IMPACT OF EXPOSURE TO VIOLENCE IN SCHOOL ON CHILD AND ADOLESCENT MENTAL HEALTH AND BEHAVIOR By :

Exposure to violence at school remains a significant problem for children and adolescents. This study examined the relationship between exposure to violence at school and child reports of psychological trauma symptoms and violent behavior. The sample consisted of children in grades 3 through 12 in 17 public schools from two different states. Rates of witnessing violence ranged from 56% of elementary-school students witnessing someone else being beaten up to 87% of students witnessing someone else being hit, slapped, or punched at school in the past year. Nearly half (44 %) of middle-school youth were threatened at school. After accounting for demographic effects, witnessing violence at school accounted for more variance than being victimized by violence at school in predicting both psychological trauma symptoms and violent behavior. Students who were exposed to high levels of violence at school also were significantly more likely to experience clinical levels of trauma symptoms than students who were exposed to low levels of violence at school. The association between exposure to violence at school and child well being are discussed. Article: The level of violence in schools has been declining in recent years (Kingery, Coggeshall, & Alford, 1998), as more violence perpetration and victimization occurs away from school than at school (U.S. Department of Education, 2002a). In general, schools remain relatively safe places, with fewer homicides and nonfatal injuries than in homes or neighborhoods (U.S. Department of Education, 2001a). Although rates of victimization from violence at school are declining, witnessing violence at school remains a serious problem for young people because youth spend a large portion of their day among large, often loosely managed groups of peers in school. Recent research has examined the impact of violence exposure on mental health and behavior, but little research has focused on the impact of school-specific violence exposure, defined here as being either a witness to violence or being a direct victim of violence while at school. Studies that have examined violence exposure at school have focused almost exclusively on adolescents or on high-risk samples. The current study specifically examines exposure to school violence and its relationship to psychological trauma symptoms and violent behavior among children and adolescents. School violence ranges from incidents of bullying (Nansel et al., 2001; Olweus, 1993) and threats (Singer & Flannery, 2000) to weapon carrying (Centers for Disease Control, 2000), homicide (Kachur et al., 1996), and spree shootings and fatalities (Anderson et al., 2001; Moore, Petrie, Braga, & McLaughlin, 2003). Because of recent concern about high-profile incidents of school violence (Barta, 2000), the federal government has stressed the importance of safe, violence-free schools in Acts such as Goals 2000 (U.S. Department of Education, 1993), the implementation of the Safe Schools/Healthy Start Initiative (U.S. Department of Education, 2001b), and the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (U.S. Department of Education, 2002b). For example, Goal 6 of Goals 2000 states, ―by the year 2000, every school in America will be free of drugs and violence and will offer a disciplined environment conducive to learning‖ (U.S. Department of Education, 1993). Despite recent declines and a federal emphasis on creating safe schools, violence still exists at high rates in our schools, and we still know little about the specific impact of exposure to violence at school on child mental health and behavior. Schools have not been immune to the severest forms of violence. From 1992 to 1994, 105 school-associated violent deaths occurred on school grounds (Kachur et al., 1996). Between 1994 and 1999, 220 violent incidents at school resulted in 172 homicides, 30 suicides, 11 homicide–suicides, 5 legal intervention deaths, and 2 unintentional firearm deaths, with students accounting for 68% of these deaths (Anderson et al., 2001). While the risk of being a homicide victim at school is extremely low, students are not isolated from other types of crime and violence. For instance, during the 2000 school year, children between the ages of 12 and 18 were victims of 1.9 million crimes of violence or theft, and about 128,000 were victims of serious violent crime at school (e.g., rape, sexual assault, or aggravated assault) (U.S. Department of Education, 2002a). According to the 1999 Youth Risk Behavior Survey, over 17% of youth had carried a weapon in the past 30 days and 7% reported they had brought the weapon to school (Centers for Disease Control, 2000). Between 1993 and 2001, almost 10% of students in grades 9 through 12 indicated they had been threatened or injured by a weapon on school property within the past 12 months (U.S. Department of Education, 2002a). Moore and colleagues (2003) reported that between 1992 and 2001 there were 35 incidents in which students showed up at school or school-sponsored events and started shooting at their classmates and teachers. Despite these high-profile events, rates of victimization from violence at school are lower than what occurs at home or in the neighborhood (Singer et al., 1999). Student-reported rates of witnessing violence at school are consistently higher than rates of direct victimization from violence. Nearly 90% of elementaryand high-school students report having witnessed someone else being threatened at school, and one in four reported having seen someone else being beaten up at school (Singer et al., 1999). Whether as a witness or a victim, exposure to violence is related to a number of emotional and behavioral problems, such as posttraumatic stress, anxiety, anger, depression, dissociation, and self-destructive and aggressive behavior (Breslau, Davis, Andreski, & Peterson, 1991; Flannery, 1999; Flannery, Singer, & Wester, 2001; Hurt, Malmud, Brodsky, & Gianetta, 2001; Overstreet & Braun, 2000; Schwab-Stone et al., 1995). Crick and colleagues (Crick & Grotpeter, 1995; Crick & Bigbee, 1998) found that children who persistently are victimized from violence suffer from higher levels of depression, anxiety, and loneliness compared to nonvictimized children. Reardon (1997) reported, for example, that bullying could result in severe psychological, academic, or physical harm to the victim, irreparable harm to the perpetrator, and a rejection of responsibility for the bystander/observer, particularly if the aggressive or violent behavior is allowed to persist over time. In one study, eight percent of children reported school violence or bullying had affected their lives to the point that they tried suicide, ran away, or refused to go to school (Cullingford & Morrison, 1995). According to Hazler (1996), 17% of students who are bullied reported suffering from academic problems. In another study, 14% of high-school students and 22% of fourthto eighth-grade students reported that violence exposure diminished their ability to learn in school (Hoover & Oliver, 1996). Exposure to violence in general also is associated positively with risk for perpetrating aggression and violence (Flannery et al., 2001). For example, in one longitudinal study, adolescents who were victims of child maltreatment prior to age 12 were 24% more likely to report engaging in violent behavior in high school compared to their nonvictimized peers (Thornberry, 1994). Adolescents who reported attacking another person with a knife or shooting at someone were significantly more likely to be exposed to high levels of violence compared to nonviolent youth (Flannery et al., 2001). Exposure to violence in any setting (i.e., home, community, or school) tends to have serious behavioral and mental-health consequences for children, both as witnesses and as victims. Despite this recognition, little research has focused on the impact of violence exposure in school, a place where children spend a great deal of their time and where significant socialization and learning occurs. The earlier a child is exposed to violence, the greater the potential long-term consequences. Thus, it is critical to examine exposure to violence among young children and not wait until adolescence. In the current study, we examine the relationship between schoolspecific violence exposure and two outcomes: 1) child self-reported psychological trauma symptoms; and 2) violent behavior. We examine these issues for children and adolescents in grades 3 through 12. In addition to examining rates of school violence exposure, we hypothesized that: (a) witnessing violence and being a victim of violence at school would be related significantly to psychological trauma symptoms and violent behavior, independent of the influence of demographic factors; and (b) that children and adolescents who are exposed to frequent incidents of violence at school would be more likely to experience clinical levels of trauma symptoms, such as anger, anxiety, depression, dissociation, and posttraumatic stress compared to youth who are exposed to low levels of violence at school. METHOD This investigation uses data from two separate studies. The first included children in grades 3 through 8 and the second included adolescents in grades 9 through 12 (Total N= 5969). While these studies used different samples, each gathered data on the same set of variables to assess youth exposure to violence, violent behavior, and psychological trauma symptoms. Within each study, schools purposely were selected to be representative of their geographic location. To maximize recruitment, students in all classrooms attending school on the day the surveys were administered had the opportunity to participate. Classroom teachers administered surveys to students during the usual school day during a single class period. Once students completed the survey, they placed the questionnaire in a separate unmarked envelope. Teachers did not see any completed surveys. Parents were notifi