Citation

Nekvasil EK, Cornell DG. J. School Violence 2012; 11(4): 357-375.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2012, Informa - Taylor and Francis Group)

DOI

10.1080/15388220.2012.706764

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

Authorities in education and law enforcement have recommended that schools use a threat-assessment approach to prevent violence, but there is relatively little research on characteristics and outcomes of threats among students. The current study examined student reports of threat experiences in a sample of 3,756 high school students. Approximately 12% of students reported being threatened at school in the past 30 days, but only 23% of threatened students regarded the threat as serious and just 26% reported the threat to school authorities. Only 9% of students who received a threat reported that it was carried out. Five reasons why students did not report threats were identified. Logistic regression analyses identified student and threat characteristics associated with threat reporting and outcome. These findings provide new information about the prevalence and nature of student threats that can inform a threat assessment approach to school violence prevention.