10/21/2015

Sexual Assault and Dating Violence: Predictors for Weapon Carry and Feelings of Safety at School Authors: Ms. Erin Fogarty & Dr. David Lohrmann Presenter: Mr. Ryan Erbe Indiana University – Bloomington

Why might a student bring a weapon to school?

The Problem • Dating violence and sexual assault among adolescents is an important issue in the United States • Rates of adolescent dating violence and sexual assault victimization each range anywhere from 10-35% 1,2,3

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Prevalence of Sexual Assault and Dating Violence Among Adolescents • The 2013 YRBS results indicate that… • More than 7% (N=13,583) of high school students have been forced to have sexual intercourse2 • Just over 10% (N=13,583) of high school students reported having experienced physical dating violence2 • Another 10% (N=13,583) reported experiencing sexual dating violence2

• For all three cases, more than half of the respondents were…? • Male? or Female?

Sexual Assault and Dating Violence in the School • Experiences of dating violence and sexual assault are associated with negative health outcomes, including depressive symptoms, 4 friendships of poorer quality,5 experiences of being bullyed,6 and school stress7 • Many adolescents report the school setting as the most common location of peer sexual victimization3 • Exposure to violence and aggression has been linked to several school-related problems, including poor academic achievement, delinquency, and concerns with school-connectedness.8 • Specifically dating violence victimization has been shown to be associated with alcohol use, marijuana use, and increased sexual activity9

Weapon Carry in the Schools • Some etiological research links students’ perceptions of vulnerability at school with weapon carrying11 • The 2013 YRBS results indicate that… • Just over 5% of students had carried a weapon onto school property in the past month2 • Nearly 7% were threatened or injured with a weapon on school property2

• Concern is augmented further by the notion that during hours immediately following the dismissal of school, experiences of violent crimes perpetrated by acquaintances dramatically increases12

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Purpose of the Study • Potential predictors for weapon carrying by adolescents have been identified • • • • •

substance use13 internet harassment and school bullying14 gang membership15 perceiving a lack of social support16 relational violence8

• Investigation into the experiences of dating violence and sexual assault as predictors is lacking • Therefore, study conducted to determine whether adolescents’ experiences of sexual assault and/or dating violence predicted their likelihood of carrying a weapon and/or feelings of safety at school.

Methods • Indiana University Institutional Review Board approval attained • Instrumentation • The 2013 National Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS) was utilized • Biennial school-based survey developed by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention2 • Employs a 3-stage cluster sample design to produce a nationally representative sample of students in both public and private schools enrolled in grades 9-122 • Targets six categories of priority health-risk behaviors among adolescents that are most closely related to the leading causes of morbidity and mortality in this age group2 • N=13,583

Methods • Participants • Nationally representative sample of adolescents enrolled in 9th – 12th grades • n=8,727 students (after removal of cases with incomplete responses) • Majority non-Hispanic Whites (43.1%) Characteristics

%

Total

Age (years) 18

9.2 20.9 23.7 27.4 18.7

809 1823 2071 2394 1630

Grade 9th 10th 11th 12th Other

24.0 22.8 24.4 28.6 .1

2097 1992 2133 2493 12

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Factors Examined • Violence- and Sexual-Related Behavior Variables • Several school violence-related and sexual-related behaviors examined • Variables dichotomized such that engaging in a given behavior at least one time was considered evidence of participating in that behavior

• The following YRBS items, each split into two categories of 0 times versus 1 or more times, were used: • Weapon Carry • “During the past 30 days, on how many days did you carry a weapon such as a gun, knife, or club on school property?”

Factors Examined continued • Feelings of Safety at School • “During the past 30 days, on how many days did you not go to school because you felt you would be unsafe at school or on your way to or from school?” • “During the past 12 months, how many times has someone threatened or injured you with a weapon such as a gun, knife, or club on school property?”

• Experiences of Sexual Assault and Dating Violence • “Have you ever been physically forced to have sexual intercourse when you did not want to?” • “During the past 12 months, how many times did someone you were dating or going out with physically hurt you on purpose?” • “During the past 12 months, how many times did someone you were dating or going out with force you to do sexual things that you did not want to do?”

Covariates Included • Covariates

• To minimize spurious contextual influences on the results and maximize the predictive value of adolescents’ experiences with sexual assault and dating violence, several confounding factors related school violence and sexual-risk behaviors were controlled

• Bullying

• “During the past 12 months, have you ever been bullied on school property?” • “During the past 12 months, have you ever been electronically bullied?”

• Physical Fights

• “During the past 12 months, how many times were you in a physical fight?” • “During the past 12 months, how many times were you in a physical fight on school property?”

• Sexual-Risk Behaviors

• “How old were you when you had sexual intercourse for the first time?” • “During your life, with how many people have you had sexual intercourse?” • “During the past 3 months, with how many people did you have sexual intercourse?”

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Data Analysis • For analysis, SPSS version 22 (SPSS Inc, Chicago, IL) statistical software • Frequencies • logistic regression

• >30% of missing data for questions, “During the past 12 months, how many times did someone you were dating or going out with physically hurt you on purpose?” and “During the past 12 months, how many times did someone you were dating or going out with force you to do sexual things that you did not want to do • Data was missing at random • Because of large sample size, listwise deletion was performed

Data Analysis continued • Logistic regression evaluated predictive value of adolescents’ experiences with sexual assault and dating violence on feelings of safety at school and self-reported weapon carry variables • Model 1 • Controlled for demographics: sex, age, grade, and race/ethnicity • Model 2 • Controlled for covariates: bullying, physical fights, and sexual-risk behaviors • Model 3 • Examined factor under investigation: weapon carry, feelings of safety at school, experiences of sexual assault and dating violence

• Adjusted odds ratios (AORs) and 95% confidence intervals calculated to examine the significance of the associations • AORs statistically significant at p