School Violence - Causes Of School Violence
Causes of school violence
The causes of school violence are complex and varied. Forensic psychologists who study criminal behavior believe school killers are very different from other violent youth, such as gang members or drug dealers. For whatever reason, they feel powerless and begin obsessing over killing or injuring others. They may make direct threats concerning those they feel are taunting or intimidating them. They often express these thoughts and plans to fellow students. In general, other students tend to ignore the comments or simply look the other way.
Students from Columbine High School mourn the loss of their friends and classmates after a tragic shooting at their school in 1999.
The decision to kill for these youth is not a sudden occurrence, but coldly planned. Use of guns gives them the power they felt deprived of, and makes those offending them powerless. In addition, the shooters become famous with their faces splashed across televisions screens nationwide. The violent outbreak turns the tables and gives them both the power and attention they seek. This type of offender is almost always male; females approach retribution in less direct ways, such as hiring classmates or others to kill those they wish to strike out against.
Each case may represent a unique combination of factors. Some are physical, some behavioral, and others are learned. Physical factors can include birth complications. For example, being deprived of oxygen during the birth process can lead to brain dysfunction and learning disabilities. Violent behavior has been linked to certain forms of these abnormalities. Similarly, head injuries have been shown to increase the potential for violent behavior in certain individuals.
Behavioral problems can be linked to a difficult personality, which leads to problems of interacting with others, impulsiveness, and being unable to conform. These children may not blend into school activities and become ignored and rebellious. Some become depressed and take medication that can produce serious behavioral side effects. Broken family relationships can also be a major factor. Harshly treated children are more likely to behave violently later in life.
Being bullied or teased by others can often lead a troubled youth to violent revenge or retribution. This factor showed up repeatedly in the school shootings of the 1990s and beyond. It received the most attention from school administrators and others in the early twenty-first century.
Learning violent behavior can come from a dysfunctional or abnormal home life, perhaps involving domestic abuse or parents who do not respond well to authority figures such as the police. From this type of home environment, youth learn to react to authority such as teachers or school officials with aggression. Some believe learned violent behavior also comes from repeated exposure to violence in the media such as music lyrics, Hollywood movies, television programs, video games, and 24-hour news stations broadcasting violent or graphic scenes. Studies showed that youth exposed to an overwhelming amount of such material became more aggressive and no longer upset by violence and its consequences. These kids, it is believed, have trouble distinguishing between reality and fantasy.
Schools themselves have changed a great deal since the 1950s, and by the later twentieth century they brought a wide range of students together from often markedly different social environments. Differences appear in attitudes and behavior that can lead to social cliques or racial tensions. A major change was the emergence of gangs, which doubled between 1989 and 1993. Gang activity within schools included recruiting new members, which often led to school violence as part of initiation. In addition, illegal activities in the vicinity of the school increased, such as selling drugs and firearms.
Yet another major factor in the rise of deadly school violence was the easy availability of firearms and other weapons. Estimates in the 1990s on the number of weapons brought to school on a daily basis were staggering. The number of guns brought into schools on any given day ranged up to over 250,000 and the number of knives more than double that figure.
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24 days ago
TY » brsngr21 ((at)) yahoo dot com
while it may be true that shool shootings are a terrible ordeal that this country should not have to go throught, it is not the always the assailants fault. Even though i do not condone the actions that these shooter take, i can see why most would want to do it. for 3 years i was bullied till i wanted to kill myself everynight i never attempted to thoough. I also wished half of my school (the ones that made my life a living hell) would just drop dead. I never thought up a plan to kill anyone but how i wished i could have just hurt them as much as they hurt me. So i can see how the bullied students could go on a rampage. my thought back then when i thought of killing myself was why should i be the dead one i have done nothing wrong? why should i be punished? I thought they should be the dead ones not me, but i never acted on these thoughts because i have self control and was never pushed that far. My life is good now though i am doing well in sports, i have good grades, and i have really good friends. This is my senior year in high school and everything seems to have picked up. Basically, my point in this rant is that i can see how someone would resort to violence to sedate thier anger. I mean someone can only be pushed so far before they just lose it and snap. You may not agree with me and thats okay, but you may not have gone through all the stuff i have and everything these other people have. So you really dont know what it feels like so you cant judge. And how many of us has never thought of killing someone, just because you hate them or wished that they were dead. If you say you havent then you are either lying or your just a better person than I and most others in the world.
2 months ago
mariah reed » mimi15sf ((at)) yahoo dot com
school is a place we go to get educated and to learn not to get shot and loose our friends and loved ones.
2 months ago
mariah reed » mimi15sf ((at)) yahoo dot com
i can,t understand why people took it as far as they did harm n hurtin is so much diffrent from killing loved ones. i wish i could ask them how they feel if one of there family members got killed how they would feel but aparently they don,t care
6 months ago
andrew bell » joe dot bob ((at)) hotmail dot com
violence at schools is horrible! i cant believe this is happening. it shouldn't! school is a learning place not a place to get shot! something should be changed to prevent this even more. i keep hearing more about this every year!
8 months ago
tiffany » ily_mb ((at)) hotmail dot com
this helped me alot and i was thinking alot about the fact that ever since gangs have came in more and more that anger has increase alot to and tv is showing violence and making it look easy and they think that they can do it and it wont hurt anyone and that u will just get the attention but it is much more than that.
10 months ago
Madison » mrm1997 ((at)) gmail dot com
this is just so dangerous for kids and teens to be violent at schools!! JUST PLAIN PLAIN AWFULL!!!
11 months ago
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about 1 year ago
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about 1 year ago
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about 1 year ago
Felecia » cgherron_frazier ((at)) hotmail dot com
I am a mother of 5 and I fear for my children's safety everyday. I fear more when they are at school because it is were that are exposed to more things that I can not control. I know what I instill in them; respect for others, respect for authority, and respect for self, but I can't control what other parents teach their children. This article is very enlightening. Maybe we should or force a training program for people who are becoming parents to teach them the importance of a positive environment for their children Although some kids will go astray no matter what you try, we must start somewher. My heart goes out to all the families that have lost their precious jewels, and also to the families of the children that caused such loss.
about 1 year ago
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about 1 year ago
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about 1 year ago
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about 1 year ago
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about 1 year ago
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about 1 year ago
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about 1 year ago
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about 1 year ago
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over 2 years ago
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over 2 years ago
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over 2 years ago
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over 2 years ago
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over 2 years ago
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over 2 years ago
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over 2 years ago
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over 2 years ago
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Westwood College of Technology
Criminal Justice
over 2 years ago
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over 2 years ago
Karlee » sweet_cherry03 ((at)) myspace dot com
i just wanted to say how truly sorry i feel about the columbine shooting.I can't imagine being there and experienceing such a disturbing time.