School climate key to curbing violence: U.S. report

By Julie Steenhuysen

CHICAGO (Reuters) - Schools can prevent shootings and other violent attacks by creating a climate in which students feel free to share information about potential threats, U.S. researchers said on Wednesday.

Previous studies have found that in 81 percent of violent school attacks, student bystanders knew about the attacks before they occurred. But many chose not to tell.

A report issued by the U.S. Secret Service, the U.S. Department of Education and Harvard Medical School's McLean Hospital explores how schools can get students to come forward with information that could prevent such attacks.

"We found that school climate affected whether bystanders felt that there were trustworthy adults within the school community," William Pollack of Harvard Medical School, who led the study, said in a statement.

The researchers interviewed 15 student bystanders who had prior knowledge of an attack. Of those, six told an adult what they knew and an attack was averted, but nine did not, and shootings occurred at their schools.

"We've learned from the bystanders' own voices that having a trusting, emotional connection to an adult in the school they attend is the bottom line for safety in that school," Pollack said in a telephone interview.

He said if bystanders felt there were trustworthy adults within the school who would take them seriously, they were inclined to come forward. If not, students kept quiet, "and in every case, a school shooting occurred," Pollack said.

The report found that the top reason students failed to come forward is they expected a negative response from school officials.