The Relation of School and Campus Violence to Students’ Perceptions of Safety and Precautionary Behaviors

Abstract

The purpose of this dissertation was to conduct an examination of the relations between exposure to high school and college campus violence to post-secondary students’ perceptions of safety and precautionary behaviors. The study also investigated the gender differences in campus safety perceptions and safety behavior intentions. The sample was comprised of 111 participants from a large southeastern university, consisting of 40 males, 70 females and 1 individual who did not specify gender. The participants completed an electronic survey that assessed their campus safety perceptions, safety behavior intentions and high school/ college violence exposure. Bivariate correlational analyses revealed that there is a small correlation between high school violence exposure and campus safety perceptions, as well as a small correlation between college violence exposure and campus safety perceptions. Significant differences were found between genders for campus safety perceptions and intended safety precautionary behaviors. No relations were found between high school and college campus violence exposure and students’ safety behavior intentions. Implications of the findings for secondary and post-secondary administrators, mental health professionals, and campus security are discussed.