The Relationship between Students' Sense of Their School as a Community and Their Involvement in Problem Behaviors

Abstract:
There has been relatively little research on the contributions of school context to developmental outcomes. This study examined relationships between students' sense of the school as a community and their involvement in problem behaviors. Participants were an ethnically and socioeconomically diverse sample of 1,434 fifth and sixth grade students from 24 elementary schools around the U.S. The major finding was that, with several relevant student- and school-level characteristics controlled, schools with higher average sense-of-community scores (measured by caring and supportive interpersonal relationships and student autonomy and influence) had significantly lower average student drug use and delinquency. Caution is warranted in inferring causality, however, because of the cross-sectional study design; the authors note that they cannot rule out reciprocal influences of problem behaviors on the school sense of community. An intervention designed to increase school sense of community in half of the participating schools, if effective, will provide clearer evidence of causal influence. The findings from the present study suggest that school context may moderate relationships between individual risk and protective factors and developmental outcomes, and that schools that are experienced as communities may enhance students' resiliency.

Author(s): BATTISTICH, Victor, Ph.D., and HOM, Allen, Ph.D.

Publication: American Journal of Public Health


Date Published: 12/1/1997

Pages: 5

Comments:
Requests for reprints should be sent to Victor Battistich, Ph.D., Developmental Studies Center, 2000 Embarcadero, Suite 305, Oakland, CA 94606-5300.

Location Code: 8212