NCJ Number
217914
Journal
Journal of School Violence Volume: 5 Issue: 3 Dated: 2006 Pages: 71-88
Date Published
2006
Length
18 pages
Annotation
This study explored whether the association between substance use and involvement in youth violence was a unique association resulting from the properties of the drugs, or whether it was part of a larger behavioral cluster.
Abstract
Overall findings suggest that youth violence should be regarded as a multi-faceted phenomenon. As such, it is unlikely that one theoretical explanation is sufficient, and different theoretical approaches are needed for explaining different types of violence. The results indicated that the strongest predictor for unplanned violent activities such as physical fights was alcohol use. However, daring was found to be the strongest predictor for planned violent activities such as bullying and weapon carrying. The problem of youth violence continues to attract the attention of researchers. Previous research has shown that alcohol and other drugs play a prominent role in interpersonal youth violence. In Israel, school violence has only recently emerged as a focal point of determinants research, due to public pressure. This study had two purposes. First was to explore determinants of youth violence in Israel. The second was to examine which of the three theoretical explanations (the pharmacological, the criminal or the behavioral) best fit the data. The study sample consisted of 1,571 Israeli students and was based on data from the 1998 Israeli Health Behaviors in School Aged Children survey. Tables, figures, and references