Weapons in an Affluent Suburban School

Abstract

This is an exploratory study designed to describe the self-reported violence and weapon carrying behaviors of suburban teenagers from a largely affluent community in the San Francisco Bay area. The paucity of research on the weapon carrying behaviors of suburban adolescents suggests this is a population for which issues related to violence have been ignored. However, the school shootings that have occurred across the United States in recent years have forced a shift in attention to this population. The results of this investigation indicate the weapon carrying behaviors of suburban and urban adolescents are similar with distinct profiles emerging for males and females.     

Methodological and Measurement Issues in School Violence Research

SUMMARY

School violence became a topic of broad national concern in the United States in reaction to a series of tragic school shootings during the 1990s. Efforts to understand and prevent school shootings have stimulated the rapid development of a broader interest in school safety with an emerging multidisciplinary research agenda. The maturation and fulfillment of this research agenda require that researchers critically examine their research methods and measurement strategies. This article introduces a volume that examines fundamental methodological and measurement issues in the rapidly expanding body of research on school safety and violence. The authors hope to stimulate greater attention to methodological pitfalls and critical measurement issues that hinder research progress in several related areas, including the uncertain reliability and validity of self-report surveys used to measure high-risk behavior and bullying, the limitations of discipline referral databases as a source of information on school climate, and the overly narrow focus on relatively infrequent critical incidents of violence, often at the expense of a more comprehensive and multifactorial examination of the school environment.     

Context Matters: Reactive and Proactive Bystander Action to Prevent Sexual and Dating Violence in High Schools

ABSTRACT

Given high rates of relationship violence among adolescents, there is a need to understand variables that influence adolescents’ helping behaviors to reduce risk for dating and sexual violence (reactive) and promote prevention before violence happens or risk factors are evident (proactive). The current paper examined individual and school variables related to greater actionism in a large sample of high school students. Baseline, cross-sectional data used in the current analyses were gathered before intervention as part of a prevention program evaluation across 25 high schools in New England from students in grades 9–12 (N= 3,404). Students who self-reported a greater number of proactive actions taken were students who identified as sexual minorities, had a history of victimization, and were in schools with supportive peer norms. The current findings suggest a model for prevention that might include training individuals and attending to school level variables.     

Involving Students in School Violence Prevention

Abstract

Why are some students not willing to tell adults about a possibly violent situation in their school? In this study, 1,100 students in the Mid-South were surveyed on their knowledge of, and willingness to tell about, a possibly violent situation, their involvement in behaviors that are related to school violence, and their school's climate. About 1/3 of students knew of a potentially violent situation, and about 3/4 were willing to tell an adult. However, students who were involved in antecedents to violence and/or who had an unfavorable view of their school were much less likely to tell an adult about such situations. Efforts to prevent school violence should be designed with these factors in mind.     

An Exploratory Study of Violence and Aggression Against Teachers in Middle and High Schools: Prevalence,Predictors, and Negative Consequences

ABSTRACT

Limited empirical findings suggest that teacher victimization at school is highly prevalent, with detrimental negative impacts on victimized teachers. Given the scarce body of literature on teacher victimization, further research is necessary to investigate its extent, predictors, and negative consequences. The present research, using a representative sample of 1,628 teachers in the southwest region of the United States, indicates a high prevalence of violence and aggression directed against teachers. Also, the research found that teachers’ uncertain and helping/friendly behaviors toward students were significantly related to various types of teacher victimization. Experiences involving the five victimization types (theft/property damage, physical assault, verbal abuse, sexual harassment, and noncontact aggression) are correlated with teachers’ self-reported job performance, student trust, safety at school, and thoughts about quitting. Directions for future research and policy implications are considered in the context of these findings.     

Preventing Dating Violence in Public Schools

Abstract

Many communities offer programs aimed at improving teen dating skills and knowledge about violence and sexual behavior. This research study evaluates one such program, operated by an interagency collaborative. Each of four participating community agencies provided one hour of curriculum during one week of health class. Lecture, group activities, and films were used in the intervention. A 0 X 0 design was used to examine changes in knowledge and attitudes among 74 students. Results indicate that most students began with fairly high knowledge levels and appropriate attitudes. Nevertheless, the program did appear to have a positive impact on those who exhibited less knowledge about and more tolerant attitudes toward exploitive dating behaviors at pre-test. Implications of results for the school context are discussed.     

Daring,Substance Use and Involvement in Violence Among School Children

Abstract

This study explores whether the association between substance use and involvement in youth violence is a unique association resulting from the properties of the drugs, or whether it is part of a larger behavioral cluster. The sample was composed of 1,571 10th grade students from the Israeli secular and religious state school systems, including both Jewish and Arab schools. The results indicate that the strongest predictor for unplanned violent activities such as physical fights is alcohol use, suggesting that this chemical substance may lower the threshold of unplanned violence. However, daring was found to be the strongest predictor for planned violent activities such as bullying and weapon carrying, suggesting that the behavioral pattern is the most influential. Thus future research and intervention programs would perhaps benefit from differentiating between planned and unplanned violence.     

The Effect of Peer Victimization on Learning

Abstract

Incidents of school violence have prompted calls for school communities to create environments that encourage student by-standers to act responsibly and proactively when they confront a range of violent incidents, from bullying and fights to weapon carrying and other serious threats to school safety. It is not always clear, however, what bystanders would—or should—do when faced with violent or potentially violent situations. This article describes findings from focus groups conducted with 54 middle school students and 97 staff in an urban, predominantly African American school district with relatively high levels of community violence. Discussions addressed bystander norms, attitudes, and behaviors, and identified barriers that prevent youth as well as adult bystanders from taking positive action. Findings inform violence prevention strategies for building consensus and supporting positive bystander responses.     

Warning Signs of Problems in Schools

SUMMARY

One need not look hard to find evidence of concern related to the nature of student behavior in our schools. School violence, aggression, bullying, and harassment (e.g., racial or sexual) are often cited as challenging behaviors confronting educators and community leaders. Unfortunately, most schools address these concerns with aversive consequences delivered to individual perpetrators in a hope of reducing the future probability of undesired behavior. A growing body of literature identifies the need to explore the social context of behavior. The community, school, classroom, family, and peer group interact with student characteristics to help prevent, support the development of, and even exacerbate the display of both desired and undesired behavior. This article applies the logic of warning signs and functional behavioral assessment to schools as it explores the social context of the school and the classroom. The school-wide and classroom-based factors that have been associated with or found to support problem behaviors are discussed. Information is provided that will allow educators to assess their own schools and classrooms in an effort to promote a climate that will aid in the prevention of violence and aggression.     

School Violence Prevention

Abstract

Objective: This study was designed to describe the level of violence in three high schools and to test the effects of universal and targeted strategies to reduce this violence.

Design:A repeated measures design with two baseline scores and two intervention scores was used during a two year period. Two rural high schools served as control schools with a single intervention high school.

Participants: All freshmen at the three high schools completed a self-report measure of school violence; 420 completed the study at the end of their sophomore year.

Method: Multiple universal and targeted interventions to prevent school violence were used for slightly more than one year. Scores on student Victimization and Perpetration, gathered one year apart, were compared using a pre-test post-test model.

Findings: Student reports of perpetration at the intervention school were significantly lower than the combined scores at the control school. Students, teachers, and administrators reported improved awareness, knowledge, and skills to implement violence prevention programs.

Conclusions: A comprehensive program that includes university and high school partnerships has the capability to reduce school violence during a short period. Despite limitations to the study, continued use of research partnerships to decrease school violence is war-ranted.     

Evaluation of a Theater-Based Youth Violence Prevention Program for Elementary School Children

Abstract

The present study evaluated the impact of Urban Improv (UI), a theater-based youth violence prevention (YVP) program developed for inner-city youth, on three behavioral and psychological outcome domains: aggressive behaviors, prosocial behaviors, and scholastic attention and engagement. This study compared outcomes for 77 elementary school students in classrooms designated to receive UI with those of 63 students from matched control classrooms. Findings revealed that students who received UI were superior to matched controls on all outcome domains. Findings support UI as a promising practice for YVP with urban elementary school students and suggest that greater attention should be focused on application of theater-based programs in YVP.     

Violent Behaviors in Rural and Urban Schools

Abstract

Despite the fact that many incidents of extreme violence have taken place in rural areas there is still some resistance on the part of rural school administrators to admit that violence is a problem in their schools. This article provides a comparison of rural and urban student and staff self-report of school violence (perpetration, victimization and weapon carrying) and discusses the implications of these findings.     

An Examination of the Reliability,Data Screening Procedures,and Extreme Response Patterns for the Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance Survey

Abstract

This article explores psychometric characteristics of the Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance Survey (YRBS), one of the most widely used instruments to assess the prevalence of violent and other high-risk behaviors in secondary school settings. Response patterns were analyzed for a subset of 414 youths who indicated that they had carried a weapon to school six or more times during the preceding 30 days, and were compared to a matched sample of youths randomly selected from the 13,610 participants in the 2001 national administration of the YRBS. Results indicated that extreme responders to the weapon-carrying item were considerably more likely than their counterparts to respond in an extreme fashion to all YRBS items, including risk items pertaining to school (e.g., physical fights on school property) and outside school (e.g., alcohol consumption) factors, as well as positive health behaviors (e.g., healthy eating habits). Overall, the results suggest an ex-treme response bias among some participants that may impact the validity of the YRBS instrument. More specifically, presence of this response bias may inflate estimates of the prevalence of school violence and related concerns. These findings are discussed in light of the need to carefully examine individual response patterns on future administrations of the YRBS in an effort to ensure maximum instrument utility.     

A Cross-National Examination of School Violence and Nonattendance Due to School Violence in Taiwan,Hong Kong,and Mainland China: A Rasch Model Approach

ABSTRACT

This study examined the similarities and differences between three distinct Chinese societies (Taiwan, Hong Kong, and China) regarding the contribution of gender and grade level to school violence, the ranking orders of perpetration and victimization behavior, and the correlates of school nonattendance due to violence. A cross-national random sample of 2,582 junior high school students was obtained. The results of Rasch analyzes revealed that verbal violence is most frequent. Male students are most likely to be aggressive and victimized. Grade-level differences in school violence were shown to be weak or insignificant. School nonattendance is generally associated with being kicked, punched, socially excluded, blackmailed, threatened, or sexually kissed without consent. The results were similar across societies. The findings imply that the contextual differences between Chinese societies may not account for different effects of gender and grade level on school violence, behavioral patterns of school violence, and correlates of school nonattendance.     

Carrying a Weapon to School

ABSTRACT

Eighth and tenth grade students (n= 1,619) reported on exposure to risk and protective assets in their day-to-day lives. The relationship between carrying a weapon to school and risk and protective factors in the home and school ecological domains was explored through logistic regression conducted separately by gender. Environmental control in the home, one factor previously unexplored in the context of resiliency to interpersonal violence-related risk behavior, was incorporated into the analysis. Results support previous research that suggests school violence prevention efforts should address both risk and protective factors in multiple ecological domains. Further, results suggest violence prevention efforts should be sensitive to gender differences, and that additional research is necessary to clarify the role of environmental control as a factor influencing youth resiliency to violence.     

The Awareness of Risky Peer Group Behaviors on School Grounds as Predictors of Students' Victimization on School Grounds

Abstract

This study examined the effects of the awareness of risky peer group behaviors (e.g., drug use, students carrying weapons, or vandalism on school grounds) on students' experiences of school victimization. This is one of the few studies conducted in the Middle East that examine issues of school violence. This article (Part I) focuses on elementary school students. Part II is forthcoming in a future article and will focus on junior high school students. The sample was drawn from central and northern Israel and consisted of 1346 Arab and 1478 Jewish students (4th-6th grades). Students completed an anonymous self-report questionnaire, which was based on the California School Climate Survey (Furlong et al, 1997). The findings from a hierarchical regression analysis show that elementary school students' awareness of risky peer group behaviors in school contexts is one of the strongest predictors of their own personal victimization, controlling for gender, ethnicity, and grade level. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.     

Peer Predictability

Abstract

This action research and general system theory based qualitative inquiry examined adolescents' dependence on predicting the behavior of their peers as a strategy for enhancing their sense of safety at school and avoiding violence. A total of 95 adolescents in 9th through 12th grades from two small rural schools and one large suburban school in New York State participated in the study. Results indicated that students depend on Peer Predictability to feel safe during the school day when adults fail to predictably supervise or intervene in areas or interactions which adolescents perceive as potentially threatening. Familiarity leading to predictability allowed students to evaluate peers for the possibility of emotional or physical violence. This article presents quotes from the students that capture their unique experience.     

K-12 Teachers' Perceptions of School Policy and Fear of School Violence

Abstract

Since the 1990s, schools have focused their attention on policies designed to improve school safety. Most researches on school violence policies have concentrated on the needs of students and administrators. This study investigated the impact of school violence policies on K-l 2 teachers' fear. Using self-report data from 447 K-12 teachers from a large southeastern school district and multilevel path analysis, this study showed that K-12 teachers' perceptions of school policies impacted their fear of school violence. Further, ecological factors had a direct relationship with teacher fear. Policy implications from these findings are discussed.     

Characteristics of School Violence and the Value of Family-School Therapeutic Alliances

Abstract

This article discusses the problem of school violence and the fear about school safety that have been reinforced by extensive news media coverage of the recent series of school shooting incidents. Various factors associated with school violence are addressed, including sociocultural influences on adolescents that pose a challenge to counselors and therapists working with this clientele. In order to reduce violence and aggression in schools and to ease concerns about safety, steps must be taken not only by schools but also by parents and communities. Families can play an important protective role in minimizing at-risk behavior by young people. In fact, many of the most effective youth violence interventions include family components. Several of these programs are described as well as a number of collaborative approaches that demonstrate the potential synergy of school counselors and family therapists working together. With the addition of more courses in family dynamics in counselor education programs, school counselors will be in a better position to collaborate with family therapists in helping reduce violence in the nation's schools.     

Linking Academics and Social Learning

Abstract

This article examines how school staff conceptualize their work with youths in an alternative school for weapon policy offenders after having undergone at least one year of a whole-school violence prevention program conducted by the Syracuse University Violence Prevention Project. The article examines the intent of school staff, their ideas, perspectives, and language about youths, violence, and schooling, and provides insights into the challenges and benefits of a whole-school approach to violence prevention. Their insights highlight what is needed for a violence prevention program to be successful. A major issue raised in the article is the importance of linking social learning and academics in violence prevention strategies, and of sustaining collaborative efforts that connect conflict resolution to acts of justice and support for youths' intellectual and emotional lives.