What is school violence?

School violence is violence that occurs in the school setting, such as on school property or on the way to or from school, or during a school-sponsored event or on the way to or from a school-sponsored event. It describes violent acts that disrupt learning and have a negative effect on students, schools, and the broader community.

Examples of school violence include:

• Bullying and cyberbullying.
• Fighting (e.g., punching, slapping, kicking).
• Weapon use.
• Gang violence.
• Sexual violence.

Quick facts and stats

In 2019, CDC’s nationwide Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS) was administered to high school students across the United States. According to YRBS results from 13,677 students:

• About one in five high school students reported being bullied on school property in the last year.
• 8% of high school students had been in a physical fight on school property one or more times during the 12 months before the survey.
• More than 7% of high school students had been threatened or injured with a weapon (e.g., a gun, knife, or club) on school property one or more times during the 12 months before the survey.
• Almost 9% of high school students had not gone to school at least one day during the 30 days before the survey because they felt they would be unsafe at school or on their way to or from school.

Prevention

All students have the right to learn in a safe school environment. The good news is school violence can be prevented. Many factors contribute to school violence. Preventing school violence requires addressing the factors that put people at risk for or protect them from violence. Research shows that prevention efforts by teachers, administrators, parents, community members, and even students can reduce violence and improve the school environment.

CDC developed Prevention Resources for Action, formerly known as “technical packages,” to help communities and states prioritize prevention strategies based on the best available evidence. The strategies and approaches in the Resources for Action are intended to shape individual behaviors as well as the relationship, family, school, community, and societal factors that influence risk and protective factors for violence. They are meant to work together and to be used in combination in a multi-level, multi-sector effort to prevent violence.

What are risk and protective factors?

Youth violence is not often caused by a single factor. Instead, a combination of factors at the individual, relationship, community, and societal levels can increase or decrease the risk of violence.

Risk factors are characteristics that may increase the likelihood of experiencing or perpetrating youth violence. However, they may or may not be direct causes.

Protective factors are characteristics that may decrease the likelihood of experiencing or perpetrating youth violence.

Understanding and addressing risk and protective factors can help identify various opportunities for prevention.

Watch the Moving Forward video to learn more about how increasing what protects people from violence and reducing what puts people at risk for it benefits everyone.

Risk factors for perpetration

Individual risk factors

• History of violent victimization.1
• Attention deficits, hyperactivity, or learning disorders.12
• Involvement with drugs, alcohol, or tobacco.1
• Poor behavioral control.2
• Deficits in social cognitive or information-processing abilities.2
• High emotional distress.1
• History of treatment for emotional problems.1
• Antisocial beliefs and attitudes.2
• Exposure to violence and conflict in the family.2

Relationship risk factors

• Authoritarian child rearing attitudes.2
• Harsh, lax, or inconsistent disciplinary practices.2
• Low parental education and income.2
• Parental substance abuse or criminality.2
• Poor family functioning.2
• Poor monitoring and supervision of children.2
• Association with delinquent peers.2
• Involvement in gangs.2
• Social rejection by peers.2
• Poor academic performance.2
• Low commitment to school and school failure.12

Community risk factors

• Communities with high rates of violence and crime.12
• Communities with diminished economic opportunities.2
• Communities with high unemployment rates.2
• Communities with high concentrations of poor residents.2
• Communities with unstable housing and where residents move frequently.2
• Communities with few community activities for young people.23
• Low levels of community participation.2
• Socially disorganized neighborhoods.23

Protective factors for perpetration

Individual protective factors

• High IQ.4
• High grade point average (as an indicator of high academic achievement).14
• High educational aspirations.24
• Highly developed social skills/competencies.4
• Religious beliefs.1

Relationship protective factors

• Connectedness to family or adults outside the family.14
• Ability to discuss problems with parents.1
• Perceived parental expectations about school performance are high.14
• Frequent shared activities with parents.1
• Consistent presence of parent during at least one of the following: when awakening, when arriving home from school, at evening mealtime, or when going to bed.1
• Possession of affective relationships with those at school that are strong, close, and prosocially oriented.1
• Exposure to school climates with intensive supervision, clear behavior rules, firm disciplinary methods, and engagement of parents and teachers.2