FACTORS AFFECTING STUDENTS’ VIOLENT BEHAVIORS

Abstract

School violence is one of the problems which are pressing the public opinion. Now adays, educational managers are still trying to find effective solutions to improve this situation. The aim of the research was to identify and assess key factors which affect students’ violent behaviors. The study used primary data from a survey of 340 students in grades 8 through 12 in 8 schools in Ho Chi Minh City. The results of factor analysis and multiple regression indicated that there were 7 factors associated with students’ violent behaviors which consisted of witnessing violence, low school engagement, involvements in risky peers, victim of violence, impression on school, attitude towards violence and trait anger temperament. There were some other factors that also related to students’ violent behaviors such as gender, educational levels and frequency of playing violent video game. From these findings, some recommendations were designed to help families, schools and educational institutions prevent students from behaving violently.