Violent Victimization Among America's School Children

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to examine the relationships between individual and general environmental characteristics for different age groups of youth and the odds of violent victimization in or around school. Data were taken from three nationally representative, stratified samples of youth in elementary (n = 1,090), junior high (n = 692), and senior high school (n = 813). Interviews were conducted with students in 125 schools around the country. Logistic regression was used to estimate differences between nonvictims and victims. Results suggest that, regardless of age, the risk of victimization is higher for students who think it is impossible to walk away from a fight or confrontation. Individual-level variables are consistently more significant in predicting differences between victims and nonvictims; however, some general environmental variables are important, particularly for younger age groups. Our findings underscore the importance of examining multilevel variables to better understand the victimization process among different age youth and have direct implications for the design of age-appropriate violence prevention strategies.

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Agresti, A. , & Finlay, B. (1997). Statistical methods for the social sciences. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall.

Bureau of Justice Statistics. (1991). School crime: A national crime victimization survey report. Washington, DC: Government Printing Office.

Bureau of Justice Statistics. (1997). Criminal victimization, 1973-95. Washington, DC: Government Printing Office.

Catalano, R. , & Hawkins, J. D. (1996). The social development model: A theory of antisocial behavior. In J. D. Hawkins (Ed.), Delinquency and crime (pp. 149-157). New York: Cambridge.

Cotten, N. U. , Resnick, J. , Browne, D. C. , Martin, S. , McCarraher, D. , & Woods, J. (1994). Aggression and fighting behavior among African-American adolescents: Individual and family factors. American Journal of Public Health, 84, 618-622.

Dryfoos, J. (1990). Adolescents at risk: Prevalence and prevention. New York: Oxford.

Dryfoos, J. (1993). Common components of successful interventions with high-risk youth. In N. J. Bell & R. W. Bell (Eds.), Adolescent risk-taking (pp. 131-147). Newbury Park, CA: Sage.

DuRant, R. H. , Cadenhead, C. , Pendergrast, R. A. , Slavens, G. , & Linder, C. (1994). Factors associated with the use of violence among urban Black adolescents. American Journal of Public Health, 84, 612-617.

Everett, S. , & Price, J. (1995). Students' perceptions of violence in the public schools: The Met-Life survey. Journal of Adolescent Health, 17, 345-352.

10.

Fitzpatrick, K. M. (1997a).Aggression and environmental risk among low-income African-American youth. Journal of Adolescent Health, 21, 172-178.

11.

Fitzpatrick, K. M. (1997b).Fighting among America's youth: A risk and protective factors approach. Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 38, 131-148.

12.

Fitzpatrick, K. M. , & Boldizar, J. P. (1993). The prevalence and consequences of exposure to violence among African-American youth. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 32, 424-430.

13.

Hawkins, J. D. (1995). Controlling crime before it happens: Risk-focused prevention. National Institute of Justice Journal, 229(4), 10-18.

14.

Hawkins, J. D , Catalano, R. , & Miller, J. (1992). Risk and protective factors for alcohol and other drug problems in adolescence and early adulthood: Implications for substance abuse prevention. Psychological Bulletin, 112, 64-105.

15.

Hawkins, J. D. , Catalano, R. , Morrison, D. , O'Donnell, J. , Abbott, R. , Day, L. E. (1992). The Seattle social development project: Effects of the first four years on protective factors and problem behaviors. In J. McCord & R. Trimbley (Eds.), The prevention of antisocial behavior in children (pp. 139-159). New York: Guilford.

16.

Jenkins, E. J. , & Bell, C. (1994). Violence among inner-city high school students and posttraumatic stress disorder. In S. Freidman (Ed.), Anxiety disorders in African Americans (pp. 76-88). New York: Springer.

17.

Johnston, L. , O'Malley, P. , & Bachman, J. (1993). Monitoring the future 1992. Ann Arbor, MI: Institute for Social Research, University of Michigan.

18.

Knoke, D. , & Bohrnstedt, G. (1994). Statistics for social data analysis. Itasca, IL: Peacock.

19.

Levine, F. J. , & Rosich, K. J. (1996). Social causes of violence: Crafting a social agenda. Washington, DC: American Sociological Association.

20.

Louis Harris & Associates. (1995). The Metropolitan Life survey of the American teacher (1994). Violence in America's public schools: The family perspective. New York: Author.

21.

Prothrow-Stith, D. (1991) Deadly consequences. New York: HarperCollins.

22.

Reiss, A. , & Roth, J. (1993). Understanding and preventing violence. Washington, DC: National Academy Press.

23.

Rosenberg, M. , & Fenley, M. (1991). Violence in America: A public health approach. New York: Oxford University Press.

24.

Sheley, J. , & Wright, J. (1995). In the line of fire: Youth, guns, and violence in urban America. New York: Aldine de Gruyter.

25.

Smith, C. , Lizotte, A. , Thornberry, T. , Krohn, M. (1995). Resilient youth: Identifying factors that prevent high-risk youth from engaging in delinquency and drug use. In J. Hagan (Ed.), Current perspectives on aging and the life cycle (Vol. 4, pp. 217-247). Greenwich, CT: JAI Press.