ABSTRACT

Virginia law mandates the use of threat assessment in all public schools, yet there is little research on grade-level differences. This study investigated a statewide sample of 3,282 threats from 1,021 schools. Threats significantly differed across grade level in demographics, characteristics, and outcome. As grade increased, students were more likely to threaten physical assaults (OR = 1.11, p < .001), but less likely to threaten with weapons (OR = 0.95, p < .01). Notably, 1^st graders (OR = 2.01, p < .05) were two times more likely to threaten to kill, but 9^th graders were more likely to attempt their threats (OR = 1.02, p < .05). These findings highlight the need to consider grade level in evaluating and responding to student threats of violence.

摘要

弗吉尼亚州法律规定，所有公立学校都必须使用威胁评估，但是很少有关于年级差异的研究。这项研究调查了全州范围内来自1,021所学校的3,282个威胁。威胁在人口统计学，特征和结果的各个年级之间存在显着差异。随着年级的提高，学生更有可能威胁人身攻击（OR = 1.11，p <.001），但威胁较小的可能性是武器（OR = 0.95，p <.01）。值得注意的是，1^日平地机（OR  = 2.01，p <0.05）均两次更可能威胁杀死，但9^个年级更可能尝试他们的威胁（OR= 1.02，p <.05）。这些发现强调了在评估和应对学生的暴力威胁时需要考虑年级水平。