Abstract
There is no single image that symbolizes the public’s preoccupation with school violence more than that of youths bringing guns to school. This behavior so deeply violates fundamental school safety values that it is the focus of State and National legislation. Even the Supreme Court recently ruled on the constitutionality of the Federal Gun-Free School Act. This paper reviews empirical studies that shed light on the presence and impact of firearms on school campuses focusing on national and California findings. Given understandable concern about school safety, one would presume that there is a body of empirical information that documents the presence of firearms on school campuses. In fact, it is shown that information is incomplete, at best, but what is known suggests that gun possession is not as prevalent as is generally presumed. Studies profiling youth who report carrying guns are reviewed; they show that gun possession can be interpreted by school psychologists as one aspect of a constellation of significant risk factors in a youth’s life that are commonly addressed by school psychologists.
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Furlong, M.J., Flam, C.S. & Smith, A. Firearm Possession in Schools: Disarming the Myths. Contemp School Psychol 1, 3–12 (1996). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03341087
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03341087