Academic Achievement, Violent Victimization, and Bullying Among U.S. High School Students

Abstract

The authors examined the relationship between adolescents’ experiences with violent victimization and academic achievement. Data from the 2009 Youth Risk Behavior Survey were analyzed for males ( N = 8,537) and females ( N = 7,816). Multinomial logistic regression analyses were employed to estimate the relationship between academic achievement and violent victimization. Among males and females, 6.6% and 4.4%, respectively, earned grades of mostly Ds or Fs during the past year. Among males, those earning mostly Ds or Fs had an increased odds of having been injured in a fight (adjusted odds ratio [OR] = 2.2, 95% confidence interval [95% CI]: 1.5-3.3) or threatened at school (OR = 2.0, 95% CI: 1.3-2.9) when compared to males who earned mostly As or Bs. Moreover, those who earned mostly Cs were at increased odds of having been threatened at school when compared to males who earned mostly As or Bs (OR = 1.4, 95% CI: 1.1-1.9). Among females, those earning mostly Ds or Fs had a higher odds of having been bullied at school (OR = 1.6, 95% CI: 1.1-2.3 ), threatened at school (OR = 1.5, 95% CI: 1.1-2.3), or violently victimized by an intimate partner (OR = 2.0, 95% CI: 1.4-3.0) when compared to females who earned mostly As or Bs. Similar findings were observed when examining females earning mostly C grades. Academic achievement is linked to victimization patterns among male and female adolescents. Although the temporality of the relationship is unclear, the strength of the associations increase as academic achievement decreases.