Disentangling the Relationship between School Climate and Gangs in the School

• In Event: Exploring the Relationship Between School Climate, Disorder, and Students' Behavior

Abstract

It is common for research to use measures of gang presence in schools as a proxy for school disorder. While this work typically finds a direct relationship between gangs in the school and victimization and fear, it has also led to the perception that these gangs and disorder are synonymous with one another within the school. However, qualitative work examining gangs in a school setting finds that their activities are relatively innocuous and that students report a lack of fear when faced with gangs in their schools. It is important, then, to explore the utility of using the presence of gangs as an indicator of school disorder. In this presentation we will disentangle the direct and indirect effects of gangs in school and school climate on school based fear and victimization. The research questions will be answered using multilevel modeling strategies to analyze a school-based sample of approximately 4,000 students.

Author

• Dena Carson, Indiana University / Purdue University, Indianapolis