Date of Award

6-2018

Document Type

Project

Degree Name

Master of Social Work

Department

School of Social Work

First Reader/Committee Chair

Carolyn McAllister

Abstract

This study examined the effectiveness of active shooter preparedness training on students for the purpose of assessing whether or not undergoing such training helps ease students’ level of anxiety, sense of preparedness in the event of a mass shooting attack at their California State University campus, or an attack occurring at their place of internship. This data was collected by offering an active shooter training to student participants, facilitated by the Risk Management department, at a large University in Southern California. Following the training, first-year Bachelors and Masters students within the School of Social Work were given a self-administered questionnaire. The questionnaire pertained to student perceptions of anxiety connected to fear of a shooting on campus and/or at their internship placement as well as students' perceptions of the effectiveness of the active shooter preparedness training.

The research found that participants, on average, are moderately anxious about the possibility of an active shooter situation at school and their internships. Participants also indicated finding Risk Management’s active shooter preparedness training to be important and useful. Therefore, this study recommends that the California State University provide an active shooter preparedness training to all incoming first-year BASW and MSW students during school orientation.

Included in

Social Work Commons

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