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Characteristics of School Violence

School violence includes any harmful or aggressive behavior that occurs on school property. Bullying, gang involvement and physical altercations are a few examples of school violence, all of which can deteriorate into more serious situations like shootings and suicide. While major incidents like school shootings are rare, they cause immense pain when they occur. By learning to identify characteristics of school violence, teachers, students and school staffs can take action sooner to prevent escalating violence.

  1. Bullying

    • Verbal aggression, also known as bullying, is strongly associated with school violence. Aside from the emotional damage it causes, bullying often serves as a precursor to physical violence. Teasing, intimidation and threats of harming oneself or others should always be taken seriously. According to the National Criminal Justice Reference Service, more than three-fourths of school shooters had previously threatened or attempted suicide. Students can help prevent school violence by reporting incidents of bullying to authorities as soon as they happen.

    Possession of Weapons

    • Students who bring weapons to school for any reason pose a serious threat to school safety. Efforts to obtain, prepare or use weapons can signal the progression from idle thought to actual violence and should be treated as a serious offense. A sudden, intense interest in weapons like guns or bombs may also indicate trouble and warrants additional monitoring.

    Gang Activity

    • Gangs are criminal organizations that wreak havoc on communities. While they're often associated with inner-city and urban neighborhoods, gangs are a widespread problem in urban and rural communities across the country. Gang members often wear the same color clothing, use hand signals known as gang signs and adorn personal belongings or public property with graffiti -- a practice known as "tagging." Drive-by shootings and other forms of retaliation aimed at rival gangs can harm innocent bystanders, making gang involvement a major threat to school safety.

    Mental Illness

    • Mental and behavioral disorders are potential risk factors for school violence. Conditions like depression, schizophrenia and bipolar disorder cause emotional instability and distorted thinking patterns that may increase the likelihood of violent behavior. Disobedience, aggression, substance abuse and frequent outbursts of anger are possible symptoms of mental illness. Regular psychological screenings in schools may be required to identify and treat afflicted students sooner.

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