Students that are often targeted for violence through physical or psychological harm within the school setting often develop depression, mental distress, and develop suicidal thoughts. Such outcomes reduce the level of progression and motivation on the young person’s journey towards achieving academic excellence. Consequently, they often withdraw from their peer groups, and refrain from engaging in social activities aimed at supplementing the mental health development of academic pursuit (Cha et al, 2016). Isolation increases the internal and external control systems of a young individual thereby making them susceptible to violence or instigating victimization through impulsive plans to retaliate. Active enrollment and participation in social activities often reduces the level of school violence victimization.
Literature Review
Despite strong legislative and federal efforts put in place to curb school violence, policy makers still report increasing incidence of school violence victimization (Spencer, 2014). This phenomenon raises the need for developing an alternative and holistic solution that shall supplement the multiagency intervention plans. Government and non-governmental agencies and policy makers have used sensitivity training, disciplinary actions, anger management sessions, and peer meditation as strategies to reduce school violence (The impact of a middle school program to reduce aggression, victimization, and sexual violence, 2013).
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Past techniques have considerably failed because they are implemented from a curative angle thereby yielding unsatisfying outcomes. Furthermore, the prevalence of influencing factors such as substance abuse amongst the youth, increased lack of parental supervision, more accessibility of weapons, passive aggressive racism, and socially permissive media makes it challenging to curb violence in schools (Cha et al, 2016). The direct influence of these factors can be significantly reduced through personal commitment of following social laws and rules in their peer groups.
Research that links predictability of delinquency in schools suggests that victims of school violence often isolate themselves and develop deficiencies in problem-solving and therefore become impulsive (Lahla et al., 2014). On the other hand, instigators often show tendencies of aggressive behavior that is uncontrollable because of lack of a social network system that can channel these energies to productive physical activities. Personal experiences such as parental neglect and harsh home environments often affect the student’s psychological welfare leading to deviance once they start going to school. Without an intervention system within the school environments, these individuals develop increased propensity towards victimization.
Additionally, threat assessment strategies are often developed under strict instructions to the school authorities to promptly intervene in case of a high magnitude of reported cases on school violence. Teachers and administrators therefore make ill-informed decisions that infringe the rights of the students while in school while at the same implement strict guidelines that might often fail to address underlying issues. The perpetrators and the victims are often left with no empirical-based solution that addresses their studying context which leads to more social withdrawal and increases the rates of depression.
Theoretical Framework
Hirschi’s social bond theory comprehensively explains the importance of social participation in shaping behavioral outcomes and psychological processes. According to this model school violence victimization is as a result of inadequate attachment to others, lack of commitment in following rules, disinterest in complying with typical social behavior, and lack of a basic belief system (Orpinas et al., 2012. Students that isolate themselves often form their own rules and ideologies that are mostly subjective to impulse reactions and aggressive tendencies.
These students lack self-control that constitute prosocial participation which is responsible for empathy and sensitivity. The alternative to social engagement is commitment which engages a person’s times and energy so that they are exhausted enough at the end of the school day to engage in school violence victimization. Developing a belief system of social laws and rules discourages many students from partaking in activities that might cause physical or mental harm to their class or schoolmates.
Recommendations
Recent literature shows that students that are active in social extracurricular activities are prone to less cases of victimization than those that play nonparticipator roles (The impact of a middle school program to reduce aggression, victimization, and sexual violence, 2013). Engagement in peer proactive activities ensures that the young individual is protected from drug use, develops intercultural tolerance, and is under supervision by responsible adults who usually organize the extracurricular programs.
Furthermore, the designated time by which these students participate in these programs ensures that they refrain from harmful activities (Spencer, 2014). Furthermore, developing insight before implementing programs that balance the safety of institutions of learning ensures that an in-depth analysis into the student’s predictable behavior. The school should establish zero tolerance policies on school violence victimization that reduces the risk for retaliatory actions. These strategies ensure that the school culture embraces diversity with elaborate protocols in case such an incidence occurs.
Conclusion
It is evident that psychological disorders and deviant behavior that develop as outcomes of school violence victimization often revolve the cycle where the person victimized may revenge in future. With government efforts in making school environments safe and productive in developing skills for adult life, school violence is a major obstacle that reduces the motivation level of such individuals. Therefore, the most comprehensive solution towards reducing victimization is developing compulsory social programs that increase the rate of integration in the school setting. This holistic approach ensures that each individual belongs to a peer network that is supportive and offers alternative solutions to programs already implemented in the academic context. Furthermore, the mental and physical participation in the institution activities shall significantly reduce the suicidal ideation due to reduced depression by opening communication networks.
References
Cha, S., Ihongbe, T. O., & Masho, S. W. (2016). Racial and gender differences in dating violence victimization and disordered eating among U.S. high schools. Journal of Women’s Health (15409996), 25(8), 791–800
Lahlah, E., Knaap, L., Bogaerts, S., & Lens, K. (2014). Ethnic differences in the effect of perceived parenting on juvenile violent delinquency of Dutch and Moroccan-Dutch boys. Journal of Child & Family Studies , 23(2), 333–346
Orpinas, P., Nahapetyan, L., Song, X., McNicholas, C., & Reeves, P. M. (2012). Psychological dating violence perpetration and victimization: Trajectories from middle to high school. Aggressive Behavior , 38(6), 510–520
Spencer, D. C. (2014). Exposing the conditions of precarity: Compounding victimization and marginalized young people. Contemporary Justice Review , 17(1), 87–103.
The impact of a middle school program to reduce aggression, victimization, and sexual violence. (2013). Brown University Child & Adolescent Behavior Letter, 29(10), 4–5
