Relationship of factors pertaining to youth attitudes toward school, self -esteem, and violence
Abstract
This study sought to determine the relationships among attitudes toward school, self-esteem, and violence, as measured by the Denver Youth Survey, Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale, the Attitudes toward Guns and Violence Questionnaire (AGVQ), and a demographics form. One hundred seventy-one male and female adolescent and young adult high school and junior college students from rural high school settings in Tennessee and Illinois and an urban junior college acted as participants in the study. Participant ages ranged from 14 to 29, and represented students from the 9th, 10th, 11th, and 12th grades and college freshmen and sophomores. Students involved in the study included African American, Hispanic, and Caucasian adolescents. The study evaluated students’ perceptions based on their measured attitude toward school, a self-esteem measure, and obtained AGVQ score. Research questions addressed whether a relationship existed among each of the demographic factors, the Denver Youth Survey, The Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale and the AGVQ. A modest, inverse significant relationship was found between attitudes toward school and the AGVQ and student year in school and self-esteem. No other significant relationships were found. Due to the small sample size, this study should be considered exploratory in nature. A review of literature suggests that student attitudes toward school have become increasingly more negative in recent years. The suggestion is made that future research using the AGVQ focus on a clinical population.
Subject Area
Educational psychology|Criminology
Recommended Citation
James Olen Harris,
"Relationship of factors pertaining to youth attitudes toward school, self -esteem, and violence"
(2009).
ETD Collection for Tennessee State University.
Paper AAI3356140.
https://digitalscholarship.tnstate.edu/dissertations/AAI3356140