ORCID
Emily M. Hudson, https://orcid.org/0009-0004-2146-790X; Susana Verdinelli, https://orcid.org/0009-0006-5480-6685
Abstract
School shootings have devastating impacts on those directly or indirectly exposed to them. Most school shooters are current or former students. Teachers can play a crucial role in intervening, but their support for intervention strategies can vary depending on their perceptions of the underlying associated factors. This generic qualitative study used semi-structured interviews to explore 10 secondary education teachers’ perceptions of the risk and protective factors associated with the perpetration of a school shooting. Teachers identified four interrelated domains shaping the risks for and protections against school shooting perpetration: emotional stability and support, the influence of social networks, the normalization or glorification of violence, and a desire to make a meaningful impact on the world. Across these domains, participants emphasized that the same factors—such as emotional regulation, social connection, or community involvement—could function as either risk or protective influences depending on their presence, strength, and direction of influence. The literature supported many underlying factors discussed by participants, but some novel factors were proposed that warrant further research.
