Understanding, Preventing, & Responding to School Violence

Understanding, Preventing, & Responding to School Violence

By Julianna N. Casella, BS, University at Buffalo
Margaret E. Manges, MEd, University at Buffalo
Amanda B. Nickerson, PhD, University at Buffalo

Editors’ Note: We, along with SCCAP leadership, are shocked and saddened by the recent devastating shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas. The article below, which provides valuable insights and strategies for preventing violence in schools, was selected and submitted months ago and thus does not directly reference the incident. We are grateful to Ms. Casella, Ms. Manges, and Dr. Nickerson for contributing the article and sharing their expertise in preventing school violence. We also believe urgent and immediate action is needed to more effectively prevent gun violence in schools as recommended by the Call for Action to Prevent Gun Violence in the United States of America, developed by The Interdisciplinary Group on Preventing School and Community Violence in 2018, and endorsed by SCCAP: https://education.virginia.edu/prevent-gun-violence. In light of the shooting in Uvalde, we are also providing a link to resources specifically related to mass shootings and gun violence, available on APA’s website:  https://www.apa.org/topics/gun-violence-crime/mass-shooting-resources

 

We express our deepest condolences and support for the Uvalde community and all those in mourning following this horrific incident.  

Whereas schools are generally considered to be a safe place, with school violence decreasing over the past decade (Irwin et al., 2021), school violence is a significant concern in education and society at large. Recent research shows that, whereas most students report feeling safe in school, they have accepted the potential for a crisis to occur in their daily lives (Safe and Sound Schools, 2021). Additionally, with the transition back to in-person schooling, a quarter of school administrators reported they are not confident in their ability to meet the threat of an active shooter/intruder (Safe and Sound Schools, 2021). Therefore, it is important to understand what school violence is, who is most at-risk to perpetrate and be victimized by school violence, effective prevention strategies, and how to best support victims.

According to the Center for Disease Control ([CDC], 2016), school violence is youth violence that occurs on school property or at school-sponsored events, and acts of violence that occur on the way to/from school or school-sponsored events. These include threats of violence, bullying, harassment, gang violence, weapons and gun violence, and assault (CDC, 2016; National Association of School Psychologists, 2015). The negative consequences of school violence are far reaching, with academic, cognitive, and social-emotional impacts, including increased depression and anxiety (CDC, 2016), and decreased control and executive functioning (Perkins & Grahm-Bermann, 2012).

Risk Factors for Perpetrating School Violence

There are multiple risk factors for perpetrating school violence that function in conjunction with one another (Bushman et al., 2018). Personal risk factors include being male (Bushman et al., 2018; National Threat Assessment Center [NTAC], 2021), having emotional regulation difficulties, low empathy, aggressive behavior in early childhood, and an obsession with weapons and death (Bushman et al., 2018). There are also a number of family, peer, and community related risk factors, including  a history of substance abuse, associating with delinquent peers (CDC, 2016), being recently exposed to a stressful event (Groves & Anderson, 2018), coming from a family that has experienced a divorce or high level of family conflict, experiencing neighborhood violence, being bullied, and having easy access to guns (Bushman et al., 2018). School violence has been found to be more likely in schools with high student to teacher/counselor ratios, and at schools with a lack of sense of community and connectedness (Bushman et al., 2018).

Risk and Protective Factors for Victims of School Violence

It is also important to consider certain risk factors for being a victim of violence in schools. Concerning bullying, students with disabilities (Rose et al., 2015), students in rural areas (Wang et al., 2020), and students with marginalized sexual and gender identities (Berry, 2018; Kahle, 2020) are more likely to be victimized, whereas students of color are more likely to be both victims and perpetrators of sexual harassment (Clear et al., 2014). Conversely, a recent paper revealed schools with lower levels of violence have students who have better perceptions of school climate (Bradshaw et al., 2021).

Prevention Strategies

What Can Schools Do?

There are many strategies schools can use to prevent violence, including adjusting the physical environment to minimize students’ ability to commit violent acts; improving student culture and connectedness; collaborating with community partners, such as mental health agencies and law enforcement; and having written plans to respond to an act of school violence that are known by the school community (Cuellar, 2016). These measures can be bolstered with additional school-based mental health professionals (Nickerson & Spears, 2007). Zero tolerance policies and arming teachers have been used in schools; both have been found to be ineffective at preventing or have increased incidents of school violence (Fox & DeLateur, 2014; Huang & Cornell, 2021).

Multi-tiered systems of support (MTSS) provide supports for students at the universal or school-wide level (e.g., having clear expectations about students’ behaviors during school), as well as more targeted and intensive levels (Cornell et al., 2021). For example, schools may support students that are known to be more at-risk by facilitating psychosocial groups to address bullying, increase coping skills, and improve conflict resolution (Paolini, 2015). Schools should also have a robust threat assessment procedure to screen for and address concerns related to school violence (NTAC, 2018). This should be a multi-disciplinary team approach, with clearly defined reporting mechanisms and procedures that assist in identifying the severity of concern and developing individualized management plans (NTAC, 2018). Threat assessment team members, and all members of the school community, should be appropriately trained in their roles in reporting and responding to a potential threat (NTAC, 2018).

What Can Parents and the Community Do?

Parental involvement in school has been found to be negatively associated with the number of violent incidents, physical fights, and disciplinary actions for weapons (Cuellar, 2016). Community partnership with schools to coordinate and integrate programs and activities can improve student safety and well-being by more efficiently identifying services and minimizing overlap in services (Rollison et al., 2013). 

Supporting Victims of School Violence

Children exposed to any level of physical violence within the school may experience a slew of negative physical health outcomes, ranging from reductions in physical activity to heavy alcohol use (Ferraram et al., 2019). School violence may also negatively impact teachers, staff, and school personnel (Daniels et al., 2007). Therefore, effective interventions work to address both student and adult staff needs after experiencing school-based violence. Promising interventions in addressing school violence include cognitive behavioral, social-emotional, and peer mentoring approaches, with universal interventions demonstrating some longstanding change in the prevention of peer aggression (Lester et al., 2017).

In summary, there are many preventative actions that can be taken to minimize the likelihood of school violence. It is crucial that schools and mental health professionals work together to support at-risk individuals and victims of school violence.

References

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