School Violence

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Listening to violent lyrics of songs can cause aggressiveness and hostile attitudes (“Violent Songs”). Listening to just one violent song can have short term effects on students. Experimental studies were done to measure the amount of hostile attitudes and behavior problems in school (“Violent Songs”). Michael Rich, pediatrician and former filmmaker, said that he did the first detailed analysis of interpersonal violence and the association between media violence and real-life aggression (“Music Videos Promote”). His findings showed that adolescents viewed their own safety and the way they viewed people of another gender or race by the way the music videos portrayed how they should (“Music Videos Promote”). According to researchers at Harvard Medical School, the largest sampling of music video content shows a disturbing amount of violence (“Music Videos Promote”). Also music videos show unrealistic views of racial and sexual relationships (“Music Videos Promote”). The study at Harvard Children’s Hospital in Boston was performed by Rich and his colleagues (“Music Videos Promote”). They recorded afternoon and weekend broadcasts from the four most popular music video networks including Black Entertainment Television, Country Music Television, Music Television, and Video Hits-1 (“Music Videos Promote”). Then they trained college students to analyze the videos for violence content (“Music Videos Promote”). Out of 518 videos the study showed fifteen percent showed acts of interpersonal violence (“Music Videos Promote”). Teenage rebellion caused by being abandoned as a child is the emphasis on current music (“Eminem is Right”). The songs are about children being raised by narcissistic irresponsible parents (“Eminem is Right”).

The characteristic in songs today sing about the damage broken homes, family dysfunction, checked-out parents, and especially absent fathers (“Eminem is Right”). Many bands and singers connect what music is about today like suicide, misogyny, and drugs with their childhood past (“Eminem is Right”).

Another factor that causes an increase of violence in children is by how the child is raised. Children brought up by abusive parents are going to be affected greatly by the actions of their parents (Holt et al 347). Many kinds of victimizations have common risk factors such as dangerous neighborhoods, abusive families, and lack of supervision (Holt et al. 347).

Neighborhoods can have a great impact on how children are raised because of examples the children get to look up to. Youth raised in urban environments are more likely to encounter community violence (Holt et al. 349). 44 percent of rural students knew of peers that could commit lethal violence more than suburban and urban students (“Lethal Violence in Schools”). Homicide and violence rates are lower in neighborhoods whose residents have common values and who are willing to look after one another with behavior problems (“Adolescents, Neighborhoods, and Violence” 2). These shared values and beliefs are influenced by neighborhoods poverty and lack of stability (“Adolescents, Neighborhoods, and Violence” 2). Exposed teenagers live in neighborhoods with disadvantage and no social control who were not satisfied with police and the law (“Adolescents, Neighborhoods, and Violence” 9). Exposure to gun violence is more likely in some neighborhoods than others (“Adolescents, Neighborhoods, and Violence” 9). Adolescents who are raised in poverty and unsafe neighborhoods are more likely to have a firearm (“Adolescents, Neighborhoods, and Violence” 3). Youth who are exposed to guns and violence also have a greater chance to commit violence themselves (“Adolescents, Neighborhoods, and Violence” 3). When adults act sarcastic about the law in neighborhoods, children pick the attitude up and there is an increase in violence and crime within the neighborhood (“Adolescents, Neighborhoods, and Violence” 7). When teenagers are raised in a neighborhood with exposure to violence the youth act more aggressively and are more impulsive than teenagers that are not exposed to violence (“Adolescents, Neighborhoods, and Violence” 9). Children living with married parents had higher verbal and reading abilities and lower risk to be violent (“Adolescents, Neighborhoods, and Violence” 8). Although violence does pertain to all racial, ethnic, and economic groups, the poor and minority children experience violence the most (“Helping Children Cope”).

Children are affected greatly when they see a violent act occur (“Violence Protection for Families”). The child is affected even more when the violent act involves someone in their family (“Violence Protection for Families”). A family who does not encourage a child to express their feelings without hurting or threatening another child is setting their child up for a violent future (“Violence Protection for Families”). Children raised in an abusive home live with fear and pain constantly (“Violence Protection for Families”). The physical pain has a chance to go away if the damage is not permanent, but the emotional pain a child experiences can affect them for their entire life (“Violence Protection for Families”). The child that was abused may grow up to become violent and it will go down the generations (“Violence Protection for Families”). One or more acts of violence in an abusive relationship at home can shape a how the child grows (Cunningham and Baker 1). Children can show their change by their actions including crying, fighting, and disrespect (Cunningham and Baker 1). Witnessing violent acts can also have negative mental effects on the child by how they think about their family, themselves and their life (Cunningham and Baker 1). Children who see or experience violence often develop post-traumatic stress symptoms (“Helping Children Cope”). These symptoms have the effect of poor behavioral problems, poor school performance, more school absences, and feelings of depression and anxiety (“Helping Children Cope”). Children who feel responsible for their parents fight blame themselves for any negative consequences that occur (Cunningham and Baker 8). After the consequences like arrest or a parent leaving the child often feels fear, distress, guilt, and anger (Cunningham and Baker 7). One problem the child faces in abusive relationships is hiding the fact that anything is wrong (Cunningham and Baker 10). Children cut themselves off from teacher and other adults who want to help because they live in fear of their family (Cunningham and Baker 10). The fear forces the child to keep their feelings inside (Cunningham and Baker 10). Dealing with the problem themselves is overwhelming making the child feel helpless (Cunningham and Baker 8). The child is forced to believe