Baltimore Students’ Perceptions: The Role of the School Environment in School Violence Sarah Lindstrom Johnson, PhD; Jessica Burke, PhD, MHS; Andrea Gielen, ScD, ScM

Disproportionate Burden  63/1,000 students report being a victim of a crime at school (2008 Indicators of School Crime and Safety)  Baltimore students at greater risk (2007 YRBSS)

Consequences of School Violence: Victim, Perpetrator, and Bystander PhysicalPsychosocialEducational Death Disability Fear Anxiety Depression Loneliness School Attachment School Attendance Student Performance Teacher Turnover Health and Educational Outcomes

Current School Violence Interventions

The School Social Environment

The School Physical Environment

Study Aims 1) Identify school-level factors that students believe contribute to school violence 2) Determine the perceived importance of these factors for the initiation, cessation, and severity of school violence 3) Determine similarities and differences between schools and individuals

Concept Mapping Methodology  Mixed-methods methodology Qualitative statement generation and analysis techniques Quantitative data structuring  Produces an interpretable conceptual framework of a group’s understanding of a problem

Study Design Family League of Baltimore City Afterschool Organization GROUP A (n=12)GROUP B (n=15) Session 1- Brainstorming Session 2- Sorting and Rating Session 3- Data Interpretation Data Sharing

Prompts  Statement Generation Generate a list of items that describe characteristics of your school environment that could relate in any way, good or bad, to a student ’ s experience of violence.  Rating Please rate on a scale of 1 to 5 how each item is related to the start of violence. Please rate on a scale of 1 to 5 how each item is related to the stop of violence. Please rate on a scale of 1 to 5 how each item might make the type of violence experienced more dangerous.

Example Statements Group A (n=77) - Drama between students - School police that care about students - A culture of no “snitching” - Family defending family - Older students having younger students do their dirty work - Lack of supervision in certain places - Teachers that advise students about appropriate behavior - Relationship play that goes to far - Presence of gangs Group B (n=55) -Multiple schools in the same building -Fear for safety in the neighborhood -Deterioration of the school facility -Teachers not out in the school hallway -Discrimination by school police -Peer-pressure to be bad- outdo other classes -An involved Principal

Point Maps

Cluster Maps Group A Group B

Cluster Rating Maps- Initiation Violence All Over Bullying School Disruption Relationships School Security Concerned Grown-ups Important Activities Frightful Environment Students’ Conduct Problem Starters School Issues Lack of Security Community Problems School Pride Staff School Trust Group A Group B

Comparison of Mean Cluster Ratings

Study Conclusions 1) Students do see a role for the school environment in the occurrence of school violence 2) Similar topics emerged on both groups maps indicating common areas for intervention 3) The environment is shaped by the individual and the individual shapes the environment 4) The school environment is not separate from the outside environment 5) Preventing the start of violence may be the best way to stop violence

Intervention Recommendations  Interventions should include both the individual and the school environment (comprehensive)  Interventions should incorporate the environment outside the school  Schools should be given topics to address but should be allowed to design their own intervention Relationships important  Coaching should be available

Acknowledgements  The students and staff at participating schools  The Family League of Baltimore City  My Dissertation Committee  Funding sources Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health Endowed Scholarship in the Health of Mothers and Children CDC Grant 1R36CE Dissertation Award for Violence-Related Injury Prevention