Criteria: Seriousness and importance of topic in relation to violence and school safety; relevance of data to the problem of school shootings
Key Takeaway: This study presents insightful findings from a survey of 815 students aged 14-24 about their experiences with school active shooter drills, revealing considerable variability in drill implementation and a common experience of emotional distress. The study suggests school districts might benefit from adopting the “Run. Hide. Fight” protocol, as recommended by Homeland Security and the FBI. Crucially, it also highlights the need to take into account the emotional wellbeing of students in the planning and execution of these drills, with key recommendations including the involvement of a school psychologist and the incorporation of discussion-based exercises for student processing.
Summation and Insights: This research study gathered data from 815 students aged 14-24 regarding their experience with school “active shooter” drills. Information was gathered using MyVoice, a national text message poll that asks young people their opinions on current policy issues. Responses were aimed at addressing variance in school drills, emotional distress regarding active shooter drills, and how beneficial students found the drills themselves. Perhaps the most significant finding for school districts is that there was a huge variance in the implementation of active shooter drills. In addition to a lack of standardized active shooter drills, only a tiny minority (35 out of 815 students) polled attended a school that followed the recommended “Run. Hide. Fight.” protocol advocated by both Homeland Security and the FBI in the case of an active shooter. This suggests that not only do these active shooter drills vary from school to school, but also that school districts should consider creating training programs rooted in the official “Run. Hide. Fight” federal safety protocols. The authors of this study also note that active shooter drills tended to induce emotional distress in students. However, it is worth noting that while half the respondents reported that the drills made them feel scared or unsafe and only a small number (20%) reported feeling safer for having done a drill, close to half of the students (42.9%) also said that they believed that active shooter drills did, in fact, make schools safer places. Subsequently, the authors suggest that drills must be created that do not induce emotional distress for students. While it is true that we should not, in the words of the researchers, “trade emotional well-being for potential safety,” this particular suggestion by the authors may be a problematic recommendation, given that negative feelings or emotional distress are normal reactions to the problem of gun violence, as opposed to feelings of calm or happiness. However, the research team does make several beneficial suggestions for administrators, counselors, and policy makers that may reduce the emotional distress that active shooter drills can inspire. These include two pertinent recommendations from the National Association of School Psychologists: involving a school psychologist in the planning of such drills and discussion-based exercises that are a part of the drill itself, which can be beneficial for students’ emotional health. The study’s key takeaways for school safety are that the emotional health of students is a factor that must be considered in the implementation of active shooter drills and that school districts looking to undertake active shooter drills must consider more carefully protocols rooted in the FBI and Homeland Security’s “Run. Hide. Fight.” active shooter recommendations.
Resource: https://www.jahonline.org/article/S1054-139X(20)30320-7/fulltext
Year: 2020
Author: N’dea Moore-Petinak, M.Sc., Marika Waselewski, M.P.H., Blaire Alma Patterson, M.P.H., and Tammy Chang, M.D., M.P.H., M.S.
Primary Author: N’dea Moore-Petinak, https://sph.umich.edu/hmp/phdstudents/moore-petinak-ndea.html