January 2023|Volume 11, Issue 1

This special edition of Evidence in Action focuses on a review of the latest research on the topic of preventing gun violence in schools.

The citation for the original article is provided below:

Rajan, S., Reeping, P.M., Ladhani, Z., Vasudevan, L.M., Branas, C.C. (2022). Gun violence in K-12 schools in the United States: Moving towards a preventive (versus reactive) framework. Preventive Medicine 165:107280. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ypmed.2022.107280.

Prevention Strategies

Primary Strategies 

• Working to improve community structures and resources significantly reduces gun violence since the boundary between school and community is porous. Gun violence is not isolated to a school but is rather a part of a child’s experience within a larger community. Research has shown that adolescents who carry a firearm are significantly more likely to feel unsafe in their neighborhoods. Community level interventions that have been shown to reduce the rate of school gun violence include improving housing conditions and access, enhancing street lighting, increasing access to early childhood education, etc.  
• Investing in schools through a focus on programs and practices that foster a sense of belonging, positive connections and a sense of agency among students have been shown to reduce school violence. There is also good evidence that school-based violence prevention programs (e.g., anger management, empathy, problem solving programs, school-based restorative justice conflict resolution practices) are effective.  
• Reducing access to firearms has been shown definitively to reduce the risk of gun violence in schools. More permissive state firearm laws are associated with higher rates of school shootings. Policies like banning assault weapons, requiring permits to purchase a firearm and ensuring all states raise the minimum age to purchase semi-automatic firearms to 21 will have a significant impact on school gun violence.  

Secondary Strategies 

• Enhancing school security (e.g., arming teachers, metal detectors) is frequently a focus after a school shooting but there is extremely limited evidence as to its effectiveness. Instead, there is considerable evidence that behavioral threat assessment (identifying, deescalating the threat and attending to the needs of the student) is a useful preventive strategy.  
• Since the majority of perpetrators of gun violence exhibit concerning behavior prior to a shooting, enhancing bystander responses and interventions has been shown to reduce gun violence. This includes building awareness, enhancing communication and promoting positive bystander behavior among students.  
• Recognizing the disparities in school environments and student outcomes leads to worsened experiences for students, particularly children of color. Increased “securitization” of schools to “manage behavior” occurs more frequently in schools that are primarily in non-white, urban, lower socioeconomic areas and may lead to criminalizing students and potentially fueling entry into the criminal justice system.  

Tertiary Strategies 

• There is no evidence that lockdown drills are effective in deterring gun violence, but rather lead to worsened mental health and increased anxiety for students and staff after these drills. When utilized in developmentally appropriate ways, research has shown that lockdown drills can improve perceptions of safety and students’ sense of preparedness for a gun violence emergency. Youth exposure to gun violence is now classified as an adverse childhood experience (ACE) (3).  
• Investing in mental health and early interventions to support school communities in the aftermath of gun violence exposure is now considered an ACE intervention and has been shown to reduce poor mental and physical health outcomes for children such as an increased likelihood for violence perpetration and substance use (3). But providing these services has been challenging both financially and due to the COVID pandemic.  
• A commitment to trauma-informed schools is effective in reducing PTSD related to school gun violence including strategies such as the “Listen, Protect, Connect” method for psychological first aid for teachers and students in the aftermath of a crisis (4). In addition, the National Child Traumatic Stress Network has identified key elements that comprise a trauma-informed school to further mitigate the effects of school gun violence (5). 

References

1. Cox, J.W., Rich, S., Chiu, A., Thacker, H., Chong, L., Muyskens, J., Ulmanu, M. More than 323,000 Students Have Experienced Gun Violence at School since Columbine Washington Post (Nov 2022) Retrieved from https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/2018/local/school-shootings-database/?utm_term=c7bd3effe7e1   
2. Lewallen, T.C., Hunt, H., Potts-Datema, W., Zaza, S., Giles, W. (2015). The whole school, whole community, whole child model: a new approach for improving educational attainment and healthy development for studies. J. Sch. Health, 85 (11), 729-739. 
3. Rajan, S., Branas, C.C., Myers, D., Agrawal, N. 2019. Youth exposure to violence involving a gun: evidence for adverse childhood experience classification. J. Behav. Med. 42 (4), 646-657. 
4. Schreiber, M., Gurwitch, R. Listen, Protect, and Connect – Model & Teach Psychological First Aid for Children. 2011. Retrieved from: https://www.ready.gov/sites/default/files/documents/files/LPC_Booklet.pdf  
5. The National Child Traumatic Stress Network Essential Elements of a Trauma-Informed School System. 2022. Retrieved from: https://www.nctsn.org/trauma-informed-care/trauma-informed-systems/schools/essential-elements