School violence

School violence is widely held to have become a serious problem in recent decades in many countries, especially where weapons such as guns or knives are involved. It includes violence between school students as well as physical attacks by students on school staff.

Risk factors

The individual child

Internalizing and externalizing behaviors

A distinction is made between internalizing and externalizing behavior. Internalizing behaviors reflect withdrawal, inhibition, anxiety, and/or depression. Internalizing behavior has been found in some cases of youth violence although in some youth, depression is associated with substance abuse. Because they rarely act out, students with internalizing problems are often overlooked by school personnel.[1] Externalizing behaviors refer to delinquent activities, aggression, and hyperactivity. Unlike internalizing behaviors, externalizing behaviors include, or are directly linked to, violent episodes. Violent behaviors such as punching and kicking are often learned from observing others.[2][3] Just as externalizing behaviors are observed outside of school, such behaviors also observed in schools.[1]

Other individual factors

A number of other individual factors are associated with higher levels of aggressiveness. Compared to children whose antisocial conduct begins in adolescence, early starters have a worse prognosis in terms of future aggression and other antisocial activities.[4] Lower IQ is related to higher levels of aggression.[5][6][7] Other findings indicate that in boys early problematic motor skills, attentional difficulties, and reading problems predict later persistent antisocial conduct.[8]

Home environment

The home environment is thought to contribute to school violence. The Constitutional Rights Foundation suggests long-term exposure to gun violence, parental alcoholism, domestic violence, physical abuse of the child, and child sexual abuse teaches children that criminal and violent activities are acceptable.[9] Harsh parental discipline is associated with higher levels of aggressiveness in youth.[10] There is some evidence indicating that exposure to television violence[11][12] and, to a lesser extent, violent video games[13] is related to increased aggressiveness in children, which, in turn, may carry over into school.

Straus adduced evidence for the view that exposure to parental corporal punishment increases the risk of aggressive conduct in children and adolescents.[14] Straus's findings have been contested by Larzelere[15] and Baumrind.[16][17] A meta-analysis of the vast literature on corporal punishment, however, indicates that corporal punishment is related to poorer outcomes in children and youth.[18] The methodologically soundest studies indicate "positive, moderately sized associations between parental corporal punishment and children’s aggression."[19] Gershoff found that the trajectory of mean effect sizes (the size of the effect of corporal punishment on children's problem behavior) was curvilinear with the largest mean effect size in middle school (M = 0.55; on average the mean of corporal punishment group was more than half a standard deviation higher than the mean of the non-punishment group) and slightly smaller effect sizes in grade school (M = 0.43) and high school (M = 0.45).

Gerald Patterson’s social interactional model, which involves the mother’s application and the child's counterapplication of coercive behaviors, also explains the development of aggressive conduct in the child.[20][21] In this context, coercive behaviors include behaviors that are ordinarily punishing (e.g., whining, yelling, hitting, etc.). Abusive home environments can inhibit the growth of social cognitive skills needed, for example, to understand the intentions of others.[9][22] Short-term longitudinal evidence is consistent with the view that a lack of social cognitive skills mediates the link between harsh parental discipline and aggressive conduct in kindergarten.[23] Longer-term, follow-up research with the same children suggests that partial mediating effects last until third and fourth grade.[22] Hirschi's (1969) control theory advances the view that children with weak affective ties to parents and school are at increased risk of engaging in delinquent and violent behavior in and out of school.[24] Hirschi's cross-sectional data from northern California high-school students are largely consistent with this view.[24] Findings from case-control[10] and longitudinal studies[25][26] are also consistent with this view.

Neighborhood environment

Neighborhoods and communities provide the context for school violence. Communities with high rates of crime and drug use teach youth the violent behaviors that are carried into schools.[9][27][28][29] Dilapidated housing in the neighborhood of the school has been found to be associated with school violence.[30] Teacher assault was more likely to occur in schools located in high-crime neighborhoods.[31] Exposure to deviant peers is a risk factor for high levels of aggressivity.[3][7] Research has shown that poverty and high population densities are associated with higher rates of school violence.[27] Well controlled longitudinal research indicates that children's exposure to community violence during the early elementary school years increases the risk of aggression later in elementary school, as reported by teachers and classmates.[32] Other, well controlled longitudinal research that utilized propensity score matching indicates that exposure to gun violence in early adolescence is related to the initiation of serious physical violence in later adolescence.[33] Neighborhood gangs are thought to contribute to dangerous school environments. Gangs use the social environment of the school to recruit members and interact with opposing groups, with gang violence carrying over from neighborhoods into some schools.[34]

School environment

Recent research has linked the school environment to school violence.[30][35] Teacher assaults are associated with a higher percentage male faculty, a higher proportion of male students, and a higher proportion of students receiving free or reduced cost lunch (an indicator of poverty).[31] In general, a large male population, higher grade levels, a history of high levels of disciplinary problems in the school, high student to teacher ratios, and an urban location are related to violence in schools.[30][36] In students, academic performance is inversely related to antisocial conduct.[37][5] The research by Hirschi[24] and others,[10][25][26] cited above in the section on the home environment, is also consistent with the view that lack of attachment to school is associated with increased risk of antisocial conduct.

Prevention and intervention

The goal of prevention and intervention strategies is to stop school violence from occurring. According to the CDC, there are at least four levels at which violence-prevention programs can act: at the level of society in general, the school community, the family, and the individual.[38]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 Christie, C.A., Nelson, C.M., & Jolivet, K. (2005). Prevention of antisocial and violent behavior in youth: A review of the literature. Lexington, KY: University of Kentucky. Retrieved 2009-05-01.
  2. ↑ Bandura, A. (1983). Psychological mechanisms of aggression. In R. G. Geen & E. I. Donnerstein (Eds.), Aggression: Theoretical and empirical reviews. New York: Academic. ISBN 0-12-278801-X
  3. 1 2 Akers, R. L.; Krohn, M. D.; Lanza-Kaduce, L.; Radosevich, M. (1979). "Social learning and deviant behavior: A specific test of a general theory". American Sociological Review 44 (4): 635–655. doi:10.2307/2094592. PMID 389120.
  4. ↑ Patterson, G. R.; Forgatch, M. S.; Yoerger, K. L.; Stoolmiller, M. (1998). "Variables that initiate and maintain an early-onset trajectory for juvenile offending". Developmental Psychopathology 10 (3): 531–547. doi:10.1017/S0954579498001734.
  5. 1 2 Hirschi, T.; Hindelang, M. J. (1977). "Intelligence and delinquency: A revisionist review". American Sociological Review 42 (4): 571–587. doi:10.2307/2094556. JSTOR 2094556. PMID 900659.
  6. ↑ Huesmann, L. R.; Eron, L. D.; Yarmel, P. W. (1987). "Intellectual functioning and aggression". Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 52 (1): 232–240. doi:10.1037/0022-3514.52.1.232. PMID 3820075.
  7. 1 2 Loeber, R.; Farrington, D. P.; Stouthamer-Loeber, M.; Moffitt, T. E.; Caspi, A.; Lynam, Don (1998). "The development of male offending: Key findings from the first decade of the Pittsburgh Youth Study". Clinical Child and Family Psychology Review 7 (4): 273–297. doi:10.1023/A:1013574903810.
  8. ↑ Moffitt, T. E. (1990). "Juvenile delinquency and attention deficit disorder: Boys' developmental trajectories from age 3 to age 15". Child Development 61 (3): 893–910. doi:10.2307/1130972. JSTOR 1130972. PMID 2364762.
  9. 1 2 3 Constitutional Rights Foundation. (1997). Causes of school violence. Retrieved on April 20, 2009.
  10. 1 2 3 Sampson, R., & Laub, J. (1993). Crime in the making: Pathways and turning points through life. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. ISBN 0-674-17604-9
  11. ↑ Bushman, B. J., & Huesmann, L. R. (2001). Effects of televised violence on aggression. In D. G. Singer & J. L. Singer (Eds.), Handbook of children and the media (pp. 223–254). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. ISBN 0-7619-1954-6
  12. ↑ Paik, H.; Comstock, G. (1994). "The effects of television violence on antisocial behavior: A meta-analysis". Communication Research 21 (4): 516–546. doi:10.1177/009365094021004004.
  13. ↑ Anderson, C. A.; Bushman, B. J. (2001). "Effects of violent video games on aggressive behavior, aggressive cognition, aggressive affect, physiological arousal, and prosocial behavior: A meta-analytic review of the scientific literature". Psychological Science 12 (5): 353–359. doi:10.1111/1467-9280.00366. PMID 11554666.
  14. ↑ Straus, M. A. (1991). "Discipline and deviance: Physical punishment of children and violence and other crime in adulthood". Social Problems 38 (2): 133–154. doi:10.1525/sp.1991.38.2.03a00010.
  15. ↑ Larzelere, R. (1997). Critique of anti-spanking study. Biola University.
  16. ↑ Words from Diana Baumrind on corporal punishment. (1998).
  17. ↑ Baumrind, D.; Larzelere, R.; Cowan, P. (2002). "Ordinary physical punishment: Is it harmful? Comment on Gershoff (2002)" (PDF). Psychological Bulletin 128 (4): 580–589. doi:10.1037/0033-2909.128.4.580. PMID 12081082.
  18. ↑ Gershoff, E. T. (2002a). "Corporal punishment by parents and associated child behaviors and experiences: A meta-analytic and theoretical review". Psychological Bulletin 128 (4): 539–579. doi:10.1037/0033-2909.128.4.539. PMID 12081081.
  19. ↑ Gershoff, E. T. (2002b). "Corporal punishment, physical abuse, and the burden of proof: Reply to Baumrind, Larzelere, and Cowan (2002), Holden (2002), and Parke (2002)". Psychological Bulletin 128 (4): 602–611. doi:10.1037/0033-2909.128.4.602.
  20. 1 2 Patterson, G. (1982). Coercive family process. Eugene, OR: Castalia. ISBN 0-916154-02-5
  21. ↑ Patterson, G. R. (1995). Coercion as a basis for early age of onset for arrest. In J. McCord (Ed.), Coercion and punishment in long-term perspectives (pp. 81–105). New York: Cambridge University Press.
  22. 1 2 Dodge, K. A.; Pettit, G. S.; Bates, J. E.; Valente, E. (1995). "Social information processing patterns partially mediate the effect of early physical abuse on later conduct problems". Journal of Abnormal Psychology 104 (4): 632–643. doi:10.1037/0021-843X.104.4.632. PMID 8530766.
  23. ↑ Weiss, B.; Dodge, K. A.; Bates, J. E.; Pettit, G. S. (1992). "Some consequences of early harsh discipline: Child aggression and a maladaptive social information processing style". Child Development 63 (6): 1321–1335. doi:10.2307/1131558. JSTOR 1131558. PMID 1446555.
  24. 1 2 3 Hirschi, T.W. (1969). Causes of delinquency. Berkeley: University of California Press. ISBN 0-520-01487-1
  25. 1 2 Borowsky, I. W.; Ireland, M.; Resnick, M. D. (2002). "Violence risk and protective factors among youth held back in school". Ambulatory Pediatrics 2 (6): 475–484. doi:10.1367/1539-4409(2002)002<0475:VRAPFA>2.0.CO;2. PMID 12437395.
  26. 1 2 Wiesner, M.; Windle, M. (2004). "Assessing covariates of adolescent delinquency trajectories: A latent growth mixture modeling approach". Journal of Youth and Adolescence 33 (5): 431–442. doi:10.1023/B:JOYO.0000037635.06937.13.
  27. 1 2 Evans, G. W. (2004). "The environment of childhood poverty". American Psychologist 59 (2): 77–92. doi:10.1037/0003-066X.59.2.77. PMID 14992634.
  28. ↑ Gottfredson, G. D., & Gottfredson, D. C. (1985). Victimization in schools. New York: Plenum. ISBN 0-306-42023-6
  29. ↑ Johnson, S.L.; Burke, J.G.; Gielen, A.C. (2011). "Prioritizing the school environment in school violence prevention efforts". Journal of School Health 81 (6): 331–340. doi:10.1111/j.1746-1561.2011.00598.x. PMID 21592128.
  30. 1 2 3 Limbos, M.A.P.; Casteel, C. (2008). "Schools and neighborhoods: Organizational and environmental factors associated with crime in secondary schools". Journal of School Health 78 (10): 539–544. doi:10.1111/j.1746-1561.2008.00341.x. PMID 18808473.
  31. 1 2 Casteel, C.; Peek-Asa, C.; Limbos, M.A. (2007). "Predictors of nonfatal assault injury to public school teachers in Los Angeles City". American Journal of Industrial Medicine 50 (12): 932–939. doi:10.1002/ajim.20520. PMID 17979131.
  32. ↑ Guerra, N. G.; Huesmann, L. R.; Spindler, A. (2003). "Community violence exposure, social cognition, and aggression among urban elementary school children". Child Development 74 (5): 1561–1576. doi:10.1111/1467-8624.00623. PMID 14552414.
  33. ↑ Bingenheimer, J. B.; Brennan, R. T.; Earls, F. J. (2005). "Firearm violence exposure and serious violent behavior". Science 308 (5726): 1323–1326. doi:10.1126/science.1110096. PMID 15919997.
  34. ↑ Wolfgang, M.E., Figlio, R.M., & Sellin, T. (1987). Delinquency in a birth cohort. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. ISBN 0-226-90553-5
  35. ↑ Meyer-Adams, N.; Conner, B.T. (2008). "School violence: Bullying behaviors and the psychosocial school environment in middle schools". Children and Schools 30 (4): 211–221. doi:10.1093/cs/30.4.211.
  36. ↑ Larsen, E. (2003). Violence in US public schools. ERIC Identifier: ED482921
  37. 1 2 3 4 5 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention."School Health Policies and Programs Study 2006", 2008. Retrieved April 20, 2009.
  38. ↑ Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2006). School health policies and programs study. Retrieved on April 20, 2009.
  39. ↑ Examining School Safety and Gun Violence in America. (2014). Curriculum Review, 54(4), 8-9
  40. 1 2 Schonfeld, I.S. (2006). School violence. In E.K. Kelloway, J. Barling, & J.J. Hurrell, Jr. (Eds). Handbook of workplace violence (pp. 169–229). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.
  41. ↑ Howard, K. A.; Flora, J.; Griffin, M. (1999). "Violence-prevention programs in schools: State of the science and implications for future research". Applied & Preventive Psychology 8 (3): 197–215. doi:10.1016/S0962-1849(05)80077-0.
  42. ↑ Scheckner, S.; Rollin, S. A.; Kaiser-Ulrey, Cheryl; Wagner, R. (2002). "School Violence in children and adolescents: A meta-analysis of the effectiveness of current interventions". Journal of School Violence 1 (2): 5–32. doi:10.1300/J202v01n02_02.
  43. ↑ Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2008). Using environmental design to prevent school violence. Retrieved April 20, 2009.
  44. ↑ Dolan, L. J.; Kellam, S. G.; Brown, C. H.; Werthamer-Larsson, L.; Rebok, G. W.; Mayer, L. W.; et al. (1993). "The short-term impact of two classroom-based preventive interventions on aggressive and shy behaviors and poor achievement". Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology 14 (3): 317–345. doi:10.1016/0193-3973(93)90013-L.
  45. ↑ Embry, D. D. (2002). "The Good Behavior Game: A best practice candidate as a universal behavioral vaccine". Clinical Child and Family Psychology Review 5 (4): 273–296. doi:10.1023/A:1020977107086. PMID 12495270.
  46. ↑ Grossman DC, Neckerman HJ, Koepsell TD, Liu PY, Asher KN, Beland K, Frey K, Rivara FP (1997). "Effectiveness of a violence prevention curriculum among children in elementary school: A randomized controlled trial". Journal of the American Medical Association 277 (20): 1605–1611. doi:10.1001/jama.277.20.1605. PMID 9168290.
  47. ↑ Olweus, D. (1991). Bully/victim problems among schoolchildren: Basic facts and effects of a school-based intervention. In D. Pepler & K. Rubin (Eds.), The development and treatment of childhood aggression (pp. 411–448). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.
  48. ↑ Olweus, D. (1994). "Annotation: Bullying at school: Basic facts and effects of a school-based intervention program". Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry and Allied Disciplines 35 (7): 1171–1190. doi:10.1111/j.1469-7610.1994.tb01229.x. PMID 7806605.
  49. ↑ Olweus, D. (1997). "Bully/victim problems in school: Knowledge base and an effective intervention program". Irish Journal of Psychology 18: 170–190. doi:10.1080/03033910.1997.10558138. ISSN 0303-3910.; Also reprinted as Olweus, DAN (1996). "Bullying at School: Knowledge Base and an Effective Intervention Program". Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences 794: 265–276. doi:10.1111/j.1749-6632.1996.tb32527.x.
  50. ↑ Olweus, D. (1999). The nature of school bullying: A cross-national perspective. In P. K. Smith, J. Junger-Taqs, D. Olweus, R. Catalano, & P. Slee (Eds.), The nature of school bullying: A cross-national perspective (pp. 7–27). New York: Plenum.
  51. ↑ Young, B. (2009, Mar. 2). Seattle schools scramble to outsmart gangs. Seattle Times.
  52. ↑ Cornell, Dewey; Allen, Korrie (2011). "Development, Evaluation, and Future Directions of the Virginia Student Threat Assessment Guidelines". Journal of School Violence 10: 88–106. doi:10.1080/15388220.2010.519432.
  53. ↑ Webster-Stratton, C. (1998). "Preventing conduct problems in Head Start children: Strengthening parenting competencies". Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology 66 (5): 715–730. doi:10.1037/0022-006X.66.5.715. PMID 9803690.
  54. ↑ Tremblay, R. E.; Pagani-Kurtz, L.; Mâsse, L. C.; Vitaro, F.; Pihl, R. O. (1995). "A bimodal preventive intervention for disruptive kindergarten boys: Its impact through mid-adolescence". Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology 63 (4): 560–568. doi:10.1037/0022-006X.63.4.560. PMID 7673533.
  55. ↑ Olds D, Henderson CR, Cole R, Eckenrode J, Kitzman H, Luckey D, Pettitt L, Sidora K, et al. (1998). "Long-term effects of nurse home visitation on children's criminal and antisocial behavior: 15-year follow-up of a randomized controlled trial". Journal of the American Medical Association 280 (14): 1238–1244. doi:10.1001/jama.280.14.1238. PMID 9786373.
  56. ↑ Bennett-Johnson, E. (2004). "The root of school violence: Causes and recommendations for a plan of action". College Student Journal 38: 199–202.
  57. ↑ Conduct Problems, Prevention Research Group (1999a). "Initial Impact of the Fast Track Prevention Trial for Conduct Problems: I. The High-Risk Sample". Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology 67 (5): 631–647. doi:10.1037/0022-006X.67.5.631. PMC 2762610. PMID 10535230.
  58. ↑ Conduct Problems, Prevention Research Group (1999b). "Initial Impact of the Fast Track Prevention Trial for Conduct Problems: II. Classroom Effects". Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology 67 (5): 648–657. doi:10.1037/0022-006X.67.5.648. PMC 2761630. PMID 10535231.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to School violence.
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Thursday, February 11, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.