Carrying a Weapon to School and Perceptions of Social Support in an Urban Middle School
- 1 July 2003
- journal article
- Published by SAGE Publications in Journal of Emotional and Behavioral Disorders
- Vol. 11 (3), 169-178
- https://doi.org/10.1177/10634266030110030401
Abstract
Perceived social support is a protective or risk factor that is consistently cited in the school violence and weapon possession literature; however, few empirical studies to date have thoroughly examined the relationships among social support variables and school violence or weapon possession. In the present study, two broad research objectives were pursued: (a) to examine perceptions of social support by students who carry weapons and (b) to assess potential predictors, including social support, of carrying a weapon to school. Data were collected for 461 students from an urban Illinois middle school. A survey packet was given to students that contained two rating scales: The Child and Adolescent Social Support Scale—Revised Edition (CASSS; Malecki, Demaray, & Elliott, 2000) and an untitled survey developed by a community agency to address health and safety issues at the school. Students who reported carrying weapons to school reported less overall or total perceived social support than did their peers who did not carry weapons. In addition, the former reported significantly less perceived social support from all sources—parents, teachers, classmates, close friends, and the school. Another finding was that in addition to other commonly cited and researched risk factors (e.g., drug use, alcohol use), individual social support from parents, teachers, classmates, and close friends also was a significant predictor of weapon carrying in school. Study results and implications are discussed.Keywords
This publication has 29 references indexed in Scilit:
- The relationship between perceived social support and maladjustment for students at riskPsychology in the Schools, 2002
- Measuring perceived social support: Development of the child and adolescent social support scale (CASSS)Psychology in the Schools, 2001
- Cross-survey analysis of school violence and disorderPsychology in the Schools, 2001
- Predicting school weapon possession: A secondary analysis of the youth risk behavior surveillance surveyPsychology in the Schools, 2001
- The School in School ViolenceJournal of Emotional and Behavioral Disorders, 2000
- VIOLENT AND NONVIOLENT GIRLS: CONTRASTING PERCEPTIONS OF ANGER EXPERIENCES, SCHOOL, AND RELATIONSHIPSIssues in Mental Health Nursing, 2000
- A positive view of self: Risk or protection for aggressive children?Development and Psychopathology, 1997
- A Profile of Rural Texas Adolescents Who Carry Handguns to SchoolJournal of School Health, 1996
- Assessing Social Support in Elementary School Children: The Survey of Children's Social SupportJournal of Clinical Child Psychology, 1989
- The Effects of Social Support and School Placement on the Self—Concept of LD StudentsLearning Disability Quarterly, 1988