Individual and Contextual Factors Associated with Immigrant Youth Feeling Unsafe in School: A Social-Ecological Analysis

• Published in: Journal of immigrant and minority health 2016-10, Vol.18 (5), p.996-1006
• Main Authors: Hong, Jun Sung, Merrin, Gabriel J., Crosby, Shantel, Jozefowicz, Debra M. Hernandez, Lee, Jeoung Min, Allen-Meares, Paula
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: African Americans; Attitudes; Child Development; Children; Children & youth; Children and Youth; Comparative Law; Competence; Contextual factors; Continental Population Groups - psychology; Correlation analysis; Criminality; Ecological monitoring; Educational Environment; Emigrants and Immigrants - psychology; Ethnicity; Families & family life; Family cohesion; Family Relations - psychology; Female; Friends - psychology; Friendship; Grade 4; Grade 5; Hispanic Americans; Humans; Illegal; Immigrants; Immigration policy; International & Foreign Law; Language; Longitudinal Studies; Male; Medicine & Public Health; Minority & ethnic groups; Multiculturalism & pluralism; Neighborhoods; Non-English speakers; Noncitizens; Original Paper; Peers; Perception; Perceptions; Private International Law; Public Health; Public schools; Race; Regression analysis; Safety; Safety management; School districts; School safety; School systems; Schools; Sex Factors; Social Environment; Sociology; Studies; Teenagers; Transportation safety; United States; Unsafe; Urban Schools; Victimization; Violence; Youth
• ISSN: 1557-1912; 1557-1920
• DOI: 10.1007/s10903-015-0242-9

Despite the increasing proportion of immigrant youth in U.S. school districts, no studies have investigated their perceptions of their school. This study examines factors associated with perceptions of school safety among immigrant youth within individual, family, peer, and school contexts. Data were drawn from Wave II of the Children of Immigrants Longitudinal Study (n = 4288) and hierarchical logistic regression analyses were conducted. African–Americans, females, and youth with limited English proficiency were more likely to perceive their school as unsafe. Youth who reported that family cohesion was important and those who had close friends perceived their school as safe. Also, those who experienced illegal activities in school reported feeling unsafe. Assessment and intervention in schools needs to consider individual and contextual factors associated with perceptions of school safety. Additional research is needed to examine individual and contextual factors related to immigrant youths’ perceptions of school.