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Urban Rev (2010) 42:458467
DOI 10.1007/s11256-010-0165-7
A. J. Milam C. D. M. Furr-Holden P. J. Leaf
Published online: 3 November 2010 Springer Science+Business Media, LLC 2010
Abstract Community and school violence continue to be a major public health problem, especially among urban children and adolescents. Little research has focused on the effect of school safety and neighborhood violence on academic performance. This study examines the effect of the school and neighborhood climate on academic achievement among a population of 3rd5th grade students in an urban public school system. Community and school safety were assessed using the School Climate Survey, an annual City-wide assessment of students perception of school and community safety. Community violence was measured using the Neighborhood Inventory for Environmental Typology, an objective observational assessment of neighborhood characteristics. Academic achievement was measured using the Maryland State Assessment (MSA), a standardized exam given to all Maryland 3rd8th graders. School Climate Data and MSA data were aggregated by school and grade. Objective assessments of neighborhood environment and students self-reported school and neighborhood safety were both strongly associated with academic performance. Increasing neighborhood violence was associated with statistically signicant decreases from 4.2 to 8.7% in math and reading achievement; increasing perceived safety was associated with signicant increases in achievement from 16 to 22%. These preliminary ndings highlight the adverse impact of perceived safety and community violence exposure on primary school childrens academic performance.
Keywords Environment Neighborhood Violence Academic performance
A. J. Milam (&) C. D. M. Furr-Holden P. J. Leaf
Department of Mental Health, Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health, 624 N. Broadway, 8th oor, Baltimore, MD 21205, USAe-mail: [email protected]
C. D. M. Furr-Holden e-mail: [email protected]
Perceived School and Neighborhood Safety, Neighborhood Violence and Academic Achievement in Urban School Children
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Urban Rev (2010) 42:458467 459
Introduction
Childhood exposure to violence continues to be a major public health problem that has implications relating to crime, physical and mental health problems during adolescence and later adulthood (Eitle and Turner 2002; Gorman-Smith and Tolan 1998; Jenkins and Bell 1994; Scheier et al. 1999; Wright et al. 2004). Youth in urban locales are not only exposed to violence through media; they are exposed to community violence and school violence. (Buka et al. 2001; Selner-OHagan et al. 1998; Schwab-Stone...