Perceptions of violence and fear of school attendance among junior high school students in Israel

This article examines an exploratory model of how variables in school settings affect school victimization and the consequences of victimization for junior high school students. The dependent variables are fear of attending school and the students' assessment of the severity of school violence. The model presents the ways in which school context and victimization affect these variables, examining separately male and female students and Jewish, and Arab students. Findings from a representative national database of school violence in Israel were used, with structural equation modeling on the weighted sample. The model showed a good fit for the sample as a whole. Similar findings were obtained in each of the gender and cultural groups studied. Nevertheless, the authors found some differences among the groups. The article discusses gender and cultural differences, implications for social work practice, limitations of the study, and recommendations for future research.