Prioritizing the school environment in school violence prevention efforts

Area of Science:

• Social Psychology
• Educational Psychology
• Criminology

Background:

• School environment characteristics are linked to school violence.
• The relative importance of these characteristics and their impact on different violence outcomes remain unclear.

Purpose of the Study:

• To explore students' perceptions of school environment factors influencing school violence.
• To identify key environmental characteristics for violence initiation, cessation, and severity.

Main Methods:

• Concept mapping sessions with primarily African-American high school students (n=27).
• Students generated statements on school environment's influence on violence.
• Quantitative analysis of statement importance for violence initiation, cessation, and severity.

Main Results:

• Over half of student-generated statements were highly important for violence.
• Student actions, behavior expectations, and external environment most impacted violence initiation and severity.
• Students found it harder to identify factors for violence cessation.

Conclusions:

• Student perspectives support the school environment's role in violence prevention.
• Focusing on environmental changes can prevent violence initiation and reduce severity.
• Schools should engage students and staff to prioritize environmental modifications for violence reduction.