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

Jun Sung Hong, Gabriel J. Merrin, Shantel Crosby, Debra M.Hernandez Jozefowicz, Jeoung Min Lee, Paula Allen-Meares

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

7 Scopus citations

Abstract

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.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)996-1006
Number of pages11
JournalJournal of Immigrant and Minority Health
Volume18
Issue number5
DOIs
StatePublished - Oct 1 2016
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • Immigration
  • Safety
  • School
  • Social-ecological framework
  • Youth

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Epidemiology
  • Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health

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