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School and community factors involved in Chilean students’ perception of school safety
Author(s) -
López Verónica,
TorresVallejos Javier,
VillalobosParada Boris,
Gilreath Tamika D.,
Ascorra Paula,
Bilbao Marian,
Morales Macarena,
Carrasco Claudia
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
psychology in the schools
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.738
H-Index - 75
eISSN - 1520-6807
pISSN - 0033-3085
DOI - 10.1002/pits.22069
Subject(s) - psychology , prosocial behavior , perception , socioeconomic status , psychological intervention , peer victimization , poison control , human factors and ergonomics , social psychology , developmental psychology , environmental health , population , medicine , neuroscience , psychiatry
Abstract Identifying and understanding predictors of school safety perceptions is important due to its consequences for students. However, it is not clear what school‐related factors most contribute to explaining students’ perception of school safety, and how they relate to community‐related factors such as neighborhood safety. The purpose of this study was to understand the factors associated with Chilean elementary and middle school students’ perceptions of school safety. We used a sample of 5,455 students from low socioeconomic status public schools, and analyzed the predictive value of peer physical and verbal victimization; teacher and school staff victimization; teacher's social support; and perception of safety in the students’ neighborhoods on perceptions of school safety. Findings showed that although different forms of school violence, particularly peer physical victimization and physical and sexual victimization from teachers and school staff, contribute to students’ perception of school safety, the highest contribution came from students perceiving their neighborhoods as unsafe. In contrast, teacher social support contributed to increased levels of perceived school safety. We discuss the need for school‐based interventions that address physical victimization and engage teachers in prosocial and less punitive approaches to foster a positive and safe school climate, and in fostering school–community partnerships.