What is it about?

This study investigates the connection between crime rates and victimization by peer physical aggression in Costa Rican schools. Although previous research has demonstrated that peer victimization is related to community crime, no study to date has examined its association with homicides and drug trafficking, 2 criminal offenses that are key in Latin America.

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Why is it important?

We found that attending schools situated in districts with higher homicide rates and cocaine confiscations increase the probability of suffering victimization by peer physical aggression at school, whereas attending schools with high economic, social, and cultural status, which offer sports activities for students and which were situated in the districts with a high level of social development, decrease the possibility of peer physical victimization. These results suggest that interventions beyond school level are needed to ensure the safety of students inside of schools and, thus, effective preventive programs should address crime at the neighborhood level.

Perspectives

With this article, we go on studying the social effects of crime in Latin America, topic that we have tackled from different perspectives in the educational and economical fields.

Gregorio Giménez
Universidad de Zaragoza

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This page is a summary of: Are homicide and drug trafficking linked to peer physical victimization in Costa Rican schools?, Psychology of Violence, March 2021, American Psychological Association (APA),
DOI: 10.1037/vio0000358.
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