Authors

Kerry Hudgins

Document Type

Honors Project

First Advisor

Dr. Mwizenge Tembo

Degree Award Date

Spring 1997

Keywords

Violence in Schools, American Society

Disciplines

Social Control, Law, Crime, and Deviance | Social Psychology and Interaction | Sociology

Abstract

Violence is a serious problem today. Not only is violence very prevalent in our society, but it is also prevalent in our schools. Many students have been killed and injured in schools over the last several years. It has become so bad that many students are afraid to go to school. Many sociologists have developed theories that explain why this violence occurs. Using library literature, this paper proposes the theory that school violence may be caused ultimately by adolescents' need to belong. Adolescents can belong to the family, peer groups, schools, communities, and society. The theory explains how these institutions no longer fulfill this need, and how their lack of belonging affects the violent tendencies among adolescents in American schools.

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