Bullets,Blades,and Being Afraid in Hispanic High Schools: An Exploratory Study of the Presence of Weapons and Fear of Weapon-Associated Victimization Among High School Students in a Border Town

Abstract

This article presents data obtained from a survey of high school students in Brownsville, Texas. Almost half of the students reported having seen other students carry knives at school, roughly 1 in 10 reported having seen other students carry guns at school, and more than 1 in 5 reported being fearful of weapon-associated victimization at school. Logistic regression analyses indicate that age, gender, seeing other students carry weapons, and involvement with student clubs/organizations significantly affect fear of weapon-associated victimization. Using language spoken at home as a measure of acculturation, it was also determined that immigrant juveniles are more fearful of weaponassociated victimization than nonimmigrant juveniles. The theoretical and policy implications of the findings are discussed.