Children and Violence

When Your Oldest Child Is at School, Do You Fear for His or Her Physical Safety?

Thinking about your oldest child, when he or she is at school, do you fear for his or her physical safety?

[ASKED OF K-12 PARENTS]

	Yes, fear	No, do not	No opinion
	%	%	%
2009 Mar 27-29	26	74	*
2008 Aug 7-10	15	85	--
2007 Aug 13-16	24	76	*
2006 Oct 6-8	35	65	--
2006 Aug 7-10	25	75	*
2005 Aug 8-11	21	79	*
2004 Aug 9-11	28	71	1
2003 Aug 4-6	24	76	*
2002 Aug 5-8	31	68	1
2001 Aug 16-19	32	68	0
2001 Mar 9-11	45	54	1
2000 Aug 24-27	26	74	0
2000 Apr 7-9	43	57	0
1999 Aug 24-26	47	53	*
1999 May 21-23	52	47	1
1999 Apr 26-27	49	51	*
1999 Apr 21	55	45	0
1998 Jun 5-7	37	62	1
1977 ^	24	70	6

* Less than 0.5%
^ Gallup for Kettering Foundation

Have any of your school-aged children expressed any worry or concern about feeling unsafe at their school when they go back to school this fall?

[ASKED OF K-12 PARENTS]

	Yes	No	No opinion
	%	%	%
2009 Mar 27-29	10	90	--
2008 Aug 7-10 ^	8	91	1
2007 Aug 13-16	12	87	1
2006 Oct 6-8	12	88	--
2006 Aug 7-10	11	87	2
2004 Aug 9-11	10	89	1
2003 Aug 4-6	8	91	1
2001 Mar 9-11 ^	22	77	1
2000 Aug 24-27	8	92	*
1999 Aug 24-26	18	82	*

* Less than 0.5%
^ WORDING: Have any of your school-aged children expressed any worry or concern about feeling unsafe at their school when they go to school?

In your opinion, what is the single most important thing that could be done to prevent another incidence of school shootings by students, like the recent ones in California?

	2001 Mar 26-28	1999 May 7-9 ^

Parent involvement/responsibility	31	32
More security at schools	14	16
Better gun control/laws/issues	11	12
Better education/students/parents	6	3
Control media violence/video games/Internet	5	4
Lift laws on disciplining children	4	6
Put prayer back in school/home	3	3
Raise morals/people's standards	3	3
Better communication between	3	4
students/parents/teachers
Monitor/Watch students more closely	3	--
Stop bullies/bullying	2	--
More counselors/counseling/teachers	2	6
Stricter punishment on children/laws	2	2
Report threats/take threats more seriously	1	--
Dress codes/Uniforms	*	1

None	1	1
Other	2	4
No opinion	7	3

^ WORDING: Next we have some questions about the shooting at the Littleton, Colorado, high school where 2 students killed 12 of their classmates and one teacher. In your opinion, what is the single most important thing that could be done to prevent another incidence of school shootings by students, like the one in Littleton?

How important do you think each of the following is as a cause of the school shootings that have been occurring -- extremely important, very important, somewhat important, not too important, or not at all important? How about -- [RANDOM ORDER]?

A. The home life students have today, including their relationship with their parents

	Extremely important	Very important	Somewhat important	Not too important	Not at all important	No opinion
2001 Mar 26-28	57%	35	4	2	1	1

B. Bullying and teasing of students at school

	Extremely important	Very important	Somewhat important	Not too important	Not at all important	No opinion
2001 Mar 26-28	29%	33	23	8	5	2

C. The portrayal of violence and use of guns in today's entertainment and music

	Extremely important	Very important	Somewhat important	Not too important	Not at all important	No opinion
2001 Mar 26-28	38%	30	17	7	6	2

D. The coverage given to school shootings by the news media

	Extremely important	Very important	Somewhat important	Not too important	Not at all important	No opinion
2001 Mar 26-28	32%	32	23	7	3	3

E. The availability and ease of obtaining guns by students

	Extremely important	Very important	Somewhat important	Not too important	Not at all important	No opinion
2001 Mar 26-28	46%	31	10	6	5	2

F. The way schools discipline their students

	Extremely important	Very important	Somewhat important	Not too important	Not at all important	No opinion
2001 Mar 26-28	31%	36	17	8	3	5

G. The size of high schools today in terms of the number of students who attend

	Extremely important	Very important	Somewhat important	Not too important	Not at all important	No opinion
2001 Mar 26-28	20%	29	26	15	6	4

H. The fact that families move around and the students don't have roots in one specific town

	Extremely important	Very important	Somewhat important	Not too important	Not at all important	No opinion
2001 Mar 26-28	17%	26	28	18	9	2

Overall, do you feel the news media have acted responsibly or irresponsibly in covering the recent school shootings?

	Responsibly	Irresponsibly	No opinion
2001 Mar 26-28	57%	37	6
1999 Apr 26-27 ^	67%	29	4
^ WORDING: Overall, do you feel the news media have acted responsibly or irresponsibly in this situation? (Columbine/Littleton shooting)