The 360: School violence and safer communities

Ron Avi Astor, a professor of social welfare at the UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs, with a joint appointment in the UCLA School of Education and Information Studies, is an expert on school violence and creating safe communities. He examines how physical, social-organizational and cultural contexts in schools relate to different kinds of bullying and school violence.

Astor has taken input from millions of students, teachers, parents and administrators, and developed mapping and monitoring procedures that have been used to generate grassroots solutions to safety problems in schools worldwide.

We caught up with Astor to gain a better understanding of school violence - and how to create safer schools.

Is school violence getting worse - and why does it happen more in the U.S.?

Astor: Overall, day-to-day school victimization, including physical, verbal and social exclusion, has declined significantly in recent decades across the United States. In contrast, behaviors involving cyberbullying through phones and the internet are on the rise. When it comes to shootings and deaths, however, the situation has worsened. The increasing frequency of shootings, intense media coverage and widespread use of hardening measures in schools contribute to the perception that all forms of violence are escalating.

This is why it is essential to distinguish different types of victimization. School shootings are a separate phenomenon, more akin to terrorism, and should be considered independently from everyday violence. Cyberbullying is another category that requires its own focus, as it is increasing.

For day-to-day school violence, the United States is not among the most violent countries; many nations have had far higher rates for decades. But when it comes to school shootings and deaths from shootings, the U.S. is by far the highest globally and accounts for a large proportion of such fatalities worldwide.

In the aftermath of a mass shooting, what should a school or community do to come together?

Astor: Across the many crises I have witnessed over the decades, people consistently report that what helped them most was the community coming together to mourn-through vigils, prayer and often music and the arts.

These events require long-term follow-up at both the individual and school levels, sometimes even years later. In some schools, we have seen elevated substance use, suicidal ideation and attempts, and other serious outcomes emerge well after the initial event. Unfortunately, each new shooting covered in the media can retraumatize affected schools and families. At the same time, those who have experienced school shootings often find comfort and understanding in connecting with others who have lived through similar tragedies.