Exposure to violence, student fear, and low academic achievement: African American males in the critical transition to high school

High rates of exposure to violence and poor school outcomes are well established among African American males. In the current study, exposures to violence in the school and neighborhood and parent factors were examined as predictors of school outcomes among a sample of ninth-grade African American males in the critical transition to high school. Spencer's Phenomenological Variant Ecological Systems Theory (PVEST) was used to conceptualize individual experiences with violence. This research builds on existing work by examining factors that mediate the relation between violence exposure and school-related outcomes. A structural equation modeling strategy revealed that exposure to violence predicted decreased feelings of safety in the school and neighborhood and lower levels of parental support and involvement in school, which, in turn, was associated with lower student self-esteem and academic success.