School District and Neighborhood Socioeconomic Factors in Adolescents’ Exposure to School Lockdown Responses to Violent and Firearm-Related Threats

Abstract

School lockdowns can negatively affect student well-being. We used Bursik and Grasmick’s systemic reformulation of social disorganization theory to examine school district- and neighborhood-level socioeconomic risk factors for children’s exposure to school lockdown events caused by violent and firearm-related threats using data from the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development Study ( N = 10,049). Approximately 8.0% of children experienced a school lockdown in the past year. Children in census tracts with higher contemporary and historical opportunity scores and attending socioeconomically advantaged school districts had significantly lower odds of experiencing lockdowns. However, district socioeconomic status was unrelated to lockdowns among children living in the lowest-opportunity neighborhoods. These findings suggest disproportionate exposure to school lockdowns, highlighting the need for focused support and prevention strategies.