An Investigation Into Factors That May Contribute to School Violence in Male High Schools in Kuwait

Abstract

This study examined the relationship between social affiliation and school violence among male public high school students in Kuwait. Specifically, this study investigated the violent behavior characteristics of tribal and non-tribal male public high school students in Kuwait and the relationship between family structure, family type, and student age of those students and school violence. A one-way ANOVA was conducted to test the first null hypothesis: there are no significant differences in mean subscale scores between the four characteristics of violent behavior and the social affiliation of male public high school students in Kuwait. Multiple linear regression was used to develop a predictive linear model for the relationship between violence and household size, family structure, and student age among tribal and non-tribal male public high school students in Kuwait.

Six hundred male public high school students were given the Aggression Questionnaire which consisted of four subscales: physical aggression, verbal aggression, anger, and hostility. Tribal participants reported more violent behavior characteristics than non-tribal participants. These results supported previous research regarding a relationship between culture and school violence. The results supported those studies that had previously found a significant relationship between student age and the prediction of school violence as indicated by the Aggression Questionnaire (Al Dokhy's;2003). However, the findings indicated that family structure and family size were not significant predictors of violent behavior for the study sample.

A linear regression model for predicting scores for violent behaviors of male public high school students in Kuwait was proposed.