RESEARCH ARTICLE
Aggressive and Violent Behaviors in the School Environment Among a Nationally Representative Sample of Adolescent Youth* SONALI RAJAN, EdD, MSa RACHEL NAMDARb KELLY V. RUGGLES PhDc
ABSTRACT BACKGROUND: The purpose of this study was to describe the prevalence of aggressive and violent behaviors in the context of the school environment in a nationally representative sample of adolescent youth and to illustrate these patterns during 2001-2011. METHODS: We analyzed data from 84,734 participants via the Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System (YRBSS). Frequencies were visualized using heatmaps. One-way analyses of variance and corresponding post hoc tests helped to identify if differences in prevalence fluctuated significantly across all years. RESULTS: Rates of youth feeling unsafe in their school environment, bringing weapons to school, and engaging in physical fighting on school property continue to persist. Findings illustrated that Hispanic youth and youth classified as ‘‘other’’ have emerged as particularly high-risk demographic subgroups over the past decade. Peer victimization and sexual victimization continue to affect girls disproportionately. CONCLUSIONS: Though some variation within demographic subgroups exists, rates of aggressive and violent behaviors in the context of the school environment continue to persist. Implications for the coordinated prevention of aggressive and violent behaviors among adolescent youth are discussed and recommendations for school-based prevention efforts are identified. Keywords: adolescent; aggression; violence; school safety; YRBSS. Citation: Rajan S, Namdar R, Ruggles KV. Aggressive and violent behaviors in the school environment among a nationally representative sample of adolescent youth. J Sch Health. 2015; 85: 446-457. Received on April 3, 2014 Accepted on December 4, 2014
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dolescent youth exposed to aggression and violence are more likely to be at risk for incarceration,1 more likely to engage in risky sexual2 and substance use behaviors,3 less likely to feel connected with their school environment,4 at greater risk for committing suicide,5 at greater risk for experiencing posttraumatic stress disorder,6 and more likely to engage in aggressive behaviors themselves.7 Similarly, youth who engage in aggressive and violent behaviors are more likely to feel unsafe,8 binge drink,8 and engage in risky sexual behaviors.9 They also affect
society more broadly by contributing to increased medical costs and lost productivity.10,11 Adolescents in high school (grades 9-12) spend, on average, nearly half of their waking hours in their school environment; and this number does not include time spent commuting to and from school, nor additional time spent at school for afterschool initiatives.12 Therefore, the role of the school environment in both enabling and reducing rates of aggression and violence is of particular importance. Research demonstrates that the safety and comfort of
a Assistant
Professor of Health Education, ([email protected]), Department of Health and Behavior Studies, Teachers College, Columbia University, Health and Behavior Studies, 525 West 120th Street, PO Box 114, New York, NY 10027. b Research Assistant, ([email protected]), Center for Health Informatics and Bioinformatics, New York University Langone Medical Center, 227 East 30th Street, New York, NY 10016. c Research Scientist, ([email protected]), Department of Population Health, New York University Langone Medical Center, 227 East 30th Street, 617D, New York, NY 10016. Address correspondence to: Sonali Rajan, Assistant Professor of Health Education, ([email protected]), Department of Health and Behavior Studies, Teachers College, Columbia University, Health and Behavior Studies, 525 West 120th Street, PO Box 114, New York, NY 10027. This work utilized computing resources at the High Performance Computing Facility of the Center for Health Informatics and Bioinformatics at New York University Langone Medical Center. ∗ Indicates that continuing education hours are available. Visit www.ashaweb.org and click on Continuing Education for more information.
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© 2015, American School Health Association
youth during the school day in the United States is directly related to their quality of health and academic success.13,14 Research has increasingly demonstrated the role of a positive school climate in impacting students’ health, ability to engage positively with their peers, and their learning process.15-17 A school that promotes a supportive environment, where students feel connected to their school and also feel they are cared for by their peers, is considered a crucial protective factor against risk behavior engagement.18 The reciprocal relationship between engagement in aggressive and violent behaviors and school connectedness has been well established.19 Specifically, youth who feel dissatisfied with, disconnected from, or unsafe within their school environment are more likely to bully their peers20 and engage in physical fighting.8 Conversely, youth who engage in aggressive and violent behaviors are more likely to feel disconnected from their school environment.16 There is also a strong association between exposure to aggression and violence and poor health and academic outcomes. A perceived lack of school safety is related to both poor mental health and increased victimization by relational aggression.13,21 Exposure to aggression of any form contributes directly to the quality of one’s mental health22 and can have extreme and debilitating effects on youth’s quality of life.16 When exposure to aggression and violence has been cumulative over the course of a child’s development through adolescence and emerging adulthood, the impact is particularly devastating.16 A perceived lack of school safety and/or being exposed to specific instances of aggression and violence during the school day can also manifest itself behaviorally in a number of ways; including engaging in disruptive behaviors and regularly missing school.16,23 This study focuses on aggression and violence among adolescents specifically within the school environment, providing an important context in which to frame these behaviors. Specifically, we expand our definition of aggression and violence to include overt violence (physical fighting, weapon carrying, and sexual assault), bullying (either on school property or via electronic means), as well a perceived lack of safety (both during the school day and also on the way to and from school and school-related activities). It should be noted that we have chosen to include sexual assault in this study, because for many adolescents, their sexual and romantic partners are typically also their peers.24 In addition, a growing body of work on poly-victimization has provided a strong rationale for studying multiple behaviors simultaneously. Recent research has demonstrated that youth exposed to one type of victimization are also likely to be exposed to multiple forms of aggression and violence;25,26 increasing the likelihood of these youth to then engage in Journal of School Health
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other risk behaviors.27 Additionally, the year during which youth enter high school has been shown to be a vulnerable point during adolescence for the onset of poly-victimization;28 underscoring the importance of collectively studying these risk behaviors among high school students and within the school setting. In 2004, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) published a report describing violencerelated behaviors among a nationally representative sample of adolescent youth over the previous decade.29 The authors noted an overall decrease in certain behaviors, including the prevalence of carrying a weapon on school property and incidences of physical fighting on school property.29 However, these results were presented with a caveat; most notably that despite these decreases, engagement in some violent behaviors had stabilized, and among certain demographic subgroups had in fact increased.29 Presently, we seek to build upon this work by exploring the most recent patterns in such behaviors among a nationally representative sample of adolescent youth. Whereas engagement in and exposure to aggressive and violent behaviors among high school students are tracked biennially by the CDC, the prevalence of the aforementioned collective behaviors over the past decade and among key demographic subgroups have not been closely examined since 2004. Further, framing these nationally representative data in the context of the school environment is novel and fills a gap in the most recent literature. To develop tailored school-based interventions that are effective in targeting these complex behaviors we need to be able to speak to patterns within key race and sex subgroups to better understand the needs of adolescent youth. The purpose of this study is to describe the prevalence of adolescent engagement in and exposure to aggressive and violent behaviors and to describe these behaviors over a period of 10 years (20012011). Implications for the prevention of aggressive and violent behaviors among adolescent youth are discussed and recommendations for prevention and intervention efforts within the school environment are identified. The value of this approach is such that it can help indicate which violent and aggressive behaviors are or are not changing among segments of American adolescents, which in turn, is useful for prioritizing social investments to address this problem. It should be noted that violence in schools currently disproportionately affects minority populations; individuals who will soon comprise the majority of the US population.30 Therefore, the need to understand the trajectory of youth engagement in and exposure to aggressive and violent behaviors is crucial as the demography of schools and their surrounding communities continue to evolve and change.
July 2015, Vol. 85, No. 7
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© 2015, American School Health Association • 447
METHODS This study is a secondary analysis of data collected by the CDC’s Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System (YRBSS) between 2001 and 2011. Details on this study’s methodology are described below. An extensive description of the YRBSS data collection process is described elsewhere.31,32 Participants YRBSS data are collected biennially in public, private, and parochial high schools across the United States using a set of validated items. This study’s sample size ranged between approximately 13,500 and 16,500 participants across all years (2001, 13,601; 2003, 15,214; 2005, 13,917; 2007, 14,041; 2009, 16,410; and 2011, 15,425). A 3-stage cluster sample design was utilized to generate a nationally representative sample.31,32 Youth from each sex, race/ethnicity group, and 47 of the 50 states are represented in the data used for this study. All 4 high school grades (9-12) are represented as well. Procedures As described earlier, we expanded our definition of aggression and violence in the context of the school environment to entail a set of specific behaviors that are identified in this article: bullying, victimization by sexual partners, engagement in physical fighting with peers, carrying weapons on school premises, and feeling threatened or unsafe at school. Items were asked identically across all 6 time points with the exception of the 2 bullying items. The first bullying item was not included in the YRBSS until 2009 and the second not until 2011. A list of each item and their corresponding response format are presented in the Appendix. Data Analysis CDC YRBSS data were parsed and cleaned in perl (v5.12.3) and subsequently analyzed using Matlab (version R2010b)-based scripts to describe the prevalence of adolescent engagement in the aforementioned aggressive and violent behaviors at 6 distinct time points. A series of 1-way analyses of variance (ANOVAs) were computed in Matlab to identify if differences in prevalence were significantly different across all years, within each demographic subgroup, and for all items of interest. Post hoc tests, utilizing a more stringent p-value to account for multiple comparisons (15 comparisons per subgroup), were subsequently computed to determine which specific year-to-year comparisons were indeed statistically significant. Due to the limited data available on the bullying items, independent sample t-tests were utilized to compare prevalence between 2009 and 2011. 448
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Journal of School Health
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July 2015, Vol. 85, No. 7 •
Missing or incomplete data were removed from the data set. Missing data accounted for
Aggressive and Violent Behaviors in the School Environment Among a Nationally Representative Sample of Adolescent Youth* SONALI RAJAN, EdD, MSa RACHEL NAMDARb KELLY V. RUGGLES PhDc
ABSTRACT BACKGROUND: The purpose of this study was to describe the prevalence of aggressive and violent behaviors in the context of the school environment in a nationally representative sample of adolescent youth and to illustrate these patterns during 2001-2011. METHODS: We analyzed data from 84,734 participants via the Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System (YRBSS). Frequencies were visualized using heatmaps. One-way analyses of variance and corresponding post hoc tests helped to identify if differences in prevalence fluctuated significantly across all years. RESULTS: Rates of youth feeling unsafe in their school environment, bringing weapons to school, and engaging in physical fighting on school property continue to persist. Findings illustrated that Hispanic youth and youth classified as ‘‘other’’ have emerged as particularly high-risk demographic subgroups over the past decade. Peer victimization and sexual victimization continue to affect girls disproportionately. CONCLUSIONS: Though some variation within demographic subgroups exists, rates of aggressive and violent behaviors in the context of the school environment continue to persist. Implications for the coordinated prevention of aggressive and violent behaviors among adolescent youth are discussed and recommendations for school-based prevention efforts are identified. Keywords: adolescent; aggression; violence; school safety; YRBSS. Citation: Rajan S, Namdar R, Ruggles KV. Aggressive and violent behaviors in the school environment among a nationally representative sample of adolescent youth. J Sch Health. 2015; 85: 446-457. Received on April 3, 2014 Accepted on December 4, 2014
A
dolescent youth exposed to aggression and violence are more likely to be at risk for incarceration,1 more likely to engage in risky sexual2 and substance use behaviors,3 less likely to feel connected with their school environment,4 at greater risk for committing suicide,5 at greater risk for experiencing posttraumatic stress disorder,6 and more likely to engage in aggressive behaviors themselves.7 Similarly, youth who engage in aggressive and violent behaviors are more likely to feel unsafe,8 binge drink,8 and engage in risky sexual behaviors.9 They also affect
society more broadly by contributing to increased medical costs and lost productivity.10,11 Adolescents in high school (grades 9-12) spend, on average, nearly half of their waking hours in their school environment; and this number does not include time spent commuting to and from school, nor additional time spent at school for afterschool initiatives.12 Therefore, the role of the school environment in both enabling and reducing rates of aggression and violence is of particular importance. Research demonstrates that the safety and comfort of
a Assistant
Professor of Health Education, ([email protected]), Department of Health and Behavior Studies, Teachers College, Columbia University, Health and Behavior Studies, 525 West 120th Street, PO Box 114, New York, NY 10027. b Research Assistant, ([email protected]), Center for Health Informatics and Bioinformatics, New York University Langone Medical Center, 227 East 30th Street, New York, NY 10016. c Research Scientist, ([email protected]), Department of Population Health, New York University Langone Medical Center, 227 East 30th Street, 617D, New York, NY 10016. Address correspondence to: Sonali Rajan, Assistant Professor of Health Education, ([email protected]), Department of Health and Behavior Studies, Teachers College, Columbia University, Health and Behavior Studies, 525 West 120th Street, PO Box 114, New York, NY 10027. This work utilized computing resources at the High Performance Computing Facility of the Center for Health Informatics and Bioinformatics at New York University Langone Medical Center. ∗ Indicates that continuing education hours are available. Visit www.ashaweb.org and click on Continuing Education for more information.
446
•
Journal of School Health
•
July 2015, Vol. 85, No. 7
•
© 2015, American School Health Association
youth during the school day in the United States is directly related to their quality of health and academic success.13,14 Research has increasingly demonstrated the role of a positive school climate in impacting students’ health, ability to engage positively with their peers, and their learning process.15-17 A school that promotes a supportive environment, where students feel connected to their school and also feel they are cared for by their peers, is considered a crucial protective factor against risk behavior engagement.18 The reciprocal relationship between engagement in aggressive and violent behaviors and school connectedness has been well established.19 Specifically, youth who feel dissatisfied with, disconnected from, or unsafe within their school environment are more likely to bully their peers20 and engage in physical fighting.8 Conversely, youth who engage in aggressive and violent behaviors are more likely to feel disconnected from their school environment.16 There is also a strong association between exposure to aggression and violence and poor health and academic outcomes. A perceived lack of school safety is related to both poor mental health and increased victimization by relational aggression.13,21 Exposure to aggression of any form contributes directly to the quality of one’s mental health22 and can have extreme and debilitating effects on youth’s quality of life.16 When exposure to aggression and violence has been cumulative over the course of a child’s development through adolescence and emerging adulthood, the impact is particularly devastating.16 A perceived lack of school safety and/or being exposed to specific instances of aggression and violence during the school day can also manifest itself behaviorally in a number of ways; including engaging in disruptive behaviors and regularly missing school.16,23 This study focuses on aggression and violence among adolescents specifically within the school environment, providing an important context in which to frame these behaviors. Specifically, we expand our definition of aggression and violence to include overt violence (physical fighting, weapon carrying, and sexual assault), bullying (either on school property or via electronic means), as well a perceived lack of safety (both during the school day and also on the way to and from school and school-related activities). It should be noted that we have chosen to include sexual assault in this study, because for many adolescents, their sexual and romantic partners are typically also their peers.24 In addition, a growing body of work on poly-victimization has provided a strong rationale for studying multiple behaviors simultaneously. Recent research has demonstrated that youth exposed to one type of victimization are also likely to be exposed to multiple forms of aggression and violence;25,26 increasing the likelihood of these youth to then engage in Journal of School Health
•
other risk behaviors.27 Additionally, the year during which youth enter high school has been shown to be a vulnerable point during adolescence for the onset of poly-victimization;28 underscoring the importance of collectively studying these risk behaviors among high school students and within the school setting. In 2004, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) published a report describing violencerelated behaviors among a nationally representative sample of adolescent youth over the previous decade.29 The authors noted an overall decrease in certain behaviors, including the prevalence of carrying a weapon on school property and incidences of physical fighting on school property.29 However, these results were presented with a caveat; most notably that despite these decreases, engagement in some violent behaviors had stabilized, and among certain demographic subgroups had in fact increased.29 Presently, we seek to build upon this work by exploring the most recent patterns in such behaviors among a nationally representative sample of adolescent youth. Whereas engagement in and exposure to aggressive and violent behaviors among high school students are tracked biennially by the CDC, the prevalence of the aforementioned collective behaviors over the past decade and among key demographic subgroups have not been closely examined since 2004. Further, framing these nationally representative data in the context of the school environment is novel and fills a gap in the most recent literature. To develop tailored school-based interventions that are effective in targeting these complex behaviors we need to be able to speak to patterns within key race and sex subgroups to better understand the needs of adolescent youth. The purpose of this study is to describe the prevalence of adolescent engagement in and exposure to aggressive and violent behaviors and to describe these behaviors over a period of 10 years (20012011). Implications for the prevention of aggressive and violent behaviors among adolescent youth are discussed and recommendations for prevention and intervention efforts within the school environment are identified. The value of this approach is such that it can help indicate which violent and aggressive behaviors are or are not changing among segments of American adolescents, which in turn, is useful for prioritizing social investments to address this problem. It should be noted that violence in schools currently disproportionately affects minority populations; individuals who will soon comprise the majority of the US population.30 Therefore, the need to understand the trajectory of youth engagement in and exposure to aggressive and violent behaviors is crucial as the demography of schools and their surrounding communities continue to evolve and change.
July 2015, Vol. 85, No. 7
•
© 2015, American School Health Association • 447
METHODS This study is a secondary analysis of data collected by the CDC’s Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System (YRBSS) between 2001 and 2011. Details on this study’s methodology are described below. An extensive description of the YRBSS data collection process is described elsewhere.31,32 Participants YRBSS data are collected biennially in public, private, and parochial high schools across the United States using a set of validated items. This study’s sample size ranged between approximately 13,500 and 16,500 participants across all years (2001, 13,601; 2003, 15,214; 2005, 13,917; 2007, 14,041; 2009, 16,410; and 2011, 15,425). A 3-stage cluster sample design was utilized to generate a nationally representative sample.31,32 Youth from each sex, race/ethnicity group, and 47 of the 50 states are represented in the data used for this study. All 4 high school grades (9-12) are represented as well. Procedures As described earlier, we expanded our definition of aggression and violence in the context of the school environment to entail a set of specific behaviors that are identified in this article: bullying, victimization by sexual partners, engagement in physical fighting with peers, carrying weapons on school premises, and feeling threatened or unsafe at school. Items were asked identically across all 6 time points with the exception of the 2 bullying items. The first bullying item was not included in the YRBSS until 2009 and the second not until 2011. A list of each item and their corresponding response format are presented in the Appendix. Data Analysis CDC YRBSS data were parsed and cleaned in perl (v5.12.3) and subsequently analyzed using Matlab (version R2010b)-based scripts to describe the prevalence of adolescent engagement in the aforementioned aggressive and violent behaviors at 6 distinct time points. A series of 1-way analyses of variance (ANOVAs) were computed in Matlab to identify if differences in prevalence were significantly different across all years, within each demographic subgroup, and for all items of interest. Post hoc tests, utilizing a more stringent p-value to account for multiple comparisons (15 comparisons per subgroup), were subsequently computed to determine which specific year-to-year comparisons were indeed statistically significant. Due to the limited data available on the bullying items, independent sample t-tests were utilized to compare prevalence between 2009 and 2011. 448
•
Journal of School Health
•
July 2015, Vol. 85, No. 7 •
Missing or incomplete data were removed from the data set. Missing data accounted for
