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Abstract
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Young people's fears of victimization and
feelings of unsafety constitute a serious and pervasive public health problem
and appear to be associated with different factors than actual victimization.
Our analysis of a population-based telephone survey of youths aged 10-18 years
in five economically distressed cities and their suburbs reveals that a
substantial minority of youths feel unsafe on any given day, and that an even
greater number feel unsafe in school. While some traditional predictors of
victimization (such as low socioeconomic status) were associated with feeling
unsafe, perceived school disorder was the major factor associated with such
feelings. Disorderliness may thus be the school's version of "broken
windows," which serve to signal to students a lack of consistent adult
concern and oversight that can leave them feeling unsafe. We suggest that fixing
the broken windows of school disorderliness may have a significant, positive
impact on adolescents' feelings of safety. |