NCJ Number
146005
Journal
American Journal of Disease of Children Volume: 146 Issue: 6 Dated: (June 1992) Pages: 677-682
Date Published
1992
Length
6 pages
Annotation
This study assessed the degree to which inner-city high school students are victimized by the threat of or actual firearm attack.
Abstract
The study used a cross-sectional survey of students in 10 inner-city high schools in five cities in four States. A total of 1,653 male and female students responded anonymously in a volunteer, convenience sample. Twenty-three percent of respondents were classified as victims of gun- related threats or attacks. Major variables that predicted victimization levels were gender, number of siblings, exposure to violence outside school, and personal violence- related attributes. Only 1 in 10 victimizations appeared random (not predicted by the aforementioned variables). The authors conclude that violence is brought into rather than generated by the school. Victimized students have characteristics that put them at higher risk of gun-related victimization than other students. Given the large number of victimizations and the large number of respondents with risk characteristics, intervention at the individual level would be ineffective. Alteration of community social structure and culture is the appropriate means to reduce gun-related victimization levels. 3 tables and 11 references