NCJ Number
194772
Journal
Violence and Victims Volume: 17 Issue: 1 Dated: February 2002 Pages: 57-72
Date Published
2002
Length
16 pages
Annotation
This self-reported survey examined urban high school students' experience with violence.
Abstract
As of 1999, homicide was still the second leading cause of death among adolescents' aged 15 to 24. Risk factors are involved at the individual-, family- and community-levels, as are protective factors. Gender dynamics and violence are a core piece of this research study. The majority of research studies had focused on female gang members, not academically oriented young women as this study did. One hundred and fifty students (55 percent males), (45 percent females) in the San Francisco Bay area were studied, and the vast majority of the participants were Asian Americans (43 percent) and Latinos (36 percent). A 52-item questionnaire was administered that asked students about direct and indirect experiences with violence as well as basic demographic information. The results showed that 44 percent of the participants reported being a victim of violence and 37 percent reported using violence against another person. The young men reported higher victimization rates and use of violence, and only men reported committing sexual violence. On the other hand, young women reported higher rates of sexual and relationship victimization and using physical force against someone they were dating. Despite both genders reporting equal amounts of perpetrating interpersonal violence, men reported twice as many incidents of being a victim. Second, only young women reported being sexually victimized by a family member or family friend despite the men reporting they committed sexual violence. It appeared that when the researchers asked about behaviors on a survey, they receive different answers than when they asked the participants to describe (personal interview) the violence they experienced. The respondents who reported the above-mentioned two risk factors (exposure to violence and gun possession) were over six times more likely to report committing violence. In this study, gender was not found to be related to self-reporting of violence, suggesting that violence transcended gender lines and that inner-city youth shared many of the same risks and experiences. Nevertheless, prevention and interventions need to consider gender given that men were twice as likely to be victims of interpersonal violence, and only women reported being sexually assaulted by a family member or a family friend. Tables, references