Bok blamed the corroding of the American heart on the glamorization of violence in music, movies, video games and television. When that message reaches children as unstable as Harris and Klebold, the result can be horrific. Children who kill tend to have mental and emotional problems, histories of neglect and abuse, problems with substance abuse, and poor relations with their peers. The predisposition to violence is already there. Experts have disagreed over the source of that predisposition for decades.
Personality is shaped by genes and by environment, particularly peers.
Goldstein strongly disagrees. For good and for ill, he said, parents play an enormous role in shaping their children's behavior. It is taught, and it can be untaught. Parents are likely to agree with Goldstein, and a landmark study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association seems to side with him as well. The study of 90,000 adolescents concluded that the most effective way to protect kids from unhealthy or dangerous behaviors is for parents to be involved in their lives.