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Author: Bixby, Monica Sue
Resulting in 1 citation.
1. Bixby, Monica Sue
Does Perception of School Safety Bolster the Effects of Family and School Social Capital?: An Examination of Educational Attainment, Running Away from Home and Violence
Ph.D. Dissertation, Department of Sociology, North Carolina State University, 2017
Cohort(s): NLSY97
Publisher: ProQuest Dissertations & Theses (PQDT)
Keyword(s): Bullying/Victimization; Educational Attainment; Runaways; School Characteristics/Rating/Safety; Social Capital

Permission to reprint the abstract has not been received from the publisher.

While past research shows that unsafe schools are linked to students' poor academic performance and behavioral problems, little work examines the effect of students' perceptions of schools' safety on educational attainment, delinquency and crime. Prior research suggests that capital investments from both families and schools are important for youths' socialization and development. Yet, current research neglects to test if two important aspects of schools--students' perceptions of schools' safety and experiences with victimization--hinder the effectiveness of family and school capital on adolescent and young adult outcomes. Therefore, I fill existing gaps by expanding work that addresses the effects of both family and school capital on three outcomes: (1) educational attainment, (2) running away from home, and (3) violence. Using ecological systems theory and perspectives on investments in children and adolescents, I examine the influence of perception of school safety and family financial, human and social capital and school social capital predicting educational attainment at three time-points: 2001, 2005, and 2011. I find that students who perceived their schools as unsafe obtained fewer years of education than students who perceived their schools as safe environments. I also find students' perceptions of schools as safe bolsters the effect of family financial and human capital and school social capital in promoting more years of completed education. Following this, I also test how perception of school safety and experiences with bully victimization moderate the effects of family and school resources predicting running away from home and violence. I find that the bonds between youths and their families and youths and their schools are important agents of social control. However, my findings suggests that individuals' perceptions of their schools as unsafe and negative peer experiences in the form of bully victimization may influence the process through which the bonds to conventional institutions help prevent problem behaviors. This suggests that a theoretical approach that considers investments in youths from multiple contexts and youths' perceptions and experiences may be better suited for predicting adolescent and young adult educational and behavioral outcomes.
Bibliography Citation
Bixby, Monica Sue. Does Perception of School Safety Bolster the Effects of Family and School Social Capital?: An Examination of Educational Attainment, Running Away from Home and Violence. Ph.D. Dissertation, Department of Sociology, North Carolina State University, 2017.