Violence in College and University settings

Three separate examples of violence in college and university settings in Connecticut may have us wondering whether rates of violence have increased in recent years (http://www.wtnh.com/dpp/news/middlesex_cty/college_campus_safety_questioned). We certainly do hear a lot from the media about those events, which raise awareness that our campuses are not as secure as we would like to think. Somehow we think that if a young adult is a college student they are protected from the various factors that put youth of college age at risk. I suspect they are to some degree, violent homicides are probably much less frequent in those attending colleges and universities. See the American Psychiatric Nurses Association website (APNA) for a review of literature on workplace violence that includes data from colleges: http://www.apna.org/i4a/pages/index.cfm?pageid=3786.


These may be the only 3 homicides in CT Colleges this year, but think of all the homicides we have heard reported in the news (and many of them have gained much less coverage by the press). We should remember that homicide is a leading cause of death in this age group as a whole. Here is a table showing that data, which of course shows those 15 to 24yrs having the highest homicide rates:
Data Source: http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nvsr/nvsr57/nvsr57_14.pdf; & National V ital Statistics Report, V ol. 47, No. 9, November 10, 1998


This data does not suggest an upward trend. The rates actually look pretty stable (possibly lower than in 1996, actually).

Here is a table showing us some of the leading causes of death that include 15 to 24yr olds:

Data Source: http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nvsr/nvsr57/nvsr57_14.pdf

As you can see Accidents are #1, Homicide is #2, and #3 is Suicide. (I wonder if this year's H1N1 will even cause a little blip here?) This data suggests that we should be far more concerned about accidents or accidental injury or death in this age group. Below is a chart showing the ranked causes of death in those age 20-24yrs (considered the college-age population, but does not mean it includes only college students). These 3 causes account for 70% of all deaths in this age group.

Data Source: http://www.statisticstop10.com/Causes_of_Death_College_Age_Adults.html;
National Center for Health Statistics, National Vital Statistics Reports March 7, 2005

We are wise to be concerned about homicide and violent behavior in this age group (it is certainly of concern given that it is the 2nd ranked cause of death). What are some of the reasons that our society is violent? I think there are many, here are some off the top of my head (sorry no data to support, just things I remember from various studies, or my ‘opinions’ which may not have supporting data!)
· Violence in the media (right back at you media for sensationalizing tragedies such as these in CT this year) including the news (and streaming news), movies, videos, and most recently: Reality TV!
· What about video games? I have seen data that suggests videos games where we actually shoot at others does increase our comfort level with shooting real human beings…. I believe the military actually researched this as a method for helping regular people like you and I to get over our inhibition about shooting a human being.
· Firearm availability (a very interesting thing to look at is how rates of these causes of death vary by availability); also interesting is how in regions of the country areas with high rates of homicide tend to have ‘lower’ rates of suicide and vice versa (see the reference for Death, Final Rates 2006: http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nvsr/nvsr57/nvsr57_14.pdf)
· Incivility and bullying in our world, at work, at school, at the grocery store… oh yes and what about our impatience and lack of understanding of others...

What would you hypothesize are reasons for the high rate of violence in our society?