This study identified risk, promotive, and protective factors for handgun carriage among 265 primarily African American adolescents (M[subscript age] = 14.3) living in low-income urban areas. Community-based violent victimization and witnessing violence and in-person and cyber forms of peer victimization increased the probability of handgun…

Social support and social relationships are essential for psychological and physical health. Social rejection, on the other hand, is associated with increased stress and negative long and short-term consequences for a person's well-being. The long-term consequences of ostracism include the development of internalizing and externalizing psychiatric…

The authors begin their commentary by saying that looking at the phenotypical characteristics of a school shooting, which focus on the perpetrators' experiences in school contexts seems to be overdue. In spite of methodological problems, the studies involved in the review seem to paint a clear picture with regard to social ostracism and harassment…

The authors begin their commentary by saying that Sommer, Leuschner, and Scheithauer (2014) did an admirable job of reviewing and integrating research on school shootings across a broad array of studies that relied on varied conceptualizations, operational definitions, coding strategies, and samples of shootings. The authors agree with Sommer et…

Student victimization in schools is a major concern of educators, policymakers, administrators, parents, and students. Understanding the scope of the criminal victimization of students, as well as the factors associated with it, is an essential step in developing solutions to address the issues of school crime and violence. This report uses data…

This report provides estimates of student victimization as defined by the 2005 School Crime Supplement (SCS) to the 2005 National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS). the nation's primary source of information on crime victimization and the victims of crime in the United States. SCS is a supplement to NCVS that was created to collect information…

The topic of youth, violence, and disintegration needs addressing because young women and men are the world's greatest capital. They have the energy, talent, and creativity for building a future. But this group also suffers grave vulnerabilities. The time of adolescence includes important and difficult periods of life (for example, becoming more…

The present study examines how exposure to relational aggression at school is associated with adolescents' perceptions of, and participation in, a hostile school environment. Participants were 1,335 African American and European American adolescents in grades 7 through 12 (52% female, 49% African American). Results indicate that exposure to…

Examines social and psychological factors associated with frequency of weapon-carrying by black adolescents living in a community where there is extensive poverty and a high level of violent crime. Weapon carrying was significantly associated with exposure to violence and victimization, age, corporal punishment scale, depression, family conflict,…

This study examined the relationship between family factors and secondary school students' aggressive and antisocial behaviours. Participants were 1,478 junior and senior secondary school students from four major urban centres in Botswana, aged 12-20. Results showed significant prevalence of self-reported aggressive tendencies and antisocial…

Risk-taking behavior includes alcohol and drug use, delinquency, acts of aggression, sexual activity, and so on. Many studies have explored the relationship between adolescents and risk-taking behavior; however, only a few studies have examined this link in adolescents with learning disabilities (LD) or attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder…

This research summarizes the results of a study involving 835 inmates in six major correctional facilities within several states and 758 inner-city students from 10 high schools near the facilities, concerning the number and types of firearms juveniles possess as well as where, how, and why juveniles acquire and carry firearms. Research focused on…

Community-level factors such as disadvantage, disorder, and disorganization have been linked to a variety of antisocial and illicit activities. Although crime and deviance tend to concentrate in areas with these characteristics, not all residents of disorganized neighborhoods participate in proscribed activities. This study examines the…

Background: Hyperactive/ADHD children are believed to be a greater risk for adolescent and young adult antisocial activity and drug use/abuse, particularly that subset having comorbid conduct problems/disorder. Method: We report on the lifetime antisocial activities and illegal drug use self-reported at young adult follow-up (mean age 20-21 years;…

Despite the fact that many incidents of extreme violence have taken place in rural areas there is still some resistance on the part of rural school administrators to admit that violence is a problem in their schools. This article provides a comparison of rural and urban student and staff self-report of school violence (perpetration, victimization…