NCJ Number
116651
Journal
Youth and Society Volume: 20 Issue: 3 Dated: (March 1989) Pages: 320-341
Date Published
1989
Length
22 pages
Annotation
Factors influencing student victimization were examined in data for 1,272 high school students in the Los Angeles Unified School District in 1986.
Abstract
Schools represented four types of school environments: two were predominantly black inner-city schools, two were predominantly white; two were inner-city schools with predominantly Hispanic student bodies; and two schools had a more balanced mix of the three ethnic groups. Students in the sample reported relatively high levels of both property and violent in-school victimization. Violent victimization was reported by 10.9 percent, while thefts were reported by 7 percent. While males were more likely to be victims of theft and violence than were females, the gender differences were substantially greater for violent victimization than for theft. For all categories of victimization, the decreasing order of risk was blacks, Hispanics, and whites. However, for in-school victimization, black and Hispanic groups did not differ significantly; and both were significantly more often victimized than whites. Both in- and out-of-school thievery risk was lower for students under 17 than those over. While both in- and out-of-school violent victimization was significantly lower for white than for black or Hispanic males, no significant differences among the ethnic groups were found for females. Finally, whites in a majority position in the school showed lower thievery victimization rates than blacks or Hispanics, while those in a minority position showed higher thievery victimization rates. Majority-minority status was not related to in-school violent victimization across all or within each ethnic group. 1 figure, 6 tables, and 12 references.