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Abstract
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OBJECTIVES. This study examined the extent to which individual and family factors are associated with aggression and fighting behavior among African-American middle school adolescents. METHODS. Four hundred thirty-six African-American boys and girls from two middle schools in a predominantly low-income North Carolina school system were surveyed and their school records examined. Information was collected concerning students' aggression levels, school fighting behavior, school suspensions for fighting, attitudes toward violence, perceptions of their families' attitudes toward violence, weapon-carrying behavior, and sociodemographics. Multivariate analyses were employed to predict the students' aggression levels, fighting behavior, and school suspensions. RESULTS. Factors related to the individual adolescents, such as gender, age, weapon-carrying behavior, and attitudes toward violence, were associated with students' reports of aggression and fighting behavior. Factors related to family and school were associated with school suspension for fighting. CONCLUSIONS. This study suggests that violence prevention programs set in our elementary and middle schools may reduce aggression and fighting among our youth. School teachers and public health practitioners are encouraged to work together in understanding and preventing adolescent violence.
VioLit summary:
OBJECTIVE:
The aim of this study by Cotten et al. was to examine the extent to which individual and family factors were related to aggression and fighting behavior among African-American middle school adolescents.
METHODOLOGY:
A quasi-experimental design was employed. The unit of analysis was black adolescent males from the ages of 11-15. The sampling frame was two middle schools in predominately low income areas in North Carolina where 97% of the students were African-American. A total of 447 adolescents, all of whom received parental consent to participate in the study, were present the day the survey was administered, and filled out the questionnaire. Competed variable information decreased the sample size to 436 students, 222 of whom were female (51%), and 214 were male (49%).
The questionnaires were administered by African American college students and confidentiality was ensured. The questionnaire included an aggression scale which listed 12 aggressive behaviors (e.g., threatening peers, destroying property) to which the respondents felt it was "never," "sometimes," or "often" characteristic of them. Items were summed to create an aggression score where the higher the score the more severe the aggression. The scale was tested for internal consistency and achieved a Cronbach's alpha of .75, and a test-retest reliability over a three month period of .60 was achieved. The respondents were also asked about their participation in fights at school. They were asked one question, "While you were at school, has anyone ever attacked or fought with you?" This question was adapted from the Youth Health Risk Behavior Survey.
Attitudes toward interpersonal violence were also assessed with a scale developed by the Education and Development Center of Massachusetts. The scale included 15 statements that expressed either a nonviolent or violent orientation to which the respondent indicated that they "disagree a lot" or "agree a lot" (it was based on a 4 point scale where a 1 was received for the former response and a 4 for the latter response). This scale achieved a Cronbach's alpha of .73, and a test-retest reliability score of .59 over a 3 month period. The same response scale was used for the assessment of the student's perceptions of their families' views toward violence, only five items were included. A cronbach's alpha of .55 and a test-retest reliability score of .55 over a three month period was achieved.
Students were also asked about their weapon carrying behavior, such as whether they had ever brought weapon (e.g., gun, knife, club) to school to protect themselves.
School records were also reviewed to determine whether the students had been suspended from school for physically fighting within the last year.
Lastly, poverty was assessed based on enrollment in the school free lunch program which indicated that a family of four had a monthly income of less than $1,452.
The study utilized multiple regression, logistical regression, and odds ratio methods of analysis. The authors noted that their study should be viewed with caution based on three limitations. First, self-report data is liable to self-report biases. Second, students perceptions of their families' attitudes may not be reflective of the views the families actually hold. Lastly, accuracy in detecting those who were impoverished may have been biased because there may have been a difference between those who were eligible for the free lunch program and those who were actually enrolled in the program.
FINDINGS/DISCUSSION:
The findings suggested that age, gender, weapon-carrying behavior, and attitudes toward violence were associated with students reports of aggression, and fighting behavior. Factors associated with family and school were associated with school suspension for fighting. Specifically, the linear regression results found significant positive correlations between the students' reports of aggression and their attitudes toward violence, age, and weapon carrying behavior. That is, students with violent attitudes reported more aggressive behavior, older students were more aggressive than younger students, and students who carried weapons to school scored significantly higher on the aggression scale. Family related factors were not significant predictors of student aggression.
The logistical regression results showed that age, gender, and student attitudes toward violence were significant predictors of fighting in school. Specifically, older students reported more fighting than younger students, girls were less likely to fight than boys, and students who had more violent attitudes were more likely to report fighting. Family related factors were not significant predictors of student fighting. However, school records of suspension for fighting were associated with individual, school, and family factors. That is, older students were more likely to have been suspended from school for fighting than younger students, suspension varied by school with the students in school B being less likely to be suspended than the students in school A, and students of impoverished families were more likely to receive suspensions for fighting in school than students whose families were not impoverished. The discrepancy between school suspensions was noted to have been possibly due to a difference in school discipline policies which resulted in higher proportions of suspensions for students in one school than the other.
AUTHORS' RECOMMENDATIONS:
The authors noted that the findings suggested that violence prevention programs which encourage non-violent attitudes, teach non-aggressive conflict resolution skills and are set in elementary and middle schools may be useful in the prevention of aggression and fighting among youth.
(CSPV Abstract - Copyright © 1992-2007 by the Center for the Study and Prevention of Violence, Institute of Behavioral Science, Regents of the University of Colorado)
North Carolina
Violence Causes
African American Aggression
African American Behavior
African American Violence
African American Child
African American Juvenile
African American Offender
Juvenile Behavior
Juvenile Problem Behavior
Juvenile Aggression
Juvenile Offender
Juvenile Violence
Physical Assault Causes
Physical Assault Offender
Child Aggression
Child Offender
Child Behavior
Child Problem Behavior
Child Offender
Child Violence
Aggression Causes
Behavior Causes
Family Relations
Family Environment
Offender Characteristics
Juvenile Male
Male Offender
Male Violence
African American Male
Child Male
Male Behavior
Male Aggression
Junior High School Student
Family Risk Factors
Individual Risk Factors
Late Childhood
Early Adolescence
Fighting Behavior
Child Delinquency
Child Crime
Juvenile Crime
Juvenile Delinquency
African American Crime
African American Delinquency
Delinquency Causes
Delinquency Risk Factors
Crime Causes
Crime Risk Factors
Behavior Risk Factors
Violence Risk Factors |