Youth Who Feel Unsafe at School
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Headline

The percentage of youth who feared attack at school or on the way to and from school decreased substantially from 12 percent in 1995 to 6 percent in 2005. (See Figure 1)

Importance

Fear of attack at school or on the way to and from school causes some students to miss days of school,¹ and is related to stresses that may negatively affect academic performance.² Fear at school can create an unhealthy school environment, may limit student participation or speaking up in class and may lead to more students acting out in negative ways.³

Trends

The percentage of youth who feared attack at school or on the way to and from school decreased significantly between 1995 and 2005, from 12 percent in 1995 to 6 percent in 2005. (See Figure 1)

Differences by Race and Ethnicity

In 2005, non-Hispanic black students and Hispanic students ages 12 to 18 were more likely as non-Hispanic white students to fear attack at school or on the way to and from school (9 percent and 10 percent, respectively, compared with 5 percent). (See Figure 2)

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Differences by Age

Students in lower grades are more likely to fear for their safety at school and on the way to and from school than are students in higher grades. In 2005, 10 percent of sixth grade students had such fears, compared with 3 percent of students in the twelfth grade. (See Figure 3) These students' fears are supported by the fact that younger students are actually victimized at school at a higher rate than older students.⁴

Differences by Location

There has been a large decline in the percent of youth who fear attack at school or on the way to and from school in urban schools; from 18 percent in 1995 to 10 percent in 2005. However, students in urban schools are about twice as likely as students in suburban or rural schools to fear being attacked at school or while traveling to and from school (10 percent among students in urban schools compared with 5 percent among students in both suburban and rural schools, in 2005). (See Table 1)

Differences by Public vs. Private

Students in public school are more likely to fear being attacked at school or while traveling to and from school than students who attend private school. In 2005, 7 percent of public school students feared being attacked compared with 4 percent of private school students.

Related Indicators

Physical Fighting by Youth, Students Carrying Weapons

State and Local Estimates

2005 estimates for a related indicator, whether the student stayed home from school in the last 30 days because he or she felt unsafe, are available for selected states and metropolitan areas from the Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS) at: http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/PDF/SS/SS5505.pdf

2005 estimates for how safe 4th, 8th, and 12th grade students reported feeling at school are available through the Nation's Report Card at http://nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard/nde/criteria.asp.

International Estimates

Not Available

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National Goals

None

What Works: Programs and Interventions that May Influence this Indicator

None available at this time.

Research References

¹Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. CDC Surveillance Summaries. June 9, 2000. MMWR 2000; 49(No. SS-5): Table 10. http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/ss4905a1.htm#tab10

²Kaufman, 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. Indicators of School Crime and Safety: 2001. U.S. Department of Education and Justice. NCES 2002-113/NCJ-190075. Washington, DC, 2001: 28. http://nces.ed.gov/pubsearch/pubsinfo.asp?pubid=2002113

³Hernandez, Thomas & Susan Seem. (2004). "A Safe School Climate: A Systematic Approach and the School Counselor," Professional School Counseling 7(4): 1096-2409.

⁴U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of the Surgeon General, SAMHSA. 2001. Youth Violence: A Report of the Surgeon General. Chapter 2. Tables 2.2, 2.4, 6.1. http://www.surgeongeneral.gov/library/youthviolence/chapter2/sec12.html#school

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Definition

Students were asked if during the last six months they had feared being attacked at school or on the way to and from school.

Data Source

Data for 2005: Dinkes, R., Cataldi, E.T., Kena, G., Baum, K., Synder, T.D. (2006). Indicators of School Crime and Safety: 2006 (NCES 2007-003/NCJ 214262). U.S. Departments of Education and Justice. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office. Table 16.1. http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/pub/pdf/iscs06.pdf

All other data: DeVoe, J.F., Peter, K., Kaufman, P., Miller, A., Noonan, M., Snyder, T.D., and Baum, K. (2004). Indicators of School Crime and Safety: 2004 (NCES 2005-002/NCJ 205290). U.S. Departments of Education and Justice. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office. Table 12.1. http://nces.ed.gov/pubs2005/2005002.pdf

Raw Data Source

U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics, School Crime Supplement to the National Crime Victimization Survey, January-June 1995, 1999, 2001, and 2005. http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/pub/pdf/ncvs1sp.pdf

Approximate Date of Next Update

December 2007

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