causes of school violence essay

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How to Identify and Prevent School Violence

Sanjana is a health writer and editor. Her work spans various health-related topics, including mental health, fitness, nutrition, and wellness.

Ann-Louise T. Lockhart, PsyD, ABPP, is a board-certified pediatric psychologist, parent coach, author, speaker, and owner of A New Day Pediatric Psychology, PLLC.

Yasser Chalid / Getty Images

Recognizing the Signs of School Violence

School violence refers to violence that takes place in a school setting. This includes violence on school property, on the way to or from school, and at school trips and events. It may be committed by students, teachers, or other members of the school staff; however, violence by fellow students is the most common.

An estimated 246 million children experience school violence every year; however, girls and gender non-conforming people are disproportionately affected.

"School violence can be anything that involves a real or implied threat—it can be verbal, sexual, or physical, and perpetrated with or without weapons. If someone is deliberately harming someone or acting in a way that leaves someone feeling threatened, that‘s school violence,” says Aimee Daramus , PsyD, a licensed clinical psychologist.

This article explores the types, causes, and impact of school violence and suggests some steps that can help prevent it.

Types of School Violence

School violence can take many forms. These are some of the types of school violence:

Physical violence , which includes any kind of physical aggression, the use of weapons, as well as criminal acts like theft or arson.
Psychological violence , which includes emotional and verbal abuse . This may involve insulting, threatening, ignoring, isolating, rejecting, name-calling, humiliating, ridiculing, rumor-mongering, lying, or punishing another person.
Sexual violence , which includes sexual harrassment, sexual intimidation, unwanted touching, sexual coercion, and rape .
Bullying , which can take physical, psychological, or sexual forms and is characterized by repeated and intentional aggression toward another person.
Cyberbullying , which includes sexual or psychological abuse by people connected through school on social media or other online platforms. This may involve posting false information, hurtful comments, malicious rumors, or embarrassing photos or videos online. Cyberbullying can also take the form of excluding someone from online groups or networks.

Causes of School Violence

There often isn’t a simple, straightforward reason why someone engages in school violence. A child may have been bullied or rejected by a peer, may be under a lot of academic pressure, or may be enacting something they’ve seen at home, in their neighborhood, on television, or in a video game.

These are some of the risk factors that can make a child more likely to commit school violence:

Poor academic performance
Prior history of violence
Hyperactive or impulsive personality
Mental health conditions
Witnessing or being a victim of violence
Alcohol, drug, or tobacco use
Dysfunctional family dynamic
Domestic violence or abuse
Access to weapons
Delinquent peers
Poverty or high crime rates in the community

It’s important to note that the presence of these factors doesn’t necessarily mean that the child will engage in violent behavior.

Impact of School Violence

Below, Dr. Daramus explains how school violence can affect children who commit, experience, and witness it, as well as their parents.

Impact on Children Committing Violence

Children who have been victims of violence or exposed to it in some capacity sometimes believe that becoming violent is the only way they‘ll ever be safe.

When they commit violence, they may experience a sense of satisfaction when their emotional need for strength or safety is satisfied. That‘s short-lived however, because they start to fear punishment or retribution, which triggers anger that can sometimes lead to more violence if they’re scared of what might happen to them if they don’t protect themselves.

Children need help to try and break the cycle; they need to understand that violence can be temporarily satisfying but that it leads to more problems.

Impact on Children Victimized by School Violence

Victims of school violence may get physically injured and experience cuts, scrapes, bruises, broken bones, gunshot wounds, concussions, physical disability, or death.

Emotionally speaking, the child might experience depression , anxiety, or rage. Their academic performance may suffer because it can be hard to focus in school when all you can think about is how to avoid being hurt again.

School violence is traumatic and can cause considerable psychological distress. Traumatic experiences can be difficult for adults too; however, when someone whose brain is not fully developed yet experiences trauma, especially if it’s over a long time, their brain can switch to survival mode, which can affect their attention, concentration, emotional control, and long-term health.

According to a 2019 study, children who have experienced school violence are at risk for long-term mental and physical health conditions, including attachment disorders, substance abuse, obesity, diabetes, cancer, heart disease, and respiratory conditions.

The more adverse childhood experiences someone has, the greater the risk to their physical and mental health as an adult.

Impact on Children Who Witness School Violence

Children who witness school violence may feel guilty about seeing it and being too afraid to stop it. They may also feel threatened, and their brain may react in a similar way to a child who has faced school violence.

Additionally, when children experience or witness trauma , their basic beliefs about life and other people are often changed. They no longer believe that the world is safe, which can be damaging to their mental health.

For a child to be able to take care of themselves as they get older, they need to first feel safe and cared for. Learning to cope with threats is an advanced lesson that has to be built on a foundation of feeling safe and self-confident.

Children who have experienced or witnessed school violence can benefit from therapy, which can help them process the trauma, regulate their emotions, and learn coping skills to help them heal.

Impact on Parents

Parents react to school violence in all kinds of ways. Some parents encourage their children to bully others, believing that violence is strength. Some try to teach their children how to act in a way that won’t attract bullying or other violence, but that never works and it may teach the child to blame themselves for being bullied.

Others are proactive and try to work with the school or challenge the school if necessary, to try and keep their child safe.

It can be helpful to look out for warning signs of violence, which can include:

Talking about or playing with weapons of any kind
Harming pets or other animals
Threatening or bullying others
Talking about violence, violent movies, or violent games
Speaking or acting aggressively

It’s important to report these signs to parents, teachers, or school authorities. The child may need help and support, and benefit from intervention .

Preventing School Violence

Dr. Daramus shares some steps that can help prevent school violence:

Report it to the school: Report any hint of violent behavior to school authorities. Tips can be a huge help in fighting school violence. Many schools allow students to report tips anonymously.
Inform adults: Children who witness or experience violence should keep telling adults (parents, teachers, and counselors) until someone does something. If an adult hears complaints about a specific child from multiple people, they may be able to protect other students and possibly help the child engaging in violence to learn different ways.
Reach out to people: Reach out to children or other people at the school who seem to be angry or upset, or appear fascinated with violence. Reach out to any child, whether bullied, bullying, or neither, who seems to have anxiety, depression, or trouble managing emotions. Most of the time the child won’t be violent, but you’ll have helped them anyway by being supportive.

A Word From Verywell

School violence can be traumatic for everyone involved, particularly children. It’s important to take steps to prevent it because children who witness or experience school violence may suffer physical and mental health consequences that can persist well into adulthood.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Preventing school violence .

UNESCO. What you need to know about school violence and bullying .

UNESCO. School violence and bullying .

Nemours Foundation. School violence: what students can do .

Ehiri JE, Hitchcock LI, Ejere HO, Mytton JA. Primary prevention interventions for reducing school violence . Cochrane Database Syst Rev . 2017;2017(3):CD006347. doi:10.1002/14651858.CD006347.pub2

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Understanding school violence .

Ferrara P, Franceschini G, Villani A, Corsello G. Physical, psychological and social impact of school violence on children . Italian Journal of Pediatrics . 2019;45(1):76. doi:10.1186/s13052-019-0669-z

By Sanjana Gupta Sanjana is a health writer and editor. Her work spans various health-related topics, including mental health, fitness, nutrition, and wellness.

Home — Essay Samples — Social Issues — Youth Violence — Violence in Schools: Causes and Effects

Analysis of The Cause and Effect of School Violence

Categories: Bullying Youth Violence

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Published: Mar 14, 2019

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Violence in schools (essay)

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Cause & Effect Essay: School Violence

School violence is a major problem around the world. The effects of school violence can lead to division and severe mental and physical trauma for both perpetrators and victims alike. The main cause of school violence is a combination of weak community relations and a lack of a firm hand within both schools and communities. To effectively deal with the issue, both of these need addressing.

The beginnings of school violence often stem from differences between teenagers. Children are natural herd creatures and will gravitate towards people who are similar in looks, mentality, and those who have the same interests. Other groups are seen as enemies, and this is where conflict begins.

A lack of education is one of the main causes of school violence. If young people aren’t taught from an early age about the consequences and wrongs of violence there’s a high chance they’ll indulge in it later. Education must occur in the home, alongside parents, and in the classroom.

Furthermore, when violence does happen, a lack of will to punish the perpetrators encourages them to participate in it again later. Teachers and law enforcement officers must stamp down on violence. It’s simple mentality. A punishment says mentally and physically violence is wrong. Allowing them to get away with it says to them they haven’t done anything wrong. This is a trend we have seen replicated in UK prisons and the high reoffending rates.

Weak community relations start school violence. Inter-racial schools where students come from different backgrounds sow the seeds of conflict. Many students haven’t come into contact with people from these backgrounds before, and this creates suspicion and wariness. It’s highly unlikely violence will occur if they have been in contact with people from these backgrounds before.

Divisive communities are more likely to suffer from violence than harmonious ones. It’s why schools in East London and international cities like Los Angeles have a reputation for violence in schools and between schools. Too often, schools act on violence within schools, but they fail to work with other schools and community representatives to tackle the problem between academic facilities.

Parental guidance in the home has a large effect on school violence. If a student’s parents are violent or prejudiced, they are likely to develop the same aggressive characteristics. Even if there’s only one person like this in a school, it can still lead to violence in the classroom.

Overall, it’s not so much the risk factors of violence which become the problem. It’s the lack of will to act on it when it does happen. It’s impossible to stamp out all types of violence. Children make mistakes and it will happen. To stop it happening again, schools and community officers must act.

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School Violence: Causes & Prevention

With schools around the country returning to full-time instruction following the COVID-19 pandemic, there have been subsequent reports of increased school violence. Educators have reported breaking up more fights than ever, gun-related incidents are increasing, and faculty are concerned not just about the safety of students, but also their own.

Rachel’s Challenge continues to empower students and educators with the tools and knowledge to handle violence and bullying with effective interventions. In order to reduce and even prevent school violence, the causes must be recognized and addressed.

Youth mental health threats are illuminating a significant need for actionable solutions for students in a post-pandemic world.

What Are the Causes of Youth Violence and Bullying?

The CDC describes school violence as violence that occurs on the way to or from school or school events, on school property, or during a school-sponsored event. It can also happen online. Various behaviors are considered to be violent.

Behaviors like pushing, shoving, and verbal bullying can cause emotional as well as physical harm. Other serious forms of violence, such as gang violence and assault (with or without a weapon), may cause even greater physical and mental harm. There is no single reason why school violence happens. Many times it’s perpetrated by a child who suffers from low self-esteem. Sometimes the bully was once bullied themselves.

School violence can be an expression of frustration or anger due to problems at home or school. It can be a recreation of behavior modeled in the home. Other times, bullying and violence are expressions of attention-seeking or an attempt to feel powerful or in control.

Violence in Our Schools: The Facts

School violence statistics continue to show an alarming trend.

According to the National Center for Education Statistics and the U.S. Department of Education, most bullying in schools happens in a classroom (42%) or in a hallway or stairwell (43%). Other locations commonly associated with bullying include the school bus, locker rooms, bathrooms, and cafeterias.
About 42% of boys and 37% of girls were victims of bullying that involved physical altercations , according to a study done by UNESCO in 2019.
Many school-associated crimes remain unreported. Over 800,000 students between the ages of 12 and 18 are the victims of school crimes each year, and another 500,000 experience school-associated violence away from school.
Over 20% of all students in the U.S. report being bullied, and 41% of those students indicate that they are afraid the bullying will happen again .
Cyberbullying is an increasing problem around the world. Children who spend time on YouTube are the most likely to be cyberbullied (79%), followed by Snapchat (69%), TikTok (64%), and Facebook (49%). Two-thirds of cyberbullying victims say that it has a negative impact on how they feel about themselves.
The National Association of School Resource Officers reports that from August 1 to October 1, 2021, there were 97 gun-related incidents in schools reported. The same period in 2019 saw 29.
In 2022, Everytown for Gun Safety reported 136 instances of gun violence had already taken place during the first half of the school year, which is nearly four times the average for that period the year before.
In addition to that, 13% of victims of bullying report they were made fun of, insulted, or called names ; 5% were shoved, tripped, pushed, or spit on; 13% were the subjects of vicious rumors; and 5% were excluded from activities on purpose.

Ways to Prevent School Violence

Does bullying cause school violence? Bullying is school violence, and it can escalate to more dangerous, widespread forms of violence. Many districts around the country have elementary, middle, and high school violence prevention programs, but despite the efforts of school personnel, they’re often not enough.

School violence prevention starts with fostering an educational environment that instills respect for others and cultivates a safe atmosphere for everyone.

While prevention is challenging, it’s not impossible. Specific ways to prevent school violence , according to the CDC, include:

Providing quality education early in a student’s life
Strengthening the skills of young students
Promoting family environments that support healthy development
Offering interventions to reduce harm and prevent future risk
Creating protective community environments
Connecting youth to caring adults and activities to foster empathy and respect

It’s important to note that many times school violence does not stem from a lack of effort on the part of schools. Efforts must extend through the schools into communities and the homes of students.

With an increase in screen time as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, more children than ever before are victims of bullying that begins online.

Violence that starts online can carry over into schools easily, so it’s important to help children understand that they should:

Not post images or information that could be harmful to themselves or others
Not respond to cyberbullying and save evidence to show a teacher or parent
Keep personal information private
Never say anything online that they would not say face-to-face
Never give out identifying information like their name, address, or phone number

While these actions can help keep children safer, there is more that must be done to cultivate positive learning environments in schools.

School Violence Prevention Programs and Workshops

A powerful, effective school violence prevention and intervention workshop can be a great boon to schools and communities in their efforts to prevent school violence and bullying. Children must be taught to recognize bullying and encouraged not to join in if they witness it.

Students should be well-informed about school policies on bullying, and staff members must be trained to positively and effectively manage violent and potentially violent situations. Rachel’s Challenge is one such program that inspires and equips everyone in a school building to create permanent, positive changes in themselves and in their schools. Rachel’s Challenge gives them the tools to connect with each other through empathy and kindness.

The program provides an evidence-based framework for positivity in the culture of schools, leading to test scores that go up and disciplinary referrals that go down. With assemblies, live speakers, online activities, and more, Rachel’s Challenge has proven itself time and again to be one of the most powerful, effective, and sustainable programs for preventing school violence.

If you are interested in learning more about Rachel’s Challenge or would like the program to come to your school, contact a representative today.

Rachel’s Challenge has helped me continue my chain reaction an entire decade later. Today, as I cultivate my “save the world gene” as a young professional, I am reminded of where it began. With kindness and compassion.”

Rachel’s Challenge Student Participant

Rachel’s Challenge is the most powerful intervention I’ve seen in my 40 years of educational research.”

Dr Roberto Marzano Educator, Researcher, Author

Rachel’s Challenge stimulates academic and social emotional-learning by focusing on the connection between students, faculties and staff.”

Curt Pacholke Principal, Rice Lake High School

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What you need to know about school violence and bullying

Bullying in schools deprives millions of children and young people of their fundamental right to education. A recent UNESCO report revealed that more than 30% of the world's students have been victims of bullying, with devastating consequences on academic achievement, school dropout, and physical and mental health.

The world is marking the first International Day against Violence and Bullying at School Including Cyberbullying , on 5 November. Here is what you need to know about school violence and bullying.

What is school violence?

School violence refers to all forms of violence that takes place in and around schools and is experienced by students and perpetrated by other students, teachers and other school staff. This includes bullying and cyberbullying. Bullying is one of the most pervasive forms of school violence, affecting 1 in 3 young people.

What forms may school violence take?

Based on existing international surveys that collect data on violence in schools, UNESCO recognizes the following forms of school violence:

Physical violence, which is any form of physical aggression with intention to hurt perpetrated by peers, teachers or school staff.
Psychological violence as verbal and emotional abuse, which includes any forms of isolating, rejecting, ignoring, insults, spreading rumors, making up lies, name-calling, ridicule, humiliation and threats, and psychological punishment.
Sexual violence, which includes intimidation of a sexual nature, sexual harassment, unwanted touching, sexual coercion and rape, and it is perpetrated by a teacher, school staff or a schoolmate or classmate.
Physical bullying, including hitting, kicking and the destruction of property;
Psychological bullying, such as teasing, insulting and threatening; or relational, through the spreading of rumours and exclusion from a group; and
Sexual bullying, such as making fun of a victim with sexual jokes, comments or gestures, which may be defined as sexual ‘harassment’ in some countries.
Cyberbullying is a form of psychological or sexual bullying that takes place online. Examples of cyberbullying include posting or sending messages, pictures or videos, aimed at harassing, threatening or targeting another person via a variety of media and social media platforms. Cyberbullying may also include spreading rumours, posting false information, hurtful messages, embarrassing comments or photos, or excluding someone from online networks or other communications.

Who perpetrates school violence?

School violence is perpetrated by students, teachers and other school staff. However, available evidence shows that violence perpetrated by peers is the most common.

What are the main reasons why children are bullied?

All children can be bullied, yet evidence shows that children who are perceived to be “different” in any way are more at risk. Key factors include physical appearance, ethnic, linguistic or cultural background, gender, including not conforming to gender norms and stereotypes; social status and disability.

What are the consequences of school violence?

Educational consequences: Being bullied undermines the sense of belonging at school and affects continued engagement in education. Children who are frequently bullied are more likely to feel like an outsider at school, and more likely to want to leave school after finishing secondary education. Children who are bullied have lower academic achievements than those who are not frequently bullied.

Health consequences: Children’s mental health and well-being can be adversely impacted by bullying. Bullying is associated with higher rates of feeling lonely and suicidal, higher rates of smoking, alcohol and cannabis use and lower rates of self-reported life satisfaction and health. School violence can also cause physical injuries and harm.

What are the linkages between school violence and bullying, school-related gender-based violence and violence based on sexual orientation and gender identity or expression?

School violence may be perpetrated as a result of gender norms and stereotypes and enforced by unequal power dynamics and is therefore referred to as school-related gender-based violence. It includes, in particular, a specific type of gender-based violence that is linked to the actual or perceived sexual orientation and gender identity or expression of victims, including homophobic and transphobic bullying. School-related gender-based violence is a significant part of school violence that requires specific efforts to address.

Does school-related gender-based violence refer to sexual violence against girls only?

No. School-related gender-based violence refers to all forms of school violence that is based on or driven by gender norms and stereotypes, which also includes violence against and between boys.

Is school violence always gender-based?

There are many factors that drive school violence. Gender is one of the significant drivers of violence but not all school violence is based on gender. Moreover, international surveys do not systematically collect data on the gendered nature of school violence, nor on violence based on sexual orientation and gender identity or expression.

Based on the analysis of global data, there are no major differences in the prevalence of bullying for boys and girls. However, there are some differences between boys and girls in terms of the types of bullying they experience. Boys are much more exposed to physical bullying, and to physical violence in general, than girls. Girls are slightly more exposed to psychological bullying, particularly through cyberbullying. According to the same data, sexual bullying the same proportion of boys and girls. Data coming from different countries, however, shows that girls are increasingly exposed to sexual bullying online.

How does UNESCO help prevent and address school violence and bullying?

The best available evidence shows that responses to school violence and bullying that are effective should be comprehensive and include a combination of policies and interventions. Often this comprehensive response to school violence and bullying is referred to as a whole-school approach. Based on an extensive review of existing conceptual frameworks that describe that whole-school approach, UNESCO has identified nine key components of a response that goes beyond schools and could be better described as a whole-education system or whole-education approach. These components are the following:

Strong political leadership and robust legal and policy framework to address school violence and bullying;
Training and support for teachers on school violence and bullying prevention and positive classroom management
Curriculum, learning & teaching to promote, a caring (i.e. anti- school violence and bullying) school climate and students’ social and emotional skills
A safe psychological and physical school and classroom environment
Reporting mechanisms for students affected by school violence and bullying, together with support and referral services
Involvement of all stakeholders in the school community including parents
Student empowerment and participation
Collaboration and partnerships between the education sector and a wide range of partners (other government sectors, NGOs, academia)
Evidence: monitoring of school violence and bullying and evaluation of responses

More on UNESCO’s work to prevent and address school violence and bullying

Read UNESCO's publication Behind the numbers: Ending school violence and bullying

Photo: Eakachai Leesin/Shutterstock.com