In-School Victimization

• Author: Finn-Aage Esbensen
• DOI: 10.1177/1043986208315481
• Published date: 01 May 2008
• Date: 01 May 2008

114

Journal of Contemporary

Criminal Justice

Volume 24 Number 2

May 2008 114-124

© 2008 Sage Publications

10.1177/1043986208315481

http://ccj.sagepub.com

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http://online.sagepub.com

In-School Victimization

Reflections of a Researcher

Finn-Aage Esbensen

University of Missouri–St. Louis

In this article, the author draws on his experience conducting school-based research to

reflect on the state of knowledge regarding in-school victimizations. Following a brief

review of relevant literature and identification of key research findings, the author

offers recommendations for program and policy development and suggestions for

future research directions.

Keywords: in-school victimization; school-based research; prevention programs

The guest editor of this issue, Janet Lauritsen, challenged each of the contributors

to reflect on the state of victimization research and its influence on policies in the

specific contexts in which we have conducted research. In my case, I was asked to

focus on in-school victimizations. In an attempt to address these issues, I will organize

this essay on the following four topics: (a) the types and extent of school victimization;

(b) the correlates, causes, and consequences of school victimization; (c) policies and

programs seeking to reduce school victimization; and (d) recommendations for future

research. Clearly, these topics can only be briefly addressed in this essay.

Extent of School Victimization

Information about school victimization in America can be found in several feder-

ally funded initiatives. For the past 10 years, the U.S. Department of Education and

the U.S. Department of Justice have collaborated in the annual publication of an

informative report—Indicators of School Crime and Safety—that provides a general

summary of school safety, including victimization (e.g., DeVoe et al., 2004; Dinkes,

Cataldi, & Lin-Kelly, 2007). This report provides a wealth of information on topics

ranging from violent deaths at school to drug use on campus; it also allows for exam-

ination of recent historical trends. In addition to this report, the Monitoring the

Author’s Note: The author acknowledges the contributions of several of his colleagues with whom he is

collaborating on other projects: Terrance J. Taylor, Dana Peterson,Adrienne Freng, and Chris Melde. Parts

of this article are derived from that collaborative work. Correspondence concerning this article should be

addressed to Finn-Aage Esbensen, Department of Criminology and Criminal Justice, University of

Missouri–St. Louis, 8001 Natural Bridge Road, St. Louis, MO 63121-4499; e-mail: esbensen@umsl.edu.