NCJ Number
223095
Journal
Journal of Youth and Adolescence Volume: 37 Issue: 6 Dated: July 2008 Pages: 641-654
Date Published
July 2008
Length
14 pages
Annotation
This study examined associations between adolescents' experiences of aggression at school (physical, verbal, and relational) and their perceptions of and participation in a hostile school environment.
Abstract
The study found that adolescents exposed to high levels of relational aggression at school perceived their school to be less safe, and they were less favorable in their assessment of the general school social atmosphere. For boys, but not girls, exposure to relational aggression was associated with carrying a weapon to school. These findings indicate that schools should design and implement schoolwide programs that address a broad array of aggressive behavior among students, including verbal and physical aggression as well as relational aggression that resulted in the structuring of social isolation for targeted students. School personnel should be sensitive to problems that adolescents might be having with such relational aggression. Student feelings of being threatened by or socially alienated in the school environment can lead to such students carrying weapons either for protection or a show of power. The study sample consisted of 1,335 adolescents in grades 7 through 12 who were of European-American and African-American descent. The schools were located in Metropolitan Detroit, MI. Students completed a questionnaire that measured their victimization at school (experiences of relational, physical, and verbal aggression); witnessing such aggression against other students; perceptions of school safety and social climate; weapon carrying; and demographics. 6 tables and 68 references