A Narrative Study of the Causes and Prevention of School Violence

Abstract

Research has shown many suspected causes of school violence including the media, bullying, shaming, and access to guns. Research has also shown methods of prevention including school security, interventions, and prospective profiling. Problems with prospective profiling and alternatives to profiling are presented. In the present study, 6 11 to 18 year-old males were interviewed in order to determine their views on the causes and prevention measures regarding school violence. Interviews were relatively unstructured and not time-limited. Five of the participants were in high school and one was in middle school. All participants were interviewed in either their own homes or the home of the interviewer. Based on the literature, it was predicted that the participants would agree with the theory of James Gilligan that words are possibly the only alternative to violence, and also with the implications from a United States Secret Service National Threat Assessment Center (NTAC) Interim Report on School Violence, stating that barriers of communication between students and authorities must be broken down in schools if prevention of violence is to occur. Findings of the present study supported these hypotheses and could aid in the discovery of effective methods to preventing future youth violence in schools.