Urban African American Youth and their Caregivers’ Perceptions of School Safety in Chicago: A Social-Ecological Perspective

• In Event: Special Issue for Youth Violence and Juvenile Justice “School Violence and Safety” Thematic Panel 1

Abstract

African American youth, especially those who reside in low-income communities, are at an increased risk of danger in school. However, few studies have examined a broad spectrum of social-ecological factors that might be related to feelings of safely in school from the perspectives of both youth and their caregivers, which is the primary aim of this study. A paired sample of 131 low-income African American youth and their caregivers were recruited. We examined correlates across the individual, family, school and community levels. Major findings indicated that, at the individual level, females were more likely to perceive their school as unsafe, compared to males. Regarding the family level, we found that parents who reported being close to their youth were likely to perceive their youth’s schools as safe. At the school level, both youths and their parents perceived school as safe when the youth had a good relationship with their teacher. Moreover, youth whose school was far from their neighborhood were more likely to report it as safe. At the community level, youth who find their neighborhood satisfactory were more likely to perceive greater school safety. In addition parents who reported exposure to community violence reported perceiving their youth’s school as safe.

Authors

• Jun Sung Hong, Wayne State University

• Dexter R. Voisin, University of Chicago

• Jungup Lee, Florida State University