Social Control Theory: Columbine High School Shooting
The Making of a School Shooter
Over the past decade there has been a rise in school violence. In particular, school shootings. There is a curiosity about the students who commit this crime and many speculation as to why they do it. In order to understand why, we must first understand exactly what is a school shooting. According to Department of Education,
“a school shooting is an occurrence in which an individual discharges a gun at an educational institution, such as an elementary school, secondary school, or post-secondary institution. A school shooting involves an individual discharging a firearm at a school infrastructure and may refer to incidents of an individual or individuals discharging a firearm on a school bus or near school property …show more content…
First, social control theory states that school shootings happen when the student’s bond to society weakens. This happens when the student is bullied, rejected, or does not socialize well with other students. Nye (1958) defines social control theory as people 's relationships, commitments, values, norms, and beliefs encourage people not to break the law. In other words restrictions and limitations are used in an effort to control the individual’s behavior, to make the individual conform to social norms. Another major factor that must be taken into consideration is the parent interaction with the student. The odds increase if the student comes from a poverty stricken household and a single parent household. Poverty reduces social control and one parent household reduces social support for the children, making them feel excluded both at school and at home. When a parent is away from the home, he or she has less time to spend with the child creating bonds. Child-parent involvement, such as the amount of intimate communication, confiding, sharing of activities, and seeking help. These are all ways that would increase the strength of social control, meaning that when they are absent, the child’s bonds to society are weakened. (Kramer, 2000: 127). Therefore, the theory proposes that juveniles are simply less likely to engage in acts of delinquency if there is a strong attachment to family, school, and the
Over the past decade there has been a rise in school violence. In particular, school shootings. There is a curiosity about the students who commit this crime and many speculation as to why they do it. In order to understand why, we must first understand exactly what is a school shooting. According to Department of Education,
“a school shooting is an occurrence in which an individual discharges a gun at an educational institution, such as an elementary school, secondary school, or post-secondary institution. A school shooting involves an individual discharging a firearm at a school infrastructure and may refer to incidents of an individual or individuals discharging a firearm on a school bus or near school property …show more content…
First, social control theory states that school shootings happen when the student’s bond to society weakens. This happens when the student is bullied, rejected, or does not socialize well with other students. Nye (1958) defines social control theory as people 's relationships, commitments, values, norms, and beliefs encourage people not to break the law. In other words restrictions and limitations are used in an effort to control the individual’s behavior, to make the individual conform to social norms. Another major factor that must be taken into consideration is the parent interaction with the student. The odds increase if the student comes from a poverty stricken household and a single parent household. Poverty reduces social control and one parent household reduces social support for the children, making them feel excluded both at school and at home. When a parent is away from the home, he or she has less time to spend with the child creating bonds. Child-parent involvement, such as the amount of intimate communication, confiding, sharing of activities, and seeking help. These are all ways that would increase the strength of social control, meaning that when they are absent, the child’s bonds to society are weakened. (Kramer, 2000: 127). Therefore, the theory proposes that juveniles are simply less likely to engage in acts of delinquency if there is a strong attachment to family, school, and the