Armed attacks in educational institutions: social, psychological and informational problems of education security in Russia and abroad

Abstract

Relevance. The history of armed attacks on educational institutions originated in the United States, but in recent decades this social phenomenon has spread widely to other countries, including Russia. Mass social tragedies associated with deaths of the youth cause great concern among all groups of population and require comprehensive prevention measures.The objective of the study is to identify social environmental factors that shape school shooter mentality, as well as to explore various strategies to prevent attacks in educational institutions of different levels (kindergartens, schools, universities).Methods. Armed attacks in educational institutions are the focus of our research. The material includes published research data (articles, dissertations and monographs) in English and Russian. The set of methods included generalizing conclusions published by peer investigators regarding the considered matter. Bibliographic databases (i.e. Federal State Institution “Russian State Library”, library platforms of Lomonosov Moscow State University and Peoples’ Friendship University of Russia) and scientific networks (ResearchGate, Web of Knowledge, Scopus, Google Scholar, Academia.edu, Mendeley) were used to explore research data. The findings present over 127 thousand publications regarding meta-analysis of armed attacks and mass shooting that occurred in educational institutions, as well as their social, psychological, cultural, and informational implications.Results and Discussion. The analysis of data regarding armed attacks in educational institutions demonstrates a very specific phenomenon that belongs to a specific type of crimes. Findings show that mass shootings of schoolchildren and students occur annually in the United States, apparently due to the free circulation of firearms and the cult of the guns. From 1974 to 1921 the US witnesses over 50 major armed attacks causing over a hundred deaths. In China, this problem is also substantial due to the country’s rapid and profound social changes (reforms, gender imbalance and demographic policy). Cold arms (knives, hammers) is the major weapon of assault in China, which caused deaths of at least a hundred children. In Europe, school shooting is not a critical problem, with only few cases reported by a few countries (Germany, Denmark and Finland). Russia shows no increase in the number of armed attacks using firearms or cold arms. In general, such incidents occur annually (1 to 4 violence cases) and are associated with slumped standards of living, increased aggression, social and psychological maladaptation among the population. To solve this problem, an integrated approach is needed, which could bring together technical and social aspects. The technical aspects imply broader use of video surveillance security systems and barriers, as well as regular profound inspections of school grounds (the venue and inside the school building). However, preventive measures should effectively provide for the social aspect to ensure expanded and deeper social and communicative relations within the student – administration / school teacher – parents paradigm. Taken together, these measures are bound o mitigate many factors of antisocial, aggressive, and violent behaviors in schools.Conclusion. A comprehensive analysis of Russian and foreign literature regarding armed attacks in educational institutions suggests that this is an independent psychosocial phenomenon. A system approach of the study allowed to establish a school shooter’s presumable portrait, as well as to identify typical social and personal characteristics of a shooter’s personality (i.e. social isolation; lack of individual ability to cope with life difficulties, such as study failures, conflicts at school or in the family; weak social integration at school and in other communities; decreased self-esteem and identity-related problems, in particular gender-related issues).