rise in schoolyard shootings:
If the child who is already criminally inclined watches a crime enacted in detail, he may imitate it. However, for every boy or girl who sees an act of violence and then commits a "copycat crime," there are millions of other viewers who would regard the same program simply as entertainment and give it no further thought (13).
The underlying causes of violence in the schools are more complex than being simply the result of media influences and changes in family relationships. Many of the young men involved in these shootings (and the perpetrators of all reported school shootings that have captured recent headlines and sparked national debate are all male) have come from intact, apparently functional families, often living in small towns where random violence is unusual. Some have claimed influences by mass media, and a few have a history of family problems, but most share only two other commonalities: having histories of being quiet loners and having access to guns.
In fact, the prevalence of school shootings has engendered an ongoi
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