Correlates of violent and nonviolent victimization in a sample of public high school students.

This study investigates the extent to which student reports of violent and nonviolent victimization in public high schools is associated the presence of hate-related words or symbols, the availability of hard and soft drugs, and the presence of gangs. Data from the 1999 School Crime Supplement of the National Crime Victimization Survey were used for this analysis. In the final multinomial logistic regression model, the presence of hate-related words, the availability of hard drugs, and a gang presence were significantly associated with reports of violent victimization. The availability of soft drugs was significantly associated with nonviolent victimization. Findings held across gender, race/ethnicity, and urbanicity of the school's location with younger students more likely to be both violently and nonviolently victimized than older students. Implications for primary and secondary interventions aimed at school climate and the reduction of correlates of victimization are discussed.