Original ArticlesSelf-reported characterization of seventh-grade students’ fights
Section snippets
Methods
During 1991, we developed a survey instrument in collaboration with school personnel and consultants from the Center for Survey Research at the University of Massachusetts–Boston. Details of survey development, parental consent, and method of administration are presented elsewhere 10. The final version of the questionnaire was administered to 567 seventh-grade students at public middle schools in three locations: the Jamaica Plain neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts, Shreveport, Louisiana,
Characterization of the violent act
Pushing, shoving, punching, and kicking occurred during most fights. Some type of weapon was present but not used in 20% of the fights, and a weapon was used to threaten or injure in 23% of fights. Guns were used to threaten or injure in 6% of the fights.
Characterization of the injuries
Scratches, bleeding, and bruising were all seen at over half of the fights; this resulted in nurse or doctor care in 9% of the cases.
A combatant lost consciousness in 9% of fights. Students reported a broken bone in 16% of the fights. One or
Discussion
Our findings concerning the characteristics of fights and their relationship to weapon carrying and injury severity strongly support the call for multidimensional approaches to violence prevention 11, 12, 13. Many individuals involved in antiviolence activity have emphasized the importance of improving problem-solving and conflict-resolution skills 14, 15, 16, 17. In particular, students may lack knowledge of nonviolent alternative behaviors to resolve conflict 18. The current study confirms
Acknowledgements
The authors thank Sher Quaday of the Harvard Injury Control Center for organizing the survey in the McCall Middle School in Winchester, Massachusetts. They also thank Linda Cox and Kathy Manning, Principal and Counselor at Linwood Middle School, who assisted with the development and administration of the survey instrument. Finally, they acknowledge Michelle van Ryn, Ph.D., for useful suggestions concerning interpretation and analysis. The project was supported by the Harvard School of Public
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At the time of the study, Dr. Malek was at the Harvard School of Public Health.