For more than half a century, popular music has been widely criticized for contributing to a variety of problematic behaviors among adolescents, ranging from early sexual activity to suicide. Initially, social critics and commentators claimed that popular musicians and bands such as Elvis Presley and the Beatles were encouraging young people to engage in early
What, if any, are the connections between media violence and violence in schools? Does media violence cause violence in schools? Does exposure to media violence desensitize media consumers? To use Freedman’s (2002) analogy, is media a villain or a scapegoat? These questions underlie research on the effects of media violence in society, and public discussion
When a major incident of school violence occurs, often the first response is to blame the parents. Parents can, however, be tremendous allies and advocates for their children. If parents are open and available to communicate with young people, many times serious violence can be averted. In some cases, it has been parents who have
The role of religion in high school crime and violence has taken many forms. In some cases, it has been used as inspiration for heinous acts of physical violence and contentious episodes of verbal intolerance. In other instances, religion has functioned as a means of lessening the threat of crime and violence on high school
Research about victimization trends among racial or ethnic groups has often been hampered by use of different definitions, different measurements, and different samples. Native American and Asian students have rarely been included in such studies, even though the limited research on the subject suggests Native Americans are particularly vulnerable to such crime and violence. According
The School Crime Victimization Survey, which is a supplement to the National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS), estimates the number of students victimized by crime at school, on school grounds, or on the way to and from school. The survey is designed to assist policymakers, researchers, and educational practitioners in making informed decisions regarding crime in
Although there is not one commonly accepted definition for school climate in high schools, the vast majority of researchers and scholars suggest that school climate, at its heart, reflects subjective experience in school–that is, how safe and nurtured students and, to some extent, parents and teachers, feel in school. Climate particularly reflects the existence (or
Over the past several years, the subjects of bullying and school crime have drawn much attention in the United States, especially as they relate to the increasing incidents of violence recently seen at both the high school and collegiate levels. Studies have shown that one important precursor to potentially lethal incidents of school violence was
Crime and violence in rural schools and communities are widespread, yet occur in relatively minimal amounts in comparison to crime and violence in urban areas. Mistaken beliefs about “crime-free” rural communities and an underdeveloped rural criminology research base pose significant challenges to ensuring school safety in rural locales. Crime and violence rates among young people
Teenagers today are three times more likely to commit suicide compared to teenagers in the era when their parents attended high school. This increased rate reflects the fact that teenagers are facing more stress in the 21st century than their peers of a generation ago. These pressures include, but are not limited to, alcohol and