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Attitudes about Violence and Involvement in Peer Violence among Youth: Findings from a High-Risk Community

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Abstract

Peer violence perpetration and victimization are the most common types of violence among youth. This study determined the associations among violent attitudes toward peers, involvement in peer violence perpetration, and experience with peer violence victimization among boys and girls in a high-risk, urban community. Analyses were based on data from the 2004 Youth Violence Survey, which was administered to over 80% of public school students in grades 7, 9, 11, and 12 (N = 4,131) in a disadvantaged, urban, school district in the USA. Logistic regression analyses were conducted to test the associations between attitudes in support of violence and involvement in violent behaviors. Results show that among youth, attitudes supporting boys hitting boys significantly increased the odds of peer violence perpetration after controlling for potential confounders (adjusted odds ratio [AOR], 1.35; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.07, 1.72). However, stratified analyses for boys and girls show that attitudes supporting boys hitting boys increased the odds of peer violence perpetration for girls only after controlling for potential confounders (AOR, 1.49; 95% CI = 1.05, 2.13). The findings demonstrate that there are important differences between boys and girls in terms of their associations with violent attitudes and involvement in actual violent behaviors. However, additional research is needed to determine how attitude modifications can be incorporated into youth violence prevention programs.

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Acknowledgments

This manuscript is based on a thesis prepared by the first author as a graduation requirement toward the MPH degree in the Institute of Public Health, Georgia State University under the direction of the second and third authors. We thank the entire Linkages Study team from ORC Macro, CDC, and Battelle who contributed to the planning and implementation of the study. We also thank the school district for their enthusiasm and logistical support of this project. Finally, we thank the students for their time and willingness to participate in this study. Also note that the findings and conclusions in this report are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the official position of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention/the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry.

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  1. Institute of Public Health, Partnership for Urban Health Research, Georgia State University, P.O. Box 3995, Atlanta, GA, 30302-3995, USA

    Bina Ali, Monica H. Swahn & Kymberle L. Sterling

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  1. Bina Ali
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  2. Monica H. Swahn
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  3. Kymberle L. Sterling
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Correspondence to Monica H. Swahn.

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Ali, B., Swahn, M.H. & Sterling, K.L. Attitudes about Violence and Involvement in Peer Violence among Youth: Findings from a High-Risk Community. J Urban Health 88, 1158–1174 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11524-011-9601-6

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