Crime and Violence in Schools

Abstract

Children and youth are exposed to a wide range of factors that have been associated with violence not only within the home, but also at school. Children who display aggressive behavior are at higher risk for delinquency, substance abuse, dropping out of school, early parenthood, and depression. However, in most cases, aggression and violence do not occur without warning. The four stages identified in the literature include frustration, defensiveness, aggression, and self-control. Appropriate intervention early in the cycle can help prevent aggression from escalating and can often break the cycle. A number of programs have been developed that show promise for reducing the amount of violence in schools by promoting learning, maintaining appropriate socialization, and confronting behavioral challenges that are commonly faced in schools.

Overview

Crime and violence in schools is a prominent issue that has attracted considerable research into the complex social factors involved. It received increased attention in the early twenty-first century due to high-profile incidents of deadly violence, such as the 1999 Columbine High School shooting in Littleton, Colorado; the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in Newtown, Connecticut; and the 2018 Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting in Parkland, Florida. Though media reports often suggest that the incidence of violence and crime in schools is increasing, statistics do not tend to support that conclusion.

While the United States has one of the highest rates of violence among industrialized countries, murder rates in the country have remained relatively stable for nearly a century. A 2022 report from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) showed that violent deaths at schools remained rare; from 1992–1993 to 2018–2019, youth homicides at schools consistently made up less than 3 percent of the total number of youth homicides, ranging between 32 to 62 total each year. Meanwhile, for students aged twelve to eighteen, the rates of serious violent victimizations, violent victimizations, thefts, and the total victimization rate declined by 60 percent from 2009 to 2020. The report also found that during the 2019–2020 school year, public schools averaged 19 violent incidents, 2 thefts, and 8 incidences reported per 1,000 students, but less than half of these were reported to law enforcement. Over the same period, around 5 percent of students aged twelve to eighteen reported fear of being attacked or harmed at school. (National Center for Education Statistics, 2022).

However, not all indicators are positive. Twenty-first century violence appears to be growing more rapidly among youth than any other group, not only as perpetrators, but as victims as well (Andersen & Taylor, 2002). The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported that as of 2022, homicide was the third leading cause of death for young people ages ten to twenty-four. The rise in awareness of mass shootings has also led to declines in adults' perceptions of schools as safe places.

Causes of School Violence. Many feel that the violence and destructive behavior occurring in the twenty-first century is the result of deteriorating social and economic conditions within society over several generations. Children and youth are exposed to a wide range of causal factors that have been associated with violence. At home, they may be exposed to or are the victims of violence and abuse (physical, emotional, and sexual); they may be raised by parents, guardians, or other caregivers who abuse drugs or alcohol or who have poor parenting skills; or they may otherwise live in the midst of a dysfunctional family. Additionally, many children feel the effects of poverty, discrimination, and deteriorating neighborhoods. Other risk factors for aggression and violence include easy access to weapons such as handguns and early involvement with and exposure to drugs and alcohol, gangs or other antisocial groups, and extensive exposure to violence depicted in the media and online.

Increasing Visibility. One reason that school violence seems to be so pervasive is due to the immediacy with which the internet and twenty-four-hour television news channels relay information. Some sociologists posit that the media exaggerates and sensationalizes violence, and this is used by some to divert attention and financial resources from other societal problems such as poverty, education, and housing (Faria, 2013). Conflict theorists, in particular, decry the focus on violence in schools. They note that violence in schools (particularly in inner cities) has been an ongoing problem, but when the victims come from the middle class, politicians attempt to put legislative remedies in place (Goff, 2012). On the other hand, feminist theorists note that the perpetrators of violence in schools tend to be male, and the victims are often more likely to be female. As a result, they often view violence in schools as a type of violence against women (O’Keefe & Treister, 1998).

Bullying. Between 1999 and 2010 in the United States, 120 anti-bullying bills and amendments to existing bills were introduced at the state level (McCallion & Feder, 2013). Montana was the only US state without anti-bullying legislation until Governor Steve Bullock signed the state's first anti-bullying bill into law in 2015. By 2023, most states had both laws and policies in place to protect individuals from bullying, though no federal laws existed ("State laws," 2023). According to the CDC, bullying is "any unwanted aggressive behavior(s) by another youth or group of youths, who are not siblings or current dating partners, that involves an observed or perceived power imbalance, and is repeated multiple times or is highly likely to be repeated." (2022). Although many excuse bullying in schools as a normal, harmless part of childhood, the results of bullying can be damaging to the victim and perpetrator. Signs of bullying are often overlooked as a natural part of childhood. However, bullying behavior should neither be considered acceptable nor excusable. Bullying is a form of abuse and violence in its own right and can lead to continued antisocial patterns and escalating conflict, as the tragic events too often reported in the news demonstrate.

The act of bullying includes a wide variety of antisocial behaviors. Bullies may intimidate or harass their victims physically through hitting, pushing, or other physical violence. They may also intimidate or harass their victims verbally through threats, name calling, or other negative verbal behaviors. Some bullies harass their victims psychologically by spreading rumors, making sexual comments or gestures, or excluding the victim from desired activities. Cyberbullying has become more and more pervasive and is a persistent pattern of threatening, harassing, or aggressive behavior carried out electronically, whether online (often through social media) or through other media such as text messages. In the early 2020s, around 1 in 5 students reported being bullied on school grounds, but this rate was not distributed equally. Among Black, Hispanic, and LGBTQ students, the rates were much higher than for White males, followed by White females (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2022)

Far from being a situation of "kids being kids," bullying can have long-term, far reaching, negative effects. Bullying often interferes with school performance, and children who are bullied are more likely to miss school or drop out than those who are not bullied. Victims of school bullying also frequently suffer developmental harm and fail to reach their full physiological, social, and academic potential. Bullied children tend to grow increasingly insecure and anxious and have persistently decreased self-esteem and greater depression than their peers, often even as adults.

The Effects of Bullying. The research literature suggests that children who display aggressive behavior are at higher risk for delinquency, substance abuse, dropping out of school, early parenthood, and depression later in life. Children who are bullies by the time they are eight years of age are six times more likely than other children to have a criminal conviction by the time they are twenty-four. Bullying behavior is often not a stand-alone symptom but part of a pattern of other inappropriate behavior including criminal, delinquent, or gang activities. Additionally, bullying and more criminal behavior are often interrelated. For example, research has shown that victims of bullying were more likely to be criminally victimized at school than were other children. Victims were also more afraid of being attacked both at school and elsewhere and more likely to avoid certain areas of school (e.g., cafeteria, hallways or stairs, restrooms) or activities where bullying was more likely to take place. Significantly, victims of bullies were more likely to report that they carried weapons to school for protection, thereby potentially furthering the cycle of violence in schools.

Warning Signs of Aggression & Violence. In most cases, aggression does not occur without warning. Parents and educators need to be alert for the warning signs of aggression and violence and take timely action to keep violent tendencies from erupting and to teach at-risk children alternate patterns of socially acceptable behavior to express their feelings and resolve their conflicts. The four stages identified in the literature include frustration, defensiveness, aggression, and self-control.

• During the frustration stage, children show minor behavior changes that do not appear to be directly related to aggression and violence (e.g., nail biting, grimacing, muscle tensing). At this stage, children may also complain of not feeling well. Such indicators of an impending crisis are easy to ignore because they appear to be minor. However, when such symptoms are observed, it is important to intervene as soon as possible to prevent the frustration from escalating into hostile acts. Behavior management strategies such as proximity control and interest boosting are often helpful in de-escalating problems at this stage.
• The next stage in the cycle of aggression and violence is defensiveness. At this stage, children may lash out verbally or physically, threaten other people, or withdraw physically or emotionally from others. One frequently observed symptom of this stage of the cycle is a struggle for power, including with the teacher. Ways to help de-escalate aggression at this level include reminding the child of class rules, routines, and consequences and not engaging the child in a debate.
• The third stage is aggression, during which the child may kick, bite, or hit others or destroy property. During this stage, emphasis should be placed on the safety of the students and the teacher, and efforts should be directed at helping the child regain control while preserving their dignity.
• Following the violent outburst, children often enter the self-control stage and exhibit sullen and withdrawn behavior or even refuse to admit that the violent incident occurred. Although this may seem to be a de-escalation of the violence, intervention is needed at this point to prevent further outbreaks of violence in the continuing cycle.

Applications

Decreasing School Violence. Measures have been taken by public schools to decrease violence in schools. Metal detectors and security cameras have been installed, zero tolerance policies implemented, and systemic programs of education developed. Additionally, more schools are locking or monitoring doors during school hours with the intent of limiting and controlling access to school buildings. Many schools have also limited access to social networking websites from school computers and prohibited use of cell phones and text messaging during school hours (National Center for Education Statistics, 2012). Additionally, tools that allow peers to safely and efficiently report threats of violence and encourage the use of mental health resources are continually researched and implemented. Some less invasive measures that prevent school violence include "empathy, parental monitoring, school attachment and belonging, social support, and supportive student-teacher relationships" (National Institute of Justice, 2022, p. 4).

A number of school districts focus on socializing children to differentiate between behavior that is considered acceptable or unacceptable and to act in a manner that is appropriate for the norms of the society. One of the factors that many people believe is essential to socialization and the reduction of violence in schools is increased involvement of parents in supervising and taking responsibility for their children. Children who bully others, for example, and who are not stopped learn a dysfunctional pattern of behavior that they take with them into adulthood. Children who are bullied often develop lower self-esteem and dysfunctional patterns of behavior that will similarly hamper them in later life. However, even when there is parental supervision, it may not effectively safeguard the best interests of society or reduce violent behavior.

Programs Aimed at Reducing Violence. Several programs have been developed that have been shown to reduce violence in schools by promoting learning, maintaining appropriate socialization, and confronting behavioral challenges that are commonly faced in schools. The following programs are comprehensive in their approach, are based on the research evidence, and have been shown to effectively build positive skills to help children and youth learn better ways to deal with aggression and anger.

Check & Connect Program. The Check and Connect program is designed to encourage children in K–12 to engage with school. According to Amendola (2004), the program “is data driven and based on research on resiliency and home/school collaboration.” Among the empirical results of the program are “decreases in truancy and dropout rates as well as increases in accrued credits and school completion. There are a number of referral criteria for the program. These include such alterable warning signs of school withdrawal as primary attendance indices (e.g., absences, tardiness, skipping class)” (Amendola, 2004). Referral criteria are considered within the context of any academic, emotional, or behavioral problems that might exist. The Check and Connect program focuses on building relationships that will help the student better relate, routine monitoring of alterable indicators and warning signs and individualized and timely intervention to help the child get back on track by fostering problem solving, affiliation with the school, and emphasis on learning. The program is conducted by a monitor who acts as mentor, advocate, and service coordinator. Students are followed for at least two years in an attempt to keep the child's education as a top priority not only for the student, but for their teachers and family members as well. The monitor regularly checks on the student's level of engagement using such criteria as attendance, grades, and suspensions.

Second Step. Another curriculum that is aimed at preventing violence is Second Step. This is a school-based curriculum that is appropriate for children in preschool through junior high school. The focus of Second Step is on helping children acquire appropriate social skills and alter attitudes that lead to violence. To do this, Second Step teaches children how to empathize with others, control their impulses, and manage their anger. Research has shown that this program can help children decrease physical aggression toward others and can foster more social behavior. Second Step helps teachers learn to recognize and deal with disruptions in the classroom and other behavioral issues. The program also helps children learn to recognize and understand their feelings and to make positive choices in how they behave. Second Step lessons require minimal preparation by the teachers and include integration activities to tie the lessons into other academic subjects including health, science, mathematics, social studies, and language arts.

Responding in Peaceful and Positive Ways.Responding in Peaceful and Positive Ways is another school-based violence prevention program that is currently used in schools. Included in this three-year program are focuses on the importance of significant friends or adult mentors, understanding the relationship between self-image and gang-related behaviors, and the effects of environmental influences on personal health. Responding in Peaceful and Positive Ways is targeted toward middle school and junior high school students. The program combines classroom education for social and cognitive problem-solving skills with practical, real world applications. Among the skills taught in the Responding in Peaceful and Positive Ways program are peer mediation, critical thinking, and personal management. The program helps students learn how to effectively analyze the consequences of their decisions on health and well-being and teaches them that there are socially-acceptable, non-violent options available for resolving their problems as well as the benefits from using these. Research suggests that students participating in Responding in Peaceful and Positive Ways are significantly less likely to carry weapons, be suspended from school, have fight-related injuries, and were more likely to participate in peer mediation. In a six-month follow-up study, Responding in Peaceful and Positive Ways participants reported less peer pressure to use drugs and responded in more prosocial ways to hypothetical situations. Research also suggests that participants in the program are more likely than their peers to have a favorable attitude toward violence and are less likely to be aggressive (SAMHSA Model Programs, 2008).

Family Function Therapy. Family function therapy is designed to help at-risk youth by involving their families in preventing and intervening in antisocial behavior. The primary goal of this approach is to improve communication and support within the family system and to concomitantly decrease the negativities often associated with the families of at-risk children. Family members are helped to learn and adopt positive solutions to family problems as well as to implement positive changes in their behavior and to adopt positive parenting strategies. Family function therapy was originally designed to help middle-class families with delinquent and pre-delinquent youth. However, the program has since been expanded to include poor, multiethnic, and multicultural populations with very serious problems (e.g., conduct disorder, alcohol and drug abuse, violence). Family function therapy helps at-risk youth and their families set goals, develop better coping skills, and improve self-esteem.

Positive Adolescent Choices Training. The Positive Adolescent Choices Training program teaches social skills as well as violence prevention. The curriculum is designed for the cultural realities of African American youth, although it can be effectively used with other ethnic groups. In the program, students are taught how to give positive and negative feedback in appropriate manners, resist peer pressure, and effectively solve problems. Research on the Responding in Peaceful and Positive Ways program has shown it to be effective in reaching these goals as well as in reducing the number of school suspensions received by the participants.

Aggression Replacement Training. Finally, Aggression Replacement Training focuses on three types of skills needed for helping at-risk children and youth. The first is social skill building. In this component of the program, participants are taught various alternatives to aggressive behavior. Skills are practiced using role playing in group settings, where the participants receive feedback and additional reinforcement of the learning objectives as appropriate. The second component of the program focuses on anger control. Participants are taught how to maintain control in dealing both with their own anger as well as with the anger of others. Participants are taught how to recognize the signs of aggression and violence in themselves and others and employ positive alternatives instead. As in the social skills building component, these skills are reinforced through role playing activities. The third focus is on moral reasoning. Using hypothetical moral dilemmas, participants explore concepts such as fairness, justice, and compassion. In this component of the program, participants learn about the perspectives of others and are challenged to be more mature and moral when making decisions in social situations.

Conclusion

Most experts agree that the phenomenon of violence seen in schools in the twenty-first century is a result of the deteriorating social and economic conditions within the greater society. Children and youth are exposed to many models of violent behavior not only at home, but within the community, in the media, and online. The causes and treatment of violence in schools is a complex issue, and many solutions have been tried. However, it is important to understand this issue and find ways to combat it: Behavioral patterns of aggression and violence learned as a child are not only harmful to others, but they are harmful to the perpetrator as well. If allowed to go unchecked, they can form the basis of a pattern of dysfunctional behavior that will hinder the person throughout their life.

To de-escalate potentially violent situations, teachers, parents, and other adults need to be aware of and alert for the warning signs and intervene appropriately and quickly. There are also a number of validated, field-tested programs available that can be used to help children learn more socially acceptable patterns of behavior and break out of the endless cycle of aggressive and violent behavior.

Terms & Concepts

Abuse: Physical or verbal behavior that is violent toward or demeaning or invasive of another person.

Bullying: A persistent pattern of threatening, harassing, or aggressive behavior directed toward another person or persons who are perceived as smaller, weaker, or less powerful. Bullying is also called harassment.

Culture: Defining and common characteristics of a group or society; includes behavior patterns, arts, beliefs, and institutions.

Empirical: Theories or evidence derived from or based on observation or experiment.

Feminism: An ideology that is opposed to gender stratification and male dominance. Feminist beliefs and concomitant actions are intended to help bring justice, fairness, and equity to all women and aid in the development of a society in which women and men are equal in all areas of life.

Harassment: The process of persistently irritating or tormenting another person or group.

Norms: Standards or patterns of behavior that are accepted as normal within the culture.

Reinforcement: An act, process, circumstance, or condition that increases the probability of a person repeating a response.

Socialization: The process by which individuals learn to differentiate between what the society regards as acceptable versus unacceptable behavior and act in a manner that is appropriate for the needs of the society.

Society: A distinct group of people who live within the same territory, share a common culture and way of life, and are relatively independent from people outside the group. Society includes systems of social interactions that govern both culture and social organization.

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Jennings, W. G., Khey, D. N., Maskaly, J., & Donner, C. M. (2011). Evaluating the relationship between law enforcement and school security measures and violent crime in schools. Journal of Police Crisis Negotiations, 11, 109–124. Retrieved November 11, 2013, from EBSCO Online Database SocIndex with Full Text. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=sih&AN=65967968

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