Physical Fighting by Youth

About one in three high school students reports having been in a physical fight in the past year. The proportion of students in grades 9-12 who had been in at least one physical fight in the past year has decreased from 43 percent in 1991 to 33 percent in 2011. 

Importance

Physical fighting by youth can lead to serious injury and even death.¹ Risk factors that predict violence by youth include substance abuse, conflict and abuse at home, harsh or inattentive parenting, antisocial and delinquent peers, and neighborhoods where crime and drug use are prevalent.² Youth who are involved in physical fighting are also often engaged in other high-risk activities, such as bullying, cigarette smoking, and alcohol use.³

Youth attending schools where fighting is common may be unable to maintain the focus necessary for academic success.⁴ Adolescents who are victims of violence are also more likely to be victims or perpetrators of violence during adulthood.⁵ The likelihood of drug use, property offenses, and stress during adulthood also all increase in association with youth violence.⁶

A high grade-point average, religiosity, and connectedness to family and peers have all been cited as protective factors against youth violence.⁷ 

Trends

The share of students in grades 9 through12 who had been in at least one physical fight in the past year declined from 43 percent in 1991 to 33 percent in 2003. Since then it has remained steady, and was at 33 percent in 2011. (Figure 1) 

Differences by Gender

Girls are much less likely than boys to be in a physical fight. In 2011, 41 percent of boys reported physical fighting, compared with 24 percent of girls. (Figure 1) This pattern is consistent across race, ethnicity, and grade level. (Appendix 1)

Differences by Race and Hispanic Origin⁸

In 2011, black and Hispanic females were more likely than white females to have reported being in a physical fight (32 and 29 percent, respectively, versus 20 percent). Black and Hispanic males are also more likely than white males to report physically fighting. In 2011, 46 percent of black males and 44 percent of Hispanic males reported being in a physical fight, versus 38 percent of white males. (Figure 2)

Differences by Grade

The incidence of physical fighting decreases with age. In 2011, 27 percent of twelfth-grade students reported being in a physical fight in the past year, compared with 38 percent of ninth-grade students. (Appendix 1)

State and Local Estimates

2011 estimates of fighting among high school students (Grades 9-12) are available for select states and cities from the Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS).   

International Estimates

Estimates of fighting among 15-year-olds in 33 European countries can be found in a summary of the results of the 2009/2010 Health Behavior in School-aged Children (HBSC) study, Health and Policy for Children and Adolescents, no. 6. (page 185)

National Goals

Through its Healthy People 2020 initiative, the federal government has set a national goal to reduce physical fighting in the previous 12 months, as reported by youth in grades 9 through 12, from 31.5 percent in 2009 to 28.4 percent by 2020.

More information available here. (goal IVP 34) 

What Works to Make Progress on This Indicator

• Aban Aya Youth Project

• Cognitive-Behavioral Training Program for Behaviorally Disordered Adolescents

• Resolve It, Solve It

• Strengthening Families Program

   

Related Indicators

• Bullying

• Children’s Exposure to Violence

• Youth Who Feel Unsafe at School: 

• Victims of hate speech

• Students carrying weapons

   

Definition

Physical fighting is defined as being in a physical fight one or more times in the year preceding this survey, according to students’ report

Data Sources

• Data for 2011: US Department of Health and Human Services. (June 8, 2012). Youth risk behavior surveillance: United States 2011. MMWR Surveillance Summaries, 61(4): Table 12. Available at: http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/pdf/ss/ss6104.pdf 

• Data for 2009: US Department of Health and Human Services. (June 4, 2010). Youth risk behavior surveillance: United States 2009. MMWR Surveillance Summaries, 59(5): Table 10. Available at: http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/pdf/ss/ss5905.pdf 

• Data for 2007: US Department of Health and Human Services. (June 6, 2008). Youth risk behavior surveillance: United States 2007. MMWR Surveillance Summaries, 57(4): Table 9. Available at: http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/pdf/ss/ss5704.pdf

• Data for 2005: US Department of Health and Human Services. (June 9, 2006). Youth risk behavior surveillance: United States 2005. MMWR Surveillance Summaries, 55(5): Table 8. Available at: http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/PDF/SS/SS5505.pdf 

• Data for 2003: US Department of Health and Human Services. (May 21, 2004). Youth risk behavior surveillance: United States 2003. MMWR Surveillance Summaries, 53(2): Table 8. Available at: http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/PDF/SS/SS5302.pdf 

• Data for 2001: US Department of Health and Human Services. (June 28, 2002). Youth risk behavior surveillance: United States 2001. MMWR Surveillance Summaries, 51(4): Table 8. Available at: http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/PDF/SS/SS5104.pdf 

• Data for 1999: US Department of Health and Human Services. (June 9, 2000). Youth risk behavior surveillance: United States 1999. MMWR Surveillance Summaries, 49(5): Table 8. Available at: http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/PDF/SS/SS4905.pdf 

• Data for 1997: US Department of Health and Human Services. (August 14, 1998). Youth risk behavior surveillance: United States 1997. MMWR Surveillance Summaries, 47(3): Table 6. Available at: http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/PDF/SS/SS4703.pdf 

• Data for 1995: US Department of Health and Human Services. (September 27, 1996). Youth risk behavior surveillance: United States 1995. MMWR Surveillance Summaries, 45(4): Table 6. Available at: http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/PDF/SS/SS4504.pdf 

• Data for 1993: US Department of Health and Human Services. (March 24, 1995). Youth risk behavior surveillance: United States 1993. MMWR Surveillance Summaries, 44(1): table 6. Available at: http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/PDF/SS/SS4401.pdf 

• Data for 1991: YRBSS: Youth Online, Comprehensive Results.  Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Retrieved May 24, 2004 from URL: http://apps.nccd.cdc.gov/yrbss/. 

Raw Data Source

Youth Risk Behavior Survey
http://www.cdc.gov/nccdphp/dash/yrbs/index.htm 

Recommended citation: Child Trends (2012).  Physical Fighting by Youth. Retrieved from www.childtrendsdatabank.org/?q=node/136  

Last update: July 2012

¹Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, (2001). National Center for Injury Prevention and Control. WISQARS (Web-based Injury Statistics Query and Reporting System).

²U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of the Surgeon General, SAMHSA. Youth Violence: A Report of the Surgeon General. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK44294/ 

³Smith-Khuri, E., Scheidt, P. C., Overpeck, M. D., Gabhainn, S. N., Pickett, W., and Harel, Y. (2004). A cross-national study of violence-related behaviors in adolescents. Archives of Pediatric & Adolescent Medicine, 158, 539-544.

⁴Kaufman, P., Chen, X., Choy, S.P., Peter, K., Ruddy, S.A., Miller, A.K., Fleury, J.K., Chandler, K.A., Planty, M.G., and Rand, M.R. (2001). Indicators of School Crime and Safety: 2001. U.S. Departments of Education and Justice. NCES 2002-113/NCJ-190075. Washington, D.C. http://nces.ed.gov/pubs2002/crime2001/

⁵Menard, Scott. (2002). Short and long term consequences of adolescent victimization. Youth Violence Research Bulletin. Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention. NCJ 191210. Available at: http://www.ncjrs.gov/html/ojjdp/yv_2002_2_1/contents.html 

⁶Menard, Scott. Op. cit.

⁷Youth Violence: Fact Sheet. (2006). National Center for Injury Prevention and Control. Center for Disease Control and Prevention. Available at: http://www.cdc.gov/ncipc/factsheets/yvfacts.htm

⁸Hispanics may be any race. Totals for whites and blacks do not include Hispanics.

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