NCJ Number
127113
Journal
School Safety Dated: (Fall 1990) Pages: 22-25
Date Published
1990
Length
4 pages
Annotation
Findings from a Texas A & M University study released late this summer indicate that many rural public schools, particularly those near large cities, have been worse violence problems than the national average.
Abstract
Participants in the study were 1,004 eighth- and tenth-grade students from 23 small Central Texas communities. The instruments used for the study were originally devised for use in the 1987 National Adolescent Student Health Survey, however, only sections dealing with drug use and violence were administered in this study. More than half of the boys and one-fifth of girls reported having been in at least one physical fight involving weapons during the previous year. One-fourth of the students said they had carried a weapon at school in the past year. Students frequently reported engaging in behaviors that placed them at high risk for becoming a victim of violence. Over 30 percent of students reported having been threatened with bodily harm though not actually hurt. As a result of this study, it is clear that rural schools are not safe havens from the violence and drug problems seen in nearby large urban areas. 9 references