Every U.S. school system dreads the possibility of their children committing gun crimes. In spite of the Gun-Free Schools Act, school officials fear they are only one day away from becoming known as a school where a shooting took place. Nationally, there are school-supplied data regarding school expulsions for gun violations, but indications are that many students that bring guns to school are not detected. In order to help prevent school shootings, it is important to recognize characteristics of students that bring guns to school. This is a report of a survey that was done in rural counties of Kentucky. The instrument was carefully designed by an expert panel and had internal reliability(Chronbach's alpha) of 0.94. The instrument had items on drug use, violence, associated risk and protective factors, and demographic characteristics. The instrument was administered in 1999 in four school systems to all the grade 6-12 students present(n=4348). For this study, self-reported "bringing a gun to school" in the previous year was the dependent variable. Among students surveyed, 83(2%) reported bringing a gun to school. Independent variables found to be associated included gender, marital status of parents, drug use, and a variety of adjustment indicators, social support characteristics, and other environmental factors, all elaborated in the report. Recommendations for school prevention programs will be identified and discussed.
Learning Objectives: At the completion of this session, participants will be able to: 1. Identify national sources of data regarding students bringing guns to school; 2. Outline characteristics of students most likely to bring guns to school; 3. Suggest prevention strategies appropriate to prevent school gun violence
Keywords: Violence, Safety
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
Organization/institution whose products or services will be discussed: None
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.