Bridging Disciplinary Boundaries (January 11 - 14, 2007)

Purpose:Researchers have posited that people from different cultures behave, think, and perceive differently, largely due to differing contexts and risk factors (Nisbett, 2003). These differences may lead to varying results in the relationship between risk factors and school violence perpetration. However, few empirical studies examined whether the structural relationship between risk factors and school violence is similar or different across cultures. Additionally, there has not been any large-scale representative study on risk factors contributing to school violence in East Asia. It is unknown whether the relevance of findings of studies in western countries applies to students in other context such as East Asian cultures. Toward addressing these gaps, this study aims to explore whether the various risk factors found in the western world and predicted by western empirically based theories can also predict school violence in East Asian culture context. Method:The data based in this study is a cross-sectional and national probability sample. The data was collected by Prevention and Control of School Violence Project in Taiwan and funded by Taiwan National Science Council. Data was collected in 2000. The total sample included 14,022 students from elementary to high school (Grade 4 to Grade 12). The analysis reported in this study focuses on only junior high school students (Grade 7 to 9, N=2,989). Students were given a structured and anonymous questionnaire and were asked about personal, family, and school information, and students' self-report violent school behaviors. Results:The results of final regression model showed that students' violent school behavior could be predicted by students' grade level (beta=-0.05, p=0.01), gender (beta=0.15, p=0.00), smoking (beta=0.11, p=0.00), alcohol use (beta=0.07, p=0.00), direct victimization (beta=0.16, p=0.00), witness victimization (beta=0.09, p=0.00), poor impulsive control (beta=0.07, p=0.01), students' positive attitude toward violence (beta=0.11, p=0.00), students' anger trait (beta=0.06 p=0.02), parent monitoring, (beta=-0.04, p=0.02), poor student-teacher relationship (beta=0.07, p=0.00), risk peer groups (beta=0.15, p=0.00), and low level of school bonding (beta=0.08, p=0.00 ). However, family socioeconomic status (beta=0.02, p=0.31), and family conflict (beta=-0.03, p=0.11), and students' grade points average (beta=-0.01, p=0.48) could not predict students' violent school behavior in Taiwan. Implication:Most of these relationships between risk factors and school violence found in empirical studies in western world applied to East Asian cultural context of Taiwan. The findings may tend to support a cultural similarity between West and East Asia among the relationships of school violence perpetration and various risk factors. This may provide information for school policy makers or clinicians to develop a new direction of worldwide prevention and intervention strategies for school violence. Reference Nisbett, R.E. (2003) The geography of though: How Asian and Westerners think differently…and why. New York: The Free Press.