The 36-page booklet, available on the FBI web site, is the result of a two-year study of school violence. The guide describes types and manners of threats and gives school officials guidance on how to evaluate the seriousness of threats by students

In particular, the report lists four categories of risk factors generally found among teen shooters. They are personality traits, family situations, school interaction and social interaction. Among the traits noted are poor coping skills, access to weapons, signs of depression, drug and alcohol abuse, alienation, narcissism, inappropriate humor, no limits on or monitoring of television viewing, and Internet use.

Critics of the FBI report, including educators and researchers, are concerned that educators might overreact. "I'm fearful once we start putting these things out, every principal in America is going to come up with the names of 10 kids," said Vincent Schiraldi of the Justice Policy Institute, a youth advocacy think tank.

But Dr. Gregory Saathoff, a University of Virginia clinical psychiatry professor who consulted with the FBI on the report, countered, "This is not a punishment model, despite the fact it comes from law enforcement."

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