About half of high school boys admit to having thrown a punch in anger in the past year, according to a study from the Josephson Institute of Ethics. More than 23,000 high school students were polled for the study, and the results suggest violence is pretty pervasive.

About three in 10 students say violence is a serious problem at their school, and 20 percent admit they don’t feel safe at school.

“This violence and bullying data is alarming for all of us,” says Michael Josephson, president of the institute. “It shows a trend toward the acceptability that violence is OK if we feel angry. What worries me the most is these high school students will carry this behavior forward as they enter adulthood.” (Atlanta Journal-Constitution)

Paul Asay has covered religion for The Washington Post, Christianity Today, Beliefnet.com and The (Colorado Springs) Gazette. He writes about culture for Plugged In and wrote the Batman book God on the Streets of Gotham (Tyndale). He lives in Colorado Springs with wife Wendy and his two children. Follow him on Twitter.