Risk Factors of Academic Performance: Experiences of School Violence, School Safety Concerns, and Depression by Gender
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Risk Factors of Academic Performance: Experiences of School Violence, School Safety Concerns, and Depression by Gender Youn Kyoung Kim1 · Jane E. Sanders2 · Timothy Makubuya3 · Mansoo Yu4
© Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature 2020
Abstract Background Experiencing school violence can have a detrimental effect on learning. However, it is unclear whether different types of school violence have different impacts based on gender. Moreover, there is insufficient understanding of the direct and indirect effects of experiencing school violence on academic performance through perceived school safety concerns and student depression. Objective Drawing on ecological systems theory and adversity literature, this study examined the direct and indirect effects by gender of three forms of experiencing school violence (physical fighting, threats of weapon-related violence, and bullying), through school safety concerns and depression, on adolescent academic performance. Methods Cross-sectional data were drawn from the 2015 Youth Risk Behavior System Survey, a national sample of students in grades 9–12. Multigroup path analysis was conducted to test direct and indirect associations and gender differences. Results Fighting, threats, and bullying were significantly associated with higher levels of school safety concerns and depression for students, which led to lower academic performance for both females and males. The majority of the effects, in both direct and indirect associations, were significantly greater among female than male students. Conclusions The results of this study provide important insight into the complex relationships between experiencing school violence, perceptions of school safety, sadness and hopelessness and their relationship to academic performance. Keywords School violence · Victimization · Depression · Safety · Weapon related violence · Academic performance
Youn Kyoung Kim, Jane E. Sanders, Timothy Makubuya have contributed equally to this paper * Youn Kyoung Kim [email protected] 1
School of Social Work, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, USA
2
School of Social Work, King’s University College at Western University, London, Canada
3
College of Education, University of Missouri–St. Louis, St. Louis, USA
4
School of Social Work, Department of Public Health, University of Missouri, Columbia, USA
13
Vol.:(0123456789)
Child & Youth Care Forum
Introduction Exposure to violence at school has increasingly exerted a strong influence on student academic performance (Fisher et al. 2018, 2016). However, the mechanisms by which this impact on academic performance occurs are not well understood, prompting calls to examine the dynamics surrounding school violence (Astor et al. 2010). The role of other factors, such as school safety concerns and depressive tendencies, in the overall academic performance of those affected is unclear. Nonetheless, the rates of students feeling unsafe, being exposed to weapons, and fighting at school have been consistent across the past de
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