Understanding Different Forms of Gun Violence in American Schools: An Analysis from 1980 to 2019

Abstract Scholars theorize that the nature of school gun violence varies across school settings. Yet, there is a lack of statistical research testing this idea. This study investigates contextual factors associated with six forms of school gun incidents (N = 1,238) over a 40-year period (1980–2019) in the United States. To conduct the analyses, school, community, and state-level data were linked to school gun incidents recorded in a comprehensive K–12 school gun violence database. Results indicate that the most common form of school gun violence stems from school-related conflicts. Gun incidents from school-related conflicts (odds ratio [OR] = 2.22, p < .01) and suicides (OR = 3.08, p < .01) are also more likely to occur in high schools. Large cities (OR = 4.75, p < .001), midsize cities (OR = 2.35, p < .01), and suburbs (OR = 2.74, p < .05) report more school gun violence driven by criminal activity, whereas school gun violence from suicide and indiscriminate school shootings has a higher probability of occurring in rural schools and areas with comparatively low poverty. This study offers suggestive evidence that an emphasis on alleviating school conflicts may reduce school gun violence overall but that separate strategies may also be needed across different types of school contexts.