NCJ Number
229947
Journal
Journal of Criminal Justice Volume: 38 Issue: 1 Dated: January/February 2010 Pages: 88-98
Date Published
January 2010
Length
11 pages
Annotation
This study examined the impact of fear on college campuses after the shootings at Virginina Tech and Northern Illinois University.
Abstract
There has been a substantial increase in the number of mass shooting incidents on college campuses in the United States in recent years. Although empirical research examined the impacts of secondary school shootings on student fear, there have been no comparable studies of the impacts of campus shootings. This study began to fill this void by examining responses to surveys administered to convenience samples of students enrolled at the University of South Carolina prior to and following the mass shooting incidents on the campuses of Virginia Tech and Northern Illinois University. Findings indicated that both shootings were associated with modest increases in various measures of fear. Other findings were that the impact of the shootings depended on both the type of fear measured (e.g., general fear versus fear of being a victim of specific crimes) and student characteristics such as age, sex, and race. Figures, tables, appendix, notes, and references (Published Abstract)