the shootings were very close in range, Michael’s incident took place in 1997 and Kip’s barley a year later, in 1998. Both of the young men suffered from some form of psychological disorder, for Kip it was Major Depressive Disorder and in Michaels case, Paranoid Schizophrenia. Mental health concerns were present in both boys but as one can imagine the manifestation of these two disorders are entirely different. Because of Kip’s dyslexia he struggled academically, however Michael was a good student and kept good grades. This is an area where the boys had contrasting issues, but with school comes bullies, which was the case for the two. Due to their smaller size both boys encountered bullying while at school. But the outcome from the bullying is different in the two cases, Kip would retaliate and had quite the record of disciplinary problems, while Michaels record was clean.

The media such as television, music

and the Internet played a large role in the lives of both boys. Music mainly in Kip’s story and computer games in Michaels, either way the new age of media impacted the lives of both of these young boys. Kip surprisingly had many protective factors on his side, his parents tried to do what was best for Kip, especially his sister. It was also apparent that Kip was trying to do better and improve in many aspects of his life such as school and sports. What both boys share in common is their desperate desire to please their parents, and more influentially their peers.
The boys shared a common social struggle at school, with the students they disliked and the ones they liked, friends and ultimately romantic relationships.

Emotions for both boys drove thoughts of anger, resentment and hatred. Kip ultimately took his shooting to a different and more personal level when he killed his parents, Michael however did not. This may lead one to believe the internal driving forces behind Kip’s actions was really rooted at home, and not school. Both boys acquired stolen guns, which they received from a classmate. Thankfully, in both stories the fatalities were few but that does not excuse either of their actions. The strongest similarity these boys share is their sentencing, both are imprisoned, Michael is serving three life sentences for the three deaths and another 120 years for the five counts of attempted murder and Kip was sentenced to 111 years in prison, without the possibility of

parole.
The most prominent factor that stood out while investigating these two boys were their psychological disorders. Major Depressive Disorder in Kip’s case did not come as a shock, however he did seem to show signs of recovery and hope which diminished almost entirely when he murdered and wounded all these innocent people. With Michael however, the paranoia and Schizophrenia came, as somewhat of a red flag, why were his symptoms and anxiety not managed if his diagnosis was already established. In either case, the most important thing that could have been taken was their obvious cries for help. Kip was clearly in immense emotional distress and Michael who even mentioned the shooting prior to a fellow student should have been recognized. Is it fair to judge these boys based on our educational systems lack of involvement? What about the boy’s parents, friends, other family members and even psychiatrists? Kip and Michael both displayed warning signs and signs of distress could these shootings have been prevented if more careful consideration was taken? Either way it is clear even the most powerful protective factors can lead an at risk adolescent down a pathway of destruction and harm.