NCJ Number
207066
Journal
Violence and Victims Volume: 19 Issue: 2 Dated: April 2004 Pages: 157-170
Date Published
April 2004
Length
14 pages
Annotation
This study examined the relationship between risk-taking behavior, general acceptance of aggression (GAA), verbal harassment (VH), and aggressive behavior (AB) in a sample of rural middle school students.
Abstract
Youth violence has penetrated the national consciousness following several highly publicized incidents of school violence. Emerging as a particular concern in recent years are incidents of violence in rural schools. Studies of youth have also indicated that rural youth are more likely than their suburban and urban youth, in some locations, to engage in various risk-taking behaviors. The current study analyzed the relationship between risk-taking behavior and a general acceptance of aggression, aggressive behavior, and verbal harassment. Participants were 1,440 seventh- and eighth-grade rural middle school students who reported on their behavior and attitudes during the past 30 days. Results of statistical analyses indicated that higher levels of reported risk-taking behavior predicted higher levels of GAA and VH. Moreover, higher risk-taking behavior was also associated with higher levels of AB, except among the Black youth. Among the Black youth, moderate levels of risk-taking behavior predicted the highest levels of AB. The findings suggest that risk-taking behavior may serve as an important risk factor among rural youth for attitudes toward aggression and actual aggressive behavior. Given its potential importance for violence prevention programming, future research should focus on more fully identifying the relationship between risk-taking and youthful aggression. Tables, figures, references