Astor suspects that aggressive children are more likely to respond violently in the more dangerous looking places, even if the other child has not been obviously provoking. Astor thinks nonaggressive children will leave a place they see as dangerous, rather than engage in violent activity. The instruments are also used to explore children's understanding of community poverty and how children associate concepts of poverty with violence. Students, parents, and teachers alike indicate the same areas as dangerous- bathrooms, front lobby and stairways, for example. He notes that these were the same places where violence took place when he was in school.
Unowned places are often more physically decayed.
Another interesting finding in his MAPs study is the different gender responses. They seem to have less space than boys where they are free to develop in schools. Interventions Astor believes his findings will help lead to concrete interventions that will help to curb violence by and against children. More effective, Astor believes, are some basic interventions. If teachers and students reclaim unowned areas in schools that will help curb school violence, Astor believes, based on the result of the MAPs study.