Date of Award

2001

Degree Name

School Psychology

College

College of Education and Professional Development

Type of Degree

M.A.

Document Type

Thesis

First Advisor

Elizabeth Kelley Boyles

Second Advisor

Fred Jay Krieg

Third Advisor

Beverly Farrow

Fourth Advisor

Stephen L. O'Keefe

Abstract

With the recent acts of violence that students have committed while at school, the media, the public, and researchers have investigated why students are displaying these aggressive and violent behaviors. Why are children displaying these acts of violence (e.g., television, video games, lack of family support, etc.)? With everyone pointing a finger as to why children are displaying these acts of violence, a new measure called the Attitudes Towards Guns and Violence Questionnaire (AGVQ) was developed to determine a student's perceptions towards guns and violence. The purpose of this study was to examine whether a significant difference could be found between urban (Marion and Harrison) and rural (Lincoln) counties of West Virginia.

The results of the study found that a significant difference existed between students in Lincoln County on the AGVQ subscale of Aggressive Response to Shame and Comfort with Aggression when compared to Marion and Harrison County. No significant difference was found between AGVQ subscales of Excitement and Power and Safety. Due to these significant findings, further evaluations were conducted to determine whether a significant difference could be found between the student's gender and each of the AGVQ subscales based on each county. The results showed a significant difference between males who resided in rural counties on the Aggressive Response to Shame and Comfort with Aggression as opposed to those males who resided in urban counties. Females were also evaluated and results based on county comparison between gender and county found that females in urban counties had a significant difference on the Power and Safety subscale as opposed to those females in rural counties. These findings indicate that those in rural counties tended to use some type of aggression to restore their self-concept and also use some type of violence to help solve their problems with others as compared to those in more urban areas. When gender and county interactions were compared, results of the study found that males in rural counties tended to use some type of aggression to solve interpersonal problems, and also use some type of aggression to solve their problems with others. Females in urban areas when compared to a gender by county interaction only displayed a significant difference on their perceptions of having a gun meet power and safety issues when compared to rural areas.

Due to the lack of research available on students ' perceptions based on rural and urban areas , the findings suggest that numerous hypotheses can account for the differences in the results. Suggestions of these differences might include cultural differences, different perceptions towards guns in rural and urban areas, or more comfortable feelings with aggressive situations (urban vs. rural).

Subject(s)

Aggressiveness in adolescence.

School violence.

Youth and violence.

Schools -- West Virginia -- Lincoln County.

Schools -- West Virginia -- Marion County.

Schools -- West Virginia -- Harrison County.

Students -- Attitudes.

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