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Who do we tell? School violence and reporting behavior among native Hawaiian high school students

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Who do we tell? School violence and reporting behavior among native Hawaiian high school students

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WHO DO WE TELL? SCHOOL VIOLENCE AND REPORTING BEHAVIOR
AMONG NATIVE HAWAIIAN HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS

by

Hans J. Wilhelm

_______________________________________________________________

A Dissertation Presented to the
FACULTY OF THE USC ROSSIER SCHOOL OF EDUCATION
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
In Partial Fulfillment of the
Requirements for the Degree
DOCTOR OF EDUCATION

August 2010

Copyright 2010 Hans J. Wilhelm
ii
DEDICATION
I would like to dedicate this dissertation to my great grandmother Margaret
Ka’a’a Apo who taught me that that the two most important things in life were your
‘ohana and seeking an education.
iii
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I would like to thank a few people for all the enormous help they have given
me in completing this dissertation.
I would like to thank God for giving me strength in times of need. To Helga
and Richard Wilhelm my parents: Thank you for all the love and support. To my
brothers and sisters Sam, Suzi, and Lehua: Thanks for putting up with me; To
Melora Sundt and her family for being my extended family away from home; To
Patrick Cobb-Adams, Maxine, Lori, Leo, Ray, Mina and the rest of the Cobb-Adams
for allowing me to be in their lives these past three years; To Monique for always
giving me hope and encouragement when I wanted to give up; To Aonani for her
wisdom love and insight; To my colleagues at Kamehameha who supported me
through this process; To my committee members for reading all my drafts and
providing invaluable feedback; and finally to my cohort who has grown to be my
second family. I pray for your continued success and prosperity in your new lives as
Trojans. Fight on!!!
iv
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Dedication ii
Acknowledgements iii
List of Tables v
Abstract vi
Chapter 1: Introduction of the Problem 1
Chapter 2: Review of the Literature 15
Chapter 3: Methodology 27
Chapter 4: Findings 36
Chapter 5: Discussion 65
References 84
Appendix: Survey 89
v
LIST OF TABLES
Table 1.1. Incarceration rates of Hawaii Youth Correctional facilities 2
disaggregated by race in 2001 (Kim, et al., 2001)

Table 3.1. Research questions and survey locations 33
Table 4.1. Demographics of sample 38
Table 4.2. Grade and background in HC 39
Table 4.3. Rates of overall violence 41
Table 4.4. Rates of violence by specific crime 42
Table 4.5. Violence and gender 44
Table 4.6. Violence and grade level 46
Table 4.7. Age and violence 48
Table 4.8. Crime reported compared to frequency reported 50
Table 4.9. Whom would they most likely report to 51
Table 4.10. Confidant vs. cultural identification of victim 53
Table 4.11. Barriers to reporting behavior 54
Table 4.12. Gender and barriers 56
Table 4.13. Mother’s education vs. barriers 57
Table 4.14. Barriers and trusted adults 58
Table 4.15. Grade and comfort in reporting 59
Table 4.16. Comfort and cultural ID 61
Table 4.17. Cultural ID and making good decisions 61
Table 4.18. Cultural ID and fighting back 62
vi
ABSTRACT
This dissertation is about school violence and reporting behavior among
Native Hawaiian students. The study surveys a population of Native Hawaiians
grades 9-12 to ask about the types of violence that happens in their school and who
the student would report to if they were the victims of a violent incident. The study
also looks at the barriers that students face to reporting violent behavior.

1
CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION OF THE PROBLEM
In recent years, violence has become an increasing problem among our
nation’s youth. According to a study done by the Office of Justice P programs
(2008), juvenile violence is on the rise nationally. The substantial growth of violent
crime arrests that began in the late 1980s and peaked in 1994 was followed by 10
consecutive years of decline. However this downward trend ended in 2005 with a 2%
increase in violent crime followed by a 4% increase in 2006 (Snyder, 2008). In 2006,
the U.S Department of Justice reported that 2.2 million arrests were made of
individuals under the age of 18 (Snyder, 2008). Also, in 2006, 10 % of all murder
victims were under the age of 18 (Snyder, 2008). Juveniles accounted for 17 % of all
violent crime arrests and 26 % of all property crime arrests (Snyder, 2008).
In Native Hawaiian communities, the problem of violence has been
particularly acute. Violence in Native Hawaiian communities is an especially serious
local public heath concern as is evident by a recent surge of aggressive outbreaks in
schools, homes, and communities (Alfonso, Shibuya, and Frueh, 2007). According
to the 2000 census, Native Hawaiians are over represented in Hawaii’s prisons and
jails. While Native Hawaiians make up roughly 9% of the population, 39% of
incarcerated inmates identified themselves as Hawaiian or part Hawaiian. More
recent statistics indicate that Hawaii’s inmate population is more than 45% Native
Hawaiian (Senate resolution, 2008). The numbers of current Native Hawaiian
inmates fluctuate depending on who is doing the counting of inmates and for what
2
purpose. Native Hawaiians may have to be incarcerated for a minimum of six
months to be counted as part of the prison population. Sometimes counts are taken at
different times of the year to coincide with fiscal funding (Winquist, 2009).
Moreover, a 2008 senate investigation into the treatment of Native Hawaiians
in Hawaii’s criminal justice system found that Native Hawaiian youth arrests are
most likely to end in adjudication; 47% of all girls appearing in circuit court are
Native Hawaiian; Native Hawaiians comprise 64% of all circuit court juvenile
defendants; and Native Hawaiian youth make up approximately 50 % of all youth in
custody at the Hawaii Youth Correctional Facility (Senate resolution, 2008). A
relatively stable finding in Hawaii’s youth correctional facilities is the over-
representation of incarcerated Hawaiians /part Hawaiians, and the under-
representation of the Caucasians, East Asians, and African Americans (see Table
1.1).

Table 1.1. Incarceration rates of Hawaii Youth Correctional facilities disaggregated
by race in 2001(Kim, et al., 2001)

Race/ethnicity Incarceration rates
Native Hawaiian 49.6%
Pacific islanders 5.8%
Filipino 7.1%
Caucasian 9.4%
African American 1.2%
Mixed race 22%
Asian 2.1%
3
In sum, a disproportionate amount of incarcerated violent offenders are of
Native Hawaiian ancestry. Teachers and counselors at a predominantly Native
Hawaiian school often find themselves as the conduit for school violence reports
(Lopez, 2008). However, frequently violent acts go unreported for various reasons,
including a lack of trusted adults, the fear of retaliation by students, or a failure by
administration to maintain confidentiality (Lopez, 2008). As educators we have a
responsibility to address these issues and stem the tide of violence among Native
Hawaiian youth, which starts with ensuring a safe learning environment.
Background of the Problem
National rates of juvenile violence
Across the nation juvenile violence has been on the rise (Snyder, 2008).
Nationally In 2006, it was reported that between 1997 and 2006, juvenile arrests for
aggravated assault decreased more for males than for females (24% vs. 10%). During
this period, while juvenile male arrests for simple assault declined 4%, female arrests
grew 19%. Juveniles accounted for 17 percent of all violent crime arrests and 26
percent of all property crime arrests in 2006. In 2006 although the juvenile
population was only 17 percent black, black juveniles were involved in 51 percent of
juvenile violent crime index arrests and 31 percent of juvenile property crime arrests
(Snyder, 2008).
Between 1997 and 2006, Juvenile arrests for aggravated assault decreased
more for males than for females (24% vs. 10%). During this period, while juvenile
male arrests for simple assault declined 4%, female arrests grew 19%. Between
4
1994 and 2004, the juvenile arrest rate for Violent Crime Index offenses fell 49%,
reaching its lowest Level since at least 1980. However, this long-term downward
trend was broken in 2005 with a 2% annual increase in Violent Crime Index arrests
followed by a 4% in- crease in 2006. More specifically, 2005 and 2006 saw
increases in juvenile arrests for murder and robbery but continued declines in arrests
for forcible rape and aggravated assault.
Some of the disturbing national trends are the increase in violent offenders
among women. According to the report (Snyder, 2008), the proportion of female
offenders entering the justice system has grown. Between 1997 and 2006, female
arrests grew a whopping 19%. Second, there were a disproportionate number of
black juveniles relative to their numbers in the population. This over representation
of minorities is similar to the unequal treatment we see among Native Hawaiian
juveniles in the juvenile justice system. In the state of Hawaii, Native Hawaiian
youth arrests are most likely to end in adjudication; 47 percent of all girls appearing
in circuit court are Native Hawaiian; Native Hawaiians comprise 64 per cent of all
circuit court juvenile defendants; and Native Hawaiian youth make up 50.5 per cent
of all youth in custody at Hawaii Youth Correctional Facility (Senate resolution,
2008).
Nowhere is the problem of school violence more pronounced than in Hawaii
as school violence in Hawaii ranks among the highest in the nation (Haas, 1988). In
addition, a 1999 Hawaii Youth Risk Behavior Survey of 559 boys and 683 girls
showed that Native Hawaiians reported a higher rate of dating violence (11.6%),
5
compared to Whites (7.3%), and Asian Pacific Islanders (6.5%). Often, violence
finds its way into Hawaiian communities and becomes an epidemic in many rural
areas of Hawaii (Affonso, Shibuya, and Frue, 2007). The following discussion will
define the construct of violence for the purposes of this study, as well as provide
background to the problems facing Native Hawaiian students in educational settings.
School violence defined
This study focuses on “non-fatal violent victimization,” the most common
form of violence found in our nation’s schools. Although school violence related to
fatal shootings grabs headlines and causes significant concern, “non-fatal violent
victimization” (rape, sexual assault, sexual harassment, robbery, aggravated assault,
and simple assault) comprises the majority of school violence, according to the 1993-
2003 National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS). According to the study, 53% of
the victimization of youths ages 12-14-year-olds and 32 percent% of victimization of
youths ages 15-17-year-olds occurred in or at school (Reidel &Welsh, 2008). The
same study also reported that 40% percent of the offenders of victims ages 15-17
were the victim’s schoolmates (Reidel & Welsh, 2008).
For the most part, violent deaths occurring on school property are extremely
rare compared to other incidences of school disorder (Reidel & Welsh, 2008). In
most cases, violent deaths in schools, which include murder or suicide, account for
about one homicide or suicide per million students (Snyder, 2002). Unfortunately,
non-fatal victimization such as bullying, intimidation and fighting are all too
common (D.C Gottfredson, 2001). Terms like school violence have often been used
6
indiscriminately by researchers and educational professionals to label a very diverse
phenomenon, which can include school shootings, injuries; school and security
responses; student, teacher, and administrative perceptions of violence; school
disciplinary data; student and teacher self reported victimization; and self reported
misconduct by the perpetrator (Reidel &Welsh, 2008).
One broad definition of non-fatal violence comes from the U.S Department
of Justice (2002), which classifies school violence into several categories. First,
serious crimes include rape and sexual assault, threat of physical attack with or
without weapon, robbery, assault, and theft. The category of “other violent acts”
includes possession of weapons, vandalism, insubordination, bullying, suicide acts,
possession or use of illegal drugs or alcohol, and sexual harassment (Annual report
on School safety, 2000; Addington, Ruddy, Miller, & De Voe, 2002; De Voe, Peter,
Kaufman, Miller, Noonan, Snyder, et al., 2004). This group of “other violent acts,”
which typically go unreported will be the focus of my study as such acts involve
non-fatal student victimization.
The problem of unreported violence
As was reported earlier, violence has slowly but steadily increased in 2006
and 2007. A 6% gain in violence might not be cause for alarm; however, much of the
non-fatal violence goes unreported. Experts have raised questions about the validity
and accuracy of crime statistics (Reidel,2008) For example; some estimate that less
than half of crimes committed by juveniles are reported to authorities (Snyder &
Sickmund, 1999). In addition, Hawaii crime statistics show that juveniles ages 13-17
7
account for the majority of crime offenses in Hawaii, while part Hawaiian juveniles
made up the largest ethnic population arrested for crime index offenses (36.3%) as
compared to other major ethnic groups such as White (21.7%) and Filipino (14.1%)
youth (Gao & Perrone, 2004). These statistics raise many concerns; the first is that
Native Hawaiians are ethnically over represented in juvenile arrests in Hawaii. This
overrepresentation led the Hawaii legislature to pass a senate resolution calling for
an investigation into the disparate treatment of Native Hawaiians in the criminal
justice system (senate resolution, 2008). The second major concern is that juvenile
crime accounts for the majority of crimes in Hawaii, outpacing all other age groups
(Siaosi, 2006). Given previously reported trends, it is likely that a majority of these
juvenile crimes go unreported (Reidel, 2008).
The problem of inaccurate reporting
According to a study concerning perceptions of violence among faculty and
administrators (Siaosi, 2006), victim reports of violence in Hawaii have been largely
gathered using incident reports and suspension records (Siaosi, 2006). Federal
legislation known as the Safe and Drug Free Schools and Communities Act, which
mandates the department of education to collect information regarding school
violence prevention efforts, provided the impetus to start the need for reporting
(20U.S.C.7102). However, Siaosi (2006) reports that the Hawaii Department of
Education has been slow to provide accurate information on their victimization rates.
Part the problem has been the department’s transition from a paper record system to
an electronic database (Siaosi, 2006). At the database’s inception in the 2000 school
8
year, much information was lost due to human error and unfamiliarity with the
system. As a result, approximately 3,000 fewer incidents resulting in school
suspensions were reported over the course of three years from 2001-2003 (Siaosi,
2006). To this day, information on violent school crime remains elusive and hard to
obtain, given privacy issues as well as legal problems with disclosure of personal
information (Reidel, 2008). Without a clear understanding about the severity of the
problems facing Native Hawaiian students, schools cannot begin to examine the
causes or solutions.
Statement of the Problem
According to the research, Hawaiians make up the majority ethnic group in
adult and juvenile prisons in the State of Hawaii (Senate Resolution, 2008).
However, the problem is a lack of research about of the types and rates of unreported
non-fatal violence occurring among Native Hawaiians in our educational institutions.
Nobody really knows how much non-fatal violence is happening in the schools
where Native Hawaiian students spend anywhere from 9-10 hours of their waking
day. If schools are going to help Native Hawaiian students, more must be learned
about the frequency and types of violence that are happening in our schools. Second,
there is no research that addresses the reporting behavior of Native Hawaiian
victims. It is unknown why Native Hawaiian victims do or do not report, who they
are more likely to report to, and what are the characteristics of those to whom they
report.
9
Purpose of the Study
The first purpose of this study is to collect and analyze information
concerning the frequency and types of unreported non-fatal violence that occurring
in a school with a high population of Native Hawaiian students. The second purpose
of the study is to understand reporting behavior, in particular why some choose not
to report the incidence to the school authorities, such as a teacher or counselor. In
this part of the study, I will focus on identifying the common characteristics of
individuals Native Hawaiian victims confide in for help. Such individuals may
include a friend, teacher, counselor, administrator, or family member. If educators
know who the students report to, we may be able to prepare those agents with the
proper skills to provide services and or training to better facilitate getting help to
those victims.
Research Questions
RQ 1: What are the rates and types of unreported non-fatal violence
occurring among Native Hawaiian high school students on O’ahu ages 14-18?
RQ 1a: Do rates and types of violence experienced vary by victim
characteristics such as gender, grade, age, cultural identification, mother’s education,
or father’s education?
RQ 2: Do Native Hawaiian students report violent behavior or not based on
the type of violence?
RQ 2a: Who do Native Hawaiian high school victims of violence tell about
their experience?
10
RQ 2b: Do the people in whom the students confide vary by victim
characteristics such as gender, grade, age, cultural identification, mother’s education,
or father’s education.
RQ 3: What barriers do Native Hawaiian students perceive about reporting
violent behavior?
RQ 3a: To what extent does cultural identification as a Native Hawaiians
seen as helpful or a barrier when reporting violent behavior.
Significance of the Study
School violence has been on the rise over the past two years (Snyder, 2008).
However, violence has been a way of life for most Native Hawaiian students in
Hawaii’s educational school system and communities (Affonso, Shibuya, and Frueh,
2007). As reported earlier in the chapter, Native Hawaiians make up the majority of
prisoners in our adult jails as well as juvenile detention centers (Senate resolution,
2008, Gao & Perrone, 2004). Hawaii crime statistics show that juveniles ages 13-17
account for the majority of offenses in Hawaii while part Hawaiian juveniles made
up the largest ethnic population arrested for crime offenses (36%). In early 2008, the
Hawaii senate passed a resolution that called for an investigation into the disparate
treatment of Native Hawaiians in the justice system. In short, there is overwhelming
evidence that violence exists in Native Hawaiian communities in disproportioned
levels across ethnic groups in the State of Hawaii.
This study presents a rare opportunity to shed some light on some of the
different issues facing Native Hawaiian students. This study will help school
11
administrators and teachers to provide a safer learning environment through
concentrating the school’s efforts in areas where there is the greatest need by
collecting data on the types of non-fatal violence that occurs in and around their
campus (bullying, sexual harassment, possession of drugs and alcohol, and theft).
Second, by identifying the characteristics of individuals to whom Native Hawaiian
students report, we can better design our outreach programs to help victims of non-
fatal violence by identifying a trusting and caring adult or by providing violence
prevention training for those to whom students are more likely to report.
Methodology
This study will be a quantitative study with descriptive analysis of the rates of
non-fatal violence experienced by Native Hawaiian students in one private
educational institution. The survey will be created and administered by computer or
paper to students of Native Hawaiian decent. Parent permission forms will be
obtained prior to the start of the survey, and all identities of the participants will be
anonymous. Results will be reported to the participating school upon completion of
the dissertation. Questions will be gathered from existing surveys that focus on the
perceptions of Native Hawaiian juveniles ages 14-18 who are victims of non-fatal
violence. Questions will focus on a Native Hawaiian juvenile’s perceptions of
individuals to whom they feel safe reporting. There will also be questions for Native
Hawaiian student’s perceptions on the characteristics of individuals they feel can be
trusted in the event of a violent incident. For the purposes of this study I will focus
on victim reporting of non-fatal violent incidences by Native Hawaiian high school
12
students ages 14-18 that occur within the confines of the school campus and within
one mile outside the campus boundaries.
Assumptions
1. Students will respond honestly to the questionnaire.
2. The reliability and validity of the information provided by the instruments
for this study will be sufficient to permit inferences related to the
perceptions of Native Hawaiians.
3. Non-fatal violence is happening to Native Hawaiian students in Hawaii’s
schools, public and private.
Limitations
1. The levels of non-fatal violence are limited to the anonymous
participation of students taking the survey who report honestly.
2. Students who take the survey must have permission from their parents to
do so.
3. This study will be limited to the perceptions of Native Hawaiians.
4. The study will be limited to subjects who agree to participate voluntarily.
5. The study will be limited to the number of subjects surveyed and the
amount of time available to conduct the study.
6. Validity of this study will be limited to the reliability of the instrument
being used.
13
Definition of Terms
Non-Fatal -School violence, (Benbinishty & Astor, 2005):
We define non fatal school violence as any behavior intended to harm,
physically or emotionally, persons in school and their property. We define
victimization as a student’s report that another student or staff member
perpetrated school violence against him or her. This broad definition
includes verbal and social violence (such as curses, humiliation, social
exclusion); threatening behaviors (direct, indirect, extortion, scary behavior);
physical violence (such as pushes, kicks, punches, beating); stealing and
damaging property; weapon use (carrying, threatening, using); and sexual
harassment. (p. 8-9)

Organization of the Study
Chapter 1 of this study presented a working definition of non-fatal school
violence, national and local trends of juvenile crime rates, and statistical data of
violence trends concerning Native Hawaiian students. This chapter also included the
statement of the problem, the purpose of this study, a brief description of the
methodology, along with the assumptions, and limitations for this study. Finally, I
included a broad definition of school violence.
Chapter 2 represents a review of the literature surrounding this study. This
chapter will examine the National and local trends of juvenile violence, reports on
Juvenile violence in Native Hawaiian communities, as well as the literature
surrounding reporting behavior of victims to adults. Second, I will identify the
variables that influence reporting behavior among juveniles as well as review the
literature in relation to cultural identification and its impact on reporting violent
behavior. Thirdly, Chapter 2 will report on exemplar programs that have been
effective in curbing violence within schools that supports victims of non-fatal violent
14
acts. Lastly, this chapter will identify gaps in the literature in relation to reporting
violence and juveniles.
Chapter 3 will share my methodology in detail, including a description of my
sample, variables, measuring instruments, and procedures used in obtaining and
processing the data.
Chapter 4 will present the findings of the investigation and a discussion of the
results.
Chapter 5 will summarize the findings, conclusions, and recommendations.
15
CHAPTER 2
REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE
The first purpose of this study is to collect and analyze information
concerning the frequency and types of unreported non-fatal violence that occurring
in a private school among Native Hawaiian students. The second purpose of the
study is to understand the reasons these victims choose not to report the incidence to
the school authorities, such as a teacher or counselor. In this part of the study, I will
focus on identifying the common characteristics of individuals Native Hawaiian
victims confide in for help. Such individuals may include a friend, teacher,
counselor, administrator, or family member. If educators know to whom the students
report, we may be able to prepare those agents with the proper skills to provide
services and or training to better facilitate getting help to those victims.
The purpose of this chapter is to provide a comprehensive overview of non-
fatal violence in relation to Native Hawaiian high school students. This will be
accomplished by first reporting on different types of juvenile violence encountered
by Native Hawaiians to identify the variables for this study. Next will be a review of
the literature concerning the impact that violence has had on Native Hawaiian
juveniles and their emotional and educational development. Third, I will be
reviewing the variables that influence reporting behavior among juveniles. Lastly I
will attempt to identify the gaps in the literature in relation to victims reporting
violence.
16
Effects of Violence on a Community
According to Ehrmann and Massey (2008), adolescents who grew up in
segregated minority communities showed increases in family violence, stress, and
health problems as compared to white communities or communities which were
more racially integrated. The study also showed that as the minority percentage
increased in the community, the SAT achievement dropped at a predictable rate.
Males and females from segregated backgrounds scored almost a hundred points
lower on standardized tests than those who came from communities with low
minority population percentages. The authors also reported that minority women
experienced more health problems than males as the minority percentage increased
in communities.
This information may not be of much surprise however what was really
interesting in this study was that after controlling for the powerful effects of parental
education, and prior academic experience, segregation had a strong, significant, and
negative effect on cognitive skills. These effects were more pronounced for women
more than men, meaning that although men were exposed to more violence in their
neighborhoods than women, it was the women who suffered significantly more
damage to their cognitive skill development. As it was pointed to earlier in this
review, violence can not only hurt in the short term for women, it can also put them
at a severe disadvantage later in life as they try to move into higher education
institutions that already seem ill equipped to care for their needs as survivors of
violence.
17
Violence in Native Hawaiian communities
Violence in Hawaiian communities is an especially serious local public
health problem as is evident by a recent surge of aggressive outbreaks in schools,
homes, and the community (Alfonso, Shibuya, & Fruch 2007). The surge is of
concern because interpersonal violence can have an adverse effect among
adolescents and is a major risk factor for post- traumatic stress disorder, major
depression, and substance abuse or dependence (Kilpatrick et al., 2003). Recent data
have shown high rates of psychiatric disorders among adolescents in Hawaii
especially among Native Hawaiians (Andrade et al, 2006).
In Hawaii’s youth prisons, Kim, Ando, Hishinuma, Nishimura, Winterheld,
and So (2001) reported that of the 269 youth incarcerated in the Hawaii Youth
Correctional Center, 215 or 80 % of them had at least one psychiatric diagnosis. Of
those 215 incarcerated, three out four were diagnosed with having disruptive
behavior disorder, and the same ratio was found for any type of substance
abuse/dependency. Nearly 2 in 3 had conduct disorders and 1 in 4 had a mood or
anxiety disorder. Of the 215 incarcerated, approximately 52 % of them were
Hawaiian or part Hawaiian (Kim et al., 2001).
Sexual Assault Victimization
In the early 1980s, very little academic research existed that documented the
prevalence of sexual assault. Community based rape crisis centers emerged in the
early 1970s and rape victim advocates knew that sexual assault was rampant in
American society (Campbell & Wasco, 2005). However, proof from academia did
18
not arrive until the scholarship of Dianna Russell and Mary Koss who produced
landmark studies from 1983-1987 that exposed the seriousness and frequency of
interpersonal violence and sexual assault in American society (Campbell & Wasco,
2005).
Russell’s study of community women in San Francisco revealed that 24
percent of women had experienced a completed rape and 44 percent had experienced
a completed or attempted rape (Russell, 1983). Koss and her colleagues conducted a
national random survey of college women and found that 1 in 4 women had
experienced rape or attempted rape in their lifetimes and 84 percent of the women
knew their attacker (Koss, Gidycz & Wisniewski, 1987). For the first time, it was
proven through research that rape was not a rare occurrence being committed by
strangers in the bushes (Campbell & Wasco, 2005). In fact, it was a violent crime
happening to millions of women by men they knew and trusted.
In the last 20 years, research has also revealed that the mental health effects
of rape have had catastrophic effects on people’s lives. According to Campbell and
Wasco (2005), rape survivors are among the highest group of persons with post-
traumatic stress disorder stemming from the sexual assault. Studies also reported that
rape survivors suffer psychological injuries along with acute chronic and physical
health problems than do women who are not victimized. The impact of sexual
assault has a radiating impact that does not stop with the survivor’s health and well
being but can cause significant stress on the lives of family, friends, and loved ones.
It has been documented that even professionals exposed to victims of sexual assault,
19
such as counselors, rape crisis center staff, and rape victim advocates who help rape
survivors, may become victims of vicarious trauma, which can have negative
emotional effects (Campbell & Wasco, 2005).
As we look to the future, the incidence of sexual assault remains prevalent in
American society and effective prevention has remained elusive. It is reported that
neither community based practitioners nor academic researchers have been able to
make a serious dent in the sexual assault incidence rate. Also, prevention programs
that target men are fewer in number and have not been able to identify the critical
processes by which sustainable behavioral change can be achieved (Campbell &
Wasco, 2005). In short, we are in effect haphazardly treating the symptoms of a
serious problem without identifying and treating the cause.
Sexual Harassment in Secondary Schools
Research on sexual harassment of adolescents in secondary schools has
focused primarily on the prevalence, types of behaviors, and gender of the victim and
the perpetrator (Timmerman, 2003). The first large scale study in the United States
revealed that 87% of girls and 71% of boys reported having been sexually harassed
by another student (AAUWEF, 2001). Other surveys also confirm the same pattern
that sexual harassment in secondary schools is widespread and it involves students
harassing other students (Timmerman, 2003). More in depth analysis have described
peer sexual harassment as a frequent public occurrence in school culture and an
extension of adolescent bullying (Timmerman, 2003). Recently it has been
discovered that boys and girls perceive peer harassment differently. According to
20
studies done by Murnen and Smolak (2000), boys and girls perceive peer harassment
differently. Girls experience sexual harassment more often and experience more
severe and physically intrusive forms of harassment than do boys.
Research by Timmerman (2003) also suggests that there is confusion among
adolescents when using the term “sexual harassment”. In general sexual harassment
is defines as a continuum of abusive behavior that ranges from mild to severe forms
of unwanted sexual attention or sexual violence (Timmerman, 2003). The term
“sexual harassment” is the sum of extremely varied behaviors, which is not specific
enough for the purposes of this study. Timmerman reports that in order to
adequately deal with the various forms of unwanted sexual behavior that young
people encounter, we have to categorize these behaviors into two areas: “sexual
violence,” a concept that refers to severe forms (rape or attempted rape), and
“unwanted sexual behavior,” which refers to milder forms of violence.
It is also reported that young people seem more inclined to associate sexual
harassment with severe forms of abuse such as rape or attempted rape (Houston &
Hwang, 1996). Unwanted sexual comments or physical contact with sexual
connotations are less frequently considered “sexual harassment” (Timmerman,
2003). For the purposes of this study, questions designed for Native Hawaiian
adolescents were carefully worded to not include the term “sexual harassment” and
were focused on specific behaviors of perpetrators such as “unwanted touching” and
“unwanted sexual remarks”. For each form of violent behavior, students were asked
if they had been subject to that behavior in school. Respondents can choose from a
21
list of three choices: Yes on campus, yes within a mile of campus, and No. Secondly,
students were also asked if they reported the behavior or not and to whom.
The Timmerman article is important to this study in many respects even
though it was conducted in the Netherlands. First, the study randomly surveyed high
school youth ages 14, and 15 years old. The study showed that unwanted sexual
behavior by their peers occurred openly and often-in public areas in school. In many
cases the incidents happened within the classroom in full view of other students and
the teacher. Timmerman (2003) reports that 73 percent of students surveyed reported
unwanted sexual behavior by their peers. In 27 percent of the cases the perpetrator
was a school related adult (teacher, 81%, tutor 12%, school doctor 1%, principal 2%;
janitor, 4%).
In the same study, students were also asked if they encountered sexual
violence at school or in another setting. Sexual violence was defined as rape or
attempted rape. Nine percent of the victims claimed to have been victims of sexual
violence. However most of these incidences took place outside of the school setting.
Only .9% of girls and .4% of boys reported experiences with sexual violence in
school. It is for this reason that I decided to leave out questions in my survey about
rape and attempted rape. Another important finding was that one in four girls are
confronted with unwanted sexual behavior at school as opposed to one in ten boys
being confronted (Timmerman, 2003). The most common form of unwanted sexual
behavior is inappropriate comments followed by unwanted physical touching. Both
of these are noted as independent variables in this study.
22
Bullying and Reporting Behavior
Students often fail to report they have been bullied (Olweus 1993; Smith,
Shu, & Madsen, 2001). In most cases, authorities are unaware of the nature and
extent of the bullying problem and fail to take action (Pepler, Craig, Zeigler&
Charach, 1993). An important response to any bullying situation lies in actions of the
victim to report the incident. However, students have been reluctant to seek help
from teachers and other adults (Unnever & Cornell, 2004). Seeking help from adults
provides a crucial piece to a victim’s recovery because it provides immediate health
benefits and reduces the risk of being victimized in the future (Kaukiken, 2002).
Smith’s and Shu’s (2000) research of English high school students found that
bullied pupils who did tell someone were more likely to tell family members (45%)
or friends (43%), rather than school staff. These findings are similar to earlier
research of primary and secondary schools students were significantly more likely to
tell someone at home than tell a teacher (Whitney and Smith, 1993). Despite
widespread reluctance to report incidents of bullying to adults, Smith and Shu (2000)
discovered that in over half the cases, telling a teacher or family member was
perceived by bullied pupils to have a positive effect on their situation. Naylor and
Cowie (1999) also found that bullied pupils who had someone who listens (whether a
parent, teacher, friend or peer supporter) said this assistance had been helpful, and
that it had given them the strength to overcome the problem. However, the data also
indicated that telling a teacher poses higher risks of the bullying getting worse.
23
In general, the costs to the victim can include feelings of shame and
embarrassment, fear of retaliation, and a reluctance to get the offender in trouble.
Also, it is noted that victims are afraid to report because of the perception that adults
are unable to help them (Unnever & Cornell, 2004). Ladd and Ladd (2001)
contended that chronic victimization overwhelms a child’s resources and debilitates
their coping mechanisms. Chronic victimization can also undermine a student’s trust
in authorities and may isolate the child from seeking help. In a study of middle
school students conducted by Unnever and Cornell (2004), students who were
physically bullied were more likely to tell someone and were slightly more likely to
tell an adult. Victims were more likely to report bullying if they were chronically
bullied, female, and perceived that their school would not tolerate bullying.
The study revealed the existence of a school culture that could either support
or inhibit a victim’s ability to report. Unnever and Cornell reported the following:
“an important implication for this study is that school authorities might be able to
increase victim reporting if they made it clearer that they would not tolerate bullying
and would make concerted efforts to stop bullying when it happen (Unnever &
Cornell, 2004 p.384). The study also concluded that parent socialization was a distal
factor in explaining reactions to peer victimization. Using a coercive parenting scale,
Ladd and Ladd (1998) discovered that victims were significantly less likely to report
that they were bullied if their parents used coercive child rearing techniques such as
condoning aggression and equating asking for help with weakness.
24
As a teacher of Hawaiian students, the researcher has experienced similar
instances in which students have shared that if they are being bullied at school they
must fight back against the bully or risk violence and or ridicule when they come
home to their parents. In this study of violence, I have hypothesized that Native
Hawaiians students are less likely to report if their parents condone solving conflict
through violence as opposed to reporting. To test this hypothesis as a barrier to
reporting behavior I have added a survey question, which ask respondents if parents
expect their son or daughter to fight back when they are bullied or harassed.
In a separate study by Oliver & Candappa (2007), focus groups were
conducted among English middle school students and it was discovered that pupils
were divided on whether or not they should report bullying to parents. Parents were
seen as valued for their emotional support and for raising concerns with teachers.
However, pupils also feared that parents might over react and make matters worse by
taking extreme or inappropriate steps. Others were concerned about being labeled
negatively by their parents. A small group of students reported that they preferred to
keep the bullying to themselves to avoid worrying their parents.
There is also a greater reluctance of older students versus younger students to
tell their parents (Oliver & Candappa, 2007). However, the studies implicate that the
risks of involving parents might be reduced if parents were made more aware of the
parental responses that pupils perceive as more helpful. In focus groups (Oliver &
Candappa, 2007), older students appreciated when parents did not doubt their
accounts of being bullied or harassed in school and were prepared to discuss
25
different strategies for tackling bulling with their children. Conversely, students were
also very critical of parents who overreacted and took unilateral action against their
wishes. Students could see such actions as undermining their autonomy and being
more likely to produce a stressful situation at school (Oliver & Candappa, 2007).
The focus groups also reported that although older students perceived great
risks in telling teachers, the majority of pupils who participated in the survey
indicated that they could identify at least one teacher in their school whom they
would feel able to talk to about bullying and harassment. This finding suggests that
the quality of the relationship between the teachers and the pupils may be an
important mediating factor in reducing the risks associated with telling.
Oliver & Candappa (2007) state that for the agency of a relationship to be of
maximum benefit, pupils need to rely not solely on a positive relationship with an
individual teacher but on improved quality of relationship between teachers and
pupils more generally. In this context, listening to pupils about bullying would not be
a one- off exercise, but rather would form part of the fabric of everyday interactions
with school life.
Question number 6 in the Barriers to reporting section of the researchers
survey states: In my home, I am taught that if I am being bullied or picked on in
school I must fight back rather than tell an adult. Respondents will respond to a four
point Likert scale to measure if they agree, strongly agree, disagree, or strongly
disagree with victim perceptions of reporting in their home and communities. For
the purposes of this study of violence among Native Hawaiian high school students,
26
independent variables were chosen to measure bullying in the areas of robbery,
assault (with or without a weapon), sexual harassment, and cyber harassment.
27
CHAPTER 3
METHODOLOGY
The first purpose of this study is to collect and analyze information
concerning the frequency and types of unreported non-fatal violence that occurring
in a private school among Native Hawaiian students. The second purpose of the
study is to understand reporting behavior with an emphasis on why some choose not
to report the incidence to the school authorities, such as a teacher or counselor. This
part of the study focused on identifying the common characteristics of individuals in
whom Native Hawaiian confide for help. Such individuals included a friends,
teaches, counselors, administrators, or family members. With an understanding of
which these confidants are, educators may be able to prepare such individuals with
the proper skills to provide services and with training to better facilitate getting help
to victims.
This chapter includes the research questions, hypothesis, and research design.
A description of the methodology is outlined through a discussion of the sampling
procedure and population, instrumentation, and procedures that will be used for data
collection analysis.
Research Questions and Hypotheses
RQ 1: What are the rates and types of unreported non-fatal violence
occurring among Native Hawaiian high school students on O’ahu ages 14-18?
28
RQ 1a: Do rates and types of violence experienced vary by victim
characteristics such as gender, grade, age, cultural identification, mother’s education,
or father’s education?
RQ 2: Do Native Hawaiian students report violent behavior or not based on
the type of violence?
RQ 2a: Who do Native Hawaiian high school victims of violence tell about
their experience?
RQ 2b: Do the people in whom the students confide vary by victim
characteristics such as gender, grade, age, cultural identification, mother’s education,
or father’s education.
RQ 3: What barriers do Native Hawaiian students perceive about reporting
violent behavior?
RQ 3a: To what extent does cultural identification as a Native Hawaiians
seen as helpful or a barrier when reporting violent behavior.
Research Design
This study was a quantitative, non-experimental, comparative and descriptive
analysis of non-fatal violence among Native Hawaiian high school students. Using a
quantitative approach, this study utilized a survey that was administered to a large
number of student participants. The surveys allowed for comparisons and statistical
aggregation of the data and provided broad, generalizable findings (Patton, 2002).
Part one of the survey measured the demographics of the sample being surveyed.
29
The demographic questions included the age of the survey participant, grade level,
and cultural affiliation.
Part two of the survey covered different types of serious non-fatal violence to
include assault, sexual harassment, theft, robbery, cyber harassment, and drug
possession. Finally, the survey focused on the reporting behavior of Native
Hawaiian students to explore the characteristics of people to whom they disclose
violent behavior to as well as victim perceptions of barriers to reporting violent
behavior.
Sampling Procedure and Population
For the purposes of this study, the researcher surveyed a private high school
with a Native Hawaiian population on the island of O’ahu. The school selected for
this study is a large private school located in Hawaii. For this study the researcher
purposefully sampled an ethnically homogeneous group of high schools students
(Native Hawaiian), which produced rich information for an in depth study (Patton,
2001). The researcher gathered 113 completed surveys from 250 surveys that were
distributed for a 45 percent response rate. For the purposes of this study the
researcher defined a Native Hawaiian to be any student of part or whole aboriginal
blood tracing back to one ancestor who existed in the Hawaiian Islands prior to 1778.
To do so, counselors were contacted and school administrators at the schools to
allow for purposeful sampling of Health, Physical education, and or personal
guidance classes in the areas of their school where there are large percentages of
Native Hawaiians. The researcher also requested that the classrooms visited have
30
computers in them. Three visits were made to the school and to each group of
classrooms. The purpose of the first visit was to give a short presentation to each of
the classrooms participating in the survey. At this presentation, I introduced the
purpose of the study and the survey procedure, explained, and distributed the parent
permission and student assent forms.
At the second visit, the researcher collected the parent permission forms and
asked the participants to fill out the online survey on school computers or on laptop
computers that were transported to the classrooms. The researcher also had printed
paper versions of the survey in envelopes for student who may not be comfortable
doing the survey online. The purpose of my last visit is to follow up with the
participating school leadership teams to report the findings and recommendations
concerning this study. This visit will take place sometime early next school year in
the Fall 2010.
Instrumentation
The survey instrument was delivered by a website survey builder called
Survey Monkey, which is a tool for gathering information for surveys online. The
survey was sent via e-mail to the individual students after they had completed the
parent permission forms as well as their assent forms. Once the data collection was
completed, the information was downloaded on to SPSS for analysis. The online
survey allowed for instantaneous collection of information while protecting the
identity of the survey participants. The survey also allows for students to respond
anywhere there is an online connection. The online option provides a less
31
intimidating environment for students to respond, and it allows students to
participate even if they are not in school. The survey logic was created such that
respondents may skip questions that they do not feel comfortable answering. Paper
surveys were also available to students who do not have access to computers.
The survey, which was divided into three sections, was modeled after
questions from the Los Angeles Community College District Hart Survey of
Violence (Sundt &White, 2008) as well as questions that were created to extract data
of reporting behavior, see Appendix X. Section one of the survey covers the
demographics of the respondents including reporting their age, grade, gender,
ethnicity, school type, and cultural affiliation.
In section 2 of the survey, the questions asked if the participant has been a
victim of a specific crime, followed by a question that asked whether they reported
the incident. The independent variables are the different types of non-fatal crime.
The dependent variable in the first group of questions is the reporting behavior of the
victims along with the frequency of the violence. Possible answers will include
questions on the frequency of the violent offenses and the proximity of the violent
event relative to the campus they attend. For example, question number 6-8 related
to “unwanted touching” is stated as:
6. In the last 12 months, has anyone touched you in an unwanted, sexual way
(for example without your permission, touched a part of your body that you
consider Private)?

___ Yes while on campus
___ No
___ Yes, within a mile of campus
32
7. How many times in the last 12 months did this unwanted touching
happen?

____ 0 (never)
____ 1 (one time)
____ 2 (twice)
____ 3 (three or more times)
8. Did you report this incident of unwanted touching to anyone?
____ Yes
____ No
____ Please feel to elaborate on your response.
Section two of the survey gathered information on the different types of violence that
occurred in the schools while providing information on the frequency of the violent
incidences and their proximities to their respective campuses. Section two of the
survey also asked whether the participant reported the incident to someone.
The third group of questions related to the reporting behavior of Native
Hawaiians. The independent variables include gender, grade level, characteristics of
the person the victim would more likely report to, as well as victim perceptions of
who they feel comfortable reporting to. The dependent variables for this part of the
survey are the participants’ comfort of reporting based on a four point Likert scale
(Likert, 1932): strongly agree, agree, disagree, and strongly disagree. Table 3.1
below shows the research questions and the location of the dependent variables being
measured in the survey.
33
Table 3.1. Research questions and survey locations

Research Question Survey Location
Research question 1. What are the rates and
types of unreported non-fatal violence
occurring among Native Hawaiian high
school students on O’ahu ages 14-18?
Sections 2-10, which includes
demographics of the victim, and
the different types of non-fatal
violence.
Research question 2. Who do Native
Hawaiian high school victims of violence tell
about their experience?
Section 11, Item 1-4
Section 12, Items 1-3
Research question 3. For those Native
Hawaiian students who chose not to tell
anyone, what barriers do they perceive to
reporting?
Section 13, Items 1-6
Section 14, Items 1-2

Section three questions concern reporting behavior and are broken into four areas.
1. Who are Native Hawaiian students most likely to report to?
2. Hawaiian culture and its affect on reporting.
3. Barriers to reporting behavior.
4. School climate.
The first area categorizes questions concerning to whom respondents would
report a violent incident (i.e. a teacher, student, school administrator, counselor, or
family member). This area also looks at the characteristics of the people that
respondents may report to such as gender, ethnicity, age, and cultural affiliation.
Area two examines the impact of Hawaiian culture and its affect on reporting violent
behavior. In area two, questions were designed to address how being adept in
Hawaiian culture facilitates good decisions about reporting violent behavior.
34
Area three explores the different barriers to reporting behavior such as feeling
ashamed, betraying members of your group, fear of parents finding out, fear of
retaliation, and fear that schools will not protect confidentiality. Finally, the last area
focuses on school climate and how that impacts reporting behavior for Native
Hawaiians. For example, questions include, “Do students feel their schools provide
a safe environment to report violent behavior?” and “Are any adults they can talk to
if you have a problem?”
Data Collection Analysis
From mid February to early March surveys were distributed across guidance
and health classes. Out of 250 surveys, 113 were completed and analyzed. For data
analysis, the researcher downloaded the survey responses from Survey Monkey on to
SPSS 18 for statistical analysis. First, descriptive data was given to reflect the overall
percentages of respondents in the different categories of violence. Descriptive
statistics such as frequency distributions, group means, percentages, and standard
deviations for each comparison group will be computed. To begin the analysis, the
researcher ran the frequencies for the whole sample.
The researcher used Chi-square non-parametric tests to see if the distributions
of frequencies of violence would be what I expect to occur by chance (Salkind,
2008). This analysis was used to calculate the responses for data that relates to
gender, and cultural affiliation to see if their responses are equally distributed across
the different types of violence. The second analysis used were t- tests and variance
35
tests to analyze the dispersion of scores on the questions, which involved Likert
scores (Salkind, 2008). Findings from the analysis will be presented in chapter 4.
36
CHAPTER 4
FINDINGS
Introduction
This chapter will discuss the results for the following three major research
questions.
RQ 1: What are the rates and types of unreported non-fatal violence
occurring among Native Hawaiian high school students on O’ahu ages 14-18?
RQ 1a: Do rates and types of violence experienced vary by victim
characteristics such as gender, grade, age, cultural identification, mother’s education,
or father’s education?
RQ 2: Do Native Hawaiian students report violent behavior or not based on
the type of violence?
RQ 2a: Who do Native Hawaiian high school victims of violence tell about
their experience?
RQ 2b: Do the people in whom the students confide vary by victim
characteristics such as gender, grade, age, cultural identification, mother’s education,
or father’s education.
RQ 3: What barriers do Native Hawaiian students perceive about reporting
violent behavior?
RQ 3a: To what extent does cultural identification as a Native Hawaiians
seen as helpful or a barrier when reporting violent behavior.
37
Sample
From February to early March the researcher distributed 250 surveys across
select guidance classes for a 45% response rate. Students were first given a parent
permission form, which had to be signed and returned. Upon returning a signed
completion of the parent form, students were sent an email that directed them to the
survey link on Survey Monkey data collector. This access allowed the students to
complete the survey at their leisure at school or the privacy of their own home.
School administrators including the counselors helped to identify eligible students of
Native Hawaiian ancestry. The surveys were distributed in guidance classrooms in a
large private school. The sample taken for this study was taken from 113 Native
Hawaiian high school students ages 14 -18 of which 113 completed the survey.
The survey participants are described by the first six questions of the survey
that covered demographics of the sample. The sample is described as being 58%
female and 42% male. The rest of the sample is described as follows.
38
Table 4.1. Demographics of sample

Demographics Response percent %
Gender
Male 41%
Female 58%
Grade
9 13%
10 49%
11 4%
12 34%
Ethnically Hawaiian 97%
Cultural identified as Native Hawaiian 57%
Culturally identified as American 31%
Culturally identified as other
(i.e. Polynesian, Filipino, Asian etc.)
12%
Mother's education
Yes, some college 70%
No college 30%
Father's education
Yes some college 57%
No college 43%
Age
14-15 54%
16 14%
17 20%
18 13%
39
The largest groups of respondents of the survey were 10
th
graders at 49 %,
followed by 12 graders (34 %), 9
th
graders (13%), and 11
th
graders (4%). Overall, 97
percent of students self identified as being Hawaiian or part Hawaiian. Culturally,
57 % of the students identified the most with their Hawaiian culture followed by 31
% of students who identified the most with American culture. The remaining 12 %
self identified themselves as ethnically Asian, Samoan, Polynesian, Filipino, and
African. These respondents were grouped as others for the purpose of analysis.
Table 4.2 also shows student feelings concerning having a strong background in
Hawaiian culture.

Table 4.2. Grade and background in HC

Dependent Variable
What grade
are you in?
What grade
are you in
Mean
Difference
Std
error
Sig
I consider myself to
have a strong
background in HC
9 10
11
12
-1.53
-.257
.248
.192
.333
.200
.425
.729
.004**
10 9
11
12
-.153
-.257
.402**
.192
.299
.135
.425
.729
.004**
11 9
10
12
.257
.104
.505
.333
.299
.304
.442
.729
.100
12 9
10
11
-.248
-.402*
-.505
.200
.135
.304
.217
.004**
.100
40
Significant effects were found in Table 4.2 between the sophomores and the
seniors in the statistical comparisons, which showed that seniors felt more strongly
than sophomores and freshman about having a strong background in Hawaiian
culture.
Mother's and father's education
Seventy percent of respondent’s mothers noted that their mother had some
kind of education, which ranged from some college to PhDs and professional degrees
like MDs and JDs. In contrast, 30 % of the mothers were reported to have no college
experience, a category that ranged from less than high school to high school
graduate. Students reported that 57 percent of fathers had some kind of college
education while 43 percent of fathers had no college education.
Fifty four percent of survey participants who answered the question about
their age reported to be between the ages of 14- and 15. Twenty percent reported to
be in the 17-year-old age group, 14 % were in the 16-year-old age group, and 13% of
respondents reported to be in the 18 year old age group (Table 4.1). The 14 and
fifteen year olds were placed into the 15-year-old category to help produce
statistically comparable results across age groups. Typically the 15-year-old category
represents freshman students and younger aged sophomores.
RQ 1: What are the rates and types of unreported non-fatal violence occurring
among Native Hawaiian high school students on O’ahu ages 14-18?
Overall the rates of violence are reported below on Table 4.3. The left
column indicates the number of times a student has been a victim of any of the
41
crimes reported in this study, which include assault, bullying, sexual harassment,
robbery, cyber harassment, and the offering of illegal drugs and alcohol on campus.
The frequencies are as follows:

Table 4.3. Rates of overall violence

Number of violent incidences
within the last 12 months over
6 categories of crime.
Number of students
N
Percents
%
0.00 26 23%
1.00 27 24%
2.00 25 22%
3.00 16 14%
4.00 7 6%
5.00 5 4%
6.0 7 2%
7.0 or more 3 3%
8.0 1 1%
9.0 1 1%
Total 113 100%

The data reflects that close to a quarter of the students did not have any
violent incident happen to them across the 6 categories of violence however, close to
75% percent of students had at least one violent crime happen to them. Also more
than 53 % percent of students reported to be victims of more than one violent act on
campus. Seventeen percent of students had been victims of violence four or more
42
times. These percentages suggest there are students who are being repeatedly
exposed to violence on a regular basis. This issue will be discussed in chapter 5.
Rates of violence by specific crime
Types of crime are reported by specific crime. If the students reported yes,
that means that they were a victim of that crime and that it happened on campus or
within a mile of campus. If the students reported No that means that they were not a
victim of that specific crime. The crime frequencies for the overall sample are
reported below in Table 4.4.

Table 4.4. Rates of violence by specific crime

Yes %
Theft 62
Offering of illegal drugs and alcohol. 38
Sexual harassment
Inappropriate remarks
28
Cyber Harassment
Inappropriate postings, photos, or messages on websites or social
networking sites like Face book or MySpace.
26
Bullying 20
Cyber Harassment
Inappropriate, threatening, or hurtful texts or emails.
19
Sexual Harassment. Unwanted touching 15
Assault 12
Robbery 2
43
The highest rates of non-fatal violence occurred with offering of illegal drugs
on campus 38% and theft, which was the most significant crime, reported on campus
at 62%. These two items concerning drug use and theft are consistent with the
literature that says that Hawaiians have relatively strong community and family ties,
but often live in difficult social environments, which are plagued by drugs, crime and
violence (Pase, 2003).
The percentages of students who were offered illegal drugs and or alcohol are
also consistent with the state of Hawaii department of health surveys among high
school students, which showed the rates of alcohol, tobacco and drug use were
higher among Native Hawaiians than statewide rates. For example by the 10
th
grade,
50 % of Hawaiians will have tried or used some kind of illicit substance including
inhalants, marijuana, cocaine, methamphetamines, heroin, hallucinogens, and
steroids, in comparison to the state rate of 37 percent (HSDH, 2000).
Overall, 28% of student respondents experienced some kind inappropriate
sexual remark. Also, fifteen percent of students had experienced unwanted touching
of areas of the body considered private. According to the literature, Native
Hawaiians were more likely to be victims of sexual harassment and assault with most
of those victims being women when compared to their peers in other ethnic
categories (Lai and Saka, 1999). In the area of cyber bullying, 26% percent of the
student respondents reported to be victims of inappropriate postings of photos or
messages on social networking sites like Face book or My Space. Close to 20 % of
respondents experienced some kind of inappropriate, threatening, or hurtful e-mail
44
from another student. Lastly about 20 % of students were victims of being bullied by
other students.
It is interesting to note that the two lowest percentages based on type of crime
fell under assault 12% and robbery 2%. These percentages maybe so low, because
of the perpetrators fear of being released from the private school, which has meant
that the violence tends to be less overt to avoid detection from authorities.
RQ 1a. Do rates and types of violence experienced vary by victim characteristics
such as gender, grade, age, cultural identification, mother’s education, and
father’s education?
Violence by gender
When the researcher compared rates of violence to gender there were two
significant findings Table 4.5 (X2= 6.38, df= 2, p<. 05).

Table 4.5. Violence and gender

Male %
(N=46)
Female %
(N=65)
Total Sample %
(N=111)
Assault 17 8 11%
Bullying 20 20 20%
Sex Assault 7 22* 15%
Sex remarks 67 73 12%
Robbery 2 2 2%
Threatening emails or text messages 9 26 * 19%
Inappropriate postings on my space
or Face book
18 32 26%
Illegal drugs and alcohol 40 38 38%
Theft 67 58.5 61%
Statistically significant *p< .05
45
Unwanted sexual touching is a form of sexual assault. The first finding is that
girls were more likely to experience this form of sexual assault than their male
counterparts. This finding is supported by the research that Native Hawaiian girls
are more likely to be sexually assaulted by a peer or a classmate (Lee and Saka,
1999). This finding is supported by the research that finds that Native Hawaiian girls
are more likely to be sexually assaulted by a peer or classmate. The research done by
Timmerman (2003), also reports that one in four girls are confronted with unwanted
sexual behavior at school as opposed to one in ten boys being confronted
(Timmerman, 2003).
The second is that girls were more likely to be sent threatening emails in
comparison to their male peers. One interesting observation is that the same gender
disparity is not found on the other cyber harassment question concerning
inappropriate postings on My Space or Face book. In general, the rate of
inappropriate postings on these social networks is higher for girls (26%) however,
perhaps it’s the threatening nature of the emails and text messages variable that lends
itself to be more targeted at women as opposed to a post on a social networking site
which could be just and inappropriate comment or picture directed at a student.
Violence by grade level
When the researcher compared rates of violence by grade level there were
two significant findings (Table 4.6). The students’ responses were aggregated into
9
th
and 10
th
graders located in the 9-10 column while the 11-12 graders responses
were aggregated in the 11-12 column. This allowed the rates of violence to be
46
compared statistically between grade levels. The aggregation makes sense because
the 9
th
and 10
th
graders reside in different areas of campus in comparison to 11
th
and
12
th
graders.

Table 4.6. Violence and grade level

9-10
% (N=69)
11-12
% (N=41)
Total Sample
% (N=110)
Assault 12 12 11
Bullying 19 20 20
Sex Harassment 12 21 15
Sex remarks 63 80 12
Robbery 1 2 2
Threatening emails or text messages 17 21 19
Inappropriate postings on my space
or Face book
29 22 26
Illegal drugs and alcohol 25 61** 38
Theft 54 76* 61
Statistically significant: * =p<. 05 **p<. 01

The first significant finding was that students who resided in the 11-12 grade
group were more than twice as likely (61%) to be offered drugs and or alcohol on
campus in comparison to their 9-10
th
grade peers (25%). The second significant
finding was that incidences of theft also significantly increased between grade levels.
A whopping 76 percent of students surveyed in the 11-12
th
grade group had
something stolen from them within the past 12 months on campus.
47
In my conversations with school counselors about these problems it was
acknowledged that drugs and theft have become major issues on their campus
(campus counselor, 2010). This private school has a zero tolerance for drugs and
alcohol on campus. If students are found in possession of drugs or alcohol they are
immediately dismissed (school handbook, 2010). However, it does not appear that
the threat of expulsion has tempered the existence and availability of drugs on
campus especially in the older grades. The increasing rate could be due to students
moving through the school to higher grades or it could be that this particular cohort
of seniors may always had a problem with high drug use.
This pattern showed itself again when the rates of violence were compared by
age. In Table 4.7, students were placed into four groups ages 14 -18. The fourteen
year olds were placed with the 15 year olds to create the critical mass needed to run
the Chi-square analysis.
Overall the relationship between crimes reported and age was significant for
illegal drugs (x2=20.74, df=3, p<. 01) and theft (x2=10.04, df=3, p<. 05. These data
suggest that as the students get older their exposure to drugs and alcohol increases.
The researcher is unsure whether the theft and the drug use may be related as the
survey did not ask what kind of drugs the students are being offered and at what cost.
It could be that the theft may be supporting drug habits among the students.
48
Table 4.7. Age and violence

15
% (N=59)
16
% (N=15)
17
% (N=22)
18
% (N=14)
Total sample
% (N=110)
Assault 14 0 14 14 11
Bullying 22 7 13 33 20
Sex Harassment 10 20 22 21 15
Sex remarks 67 67 80 75 12
Robbery 2 0 4 0 2
Threatening emails
or text messages
17 33 22 7 19
Inappropriate
postings on my
space or Face book
30 20 29 13 26
Illegal drugs and
alcohol
29** 7** 65** 67** 38
Theft 50* 60* 78* 87* 61
Statistically significant: * =p<. 05 **p<. 01

Variables with no statistically significant differences
No statistical difference was found in the rates of violence between students
who identified themselves as Native Hawaiians as compared to those students who
identified themselves as culturally American. Although Natives Hawaiians are an
ethnically diverse group the majority of students identified with being culturally
Hawaiian (56%) or culturally American (31%). The remaining 13% fell into a group
called other which included students who culturally identified the most with Asian
(4%), Filipino (2%), Polynesian (4%), African American (1%), Polynesian (1%), and
other (1%). Statistically significant information was found when cultural identity
49
was compared with the person whom students confide, which will be covered later in
this chapter.
No statistically significant variation was found when rates of violence were
compared to education of mothers and fathers. In general, the parents of these
particular students were educated. Overall, 70% of mothers of the students were
reported by the students to have some kind of kind of college education, which
ranged from taking a few college classes to completing their four-year degree, PhD
and professional degrees such as an MD or a JD. The 30 % of mothers who did not
have college experience were reported to having some high school or having a high
school diploma. In contrast, 57 % of fathers of the students were reported to having
some kind of college education while 44 percent of fathers were reported to have no
college education. When education of parents was compared to different crime
variables there was no statistically significant difference between the students whose
parents had attended college or those whose parents had not.
RQ 2: Do Native Hawaiian students report violent behavior or not
based on the type of violence?
In analyzing the data from Table 4.8 we find in column A that in all types of
crime, victims were more likely to not tell someone that a violent incident has
happened. It was interesting to note that the highest group of students who reported
was victims of theft, which is shown by rank order in column A. Although drugs
ranked second highest in frequency among non-fatal crimes it ranked last when it
came to being reported by students (column B). The data may suggest that perhaps
50
students report the theft in hopes that the item may be returned to the office or may
be found by a teacher or administrator. Or students may see theft as a more personal
attack and would feel more compelled to tell someone. However, it is clear that
although students are exposed to drugs at much higher frequencies, they are less
likely to report. This issue will be discussed further in chapter 5.

Table 4.8. Crime reported compared to frequency reported

Type of violence
Column A

Report Yes
Valid %
Column B

Frequency
reported
in survey.
Valid %
Theft 48 (1) 62 (1)
Bullying 35 (2) 20 (5)
Robbery 33 (3) 2 (9)
Touching 24 (4) 15 (7)
Assault 22 (5) 12 (8)
Sexual remarks 17 (6) 28 (3)
Threatening emails or text messages 11 (7) 19 (6)
Inappropriate postings on My Space or
Face Book
11 (7) 26 (4)
Drugs 4 (9) 38 (2)

It is also interesting to note that inappropriate postings and threatening emails
or text messages were the violence variables that were most likely to go unreported
to others. Some of the comments recorded on the survey by students suggest that
51
many times postings can be done anonymously online and finding the perpetrators
can be very difficult. The same can be said for texting. If a perpetrator sends a text
from an anonymous number, finding them can be difficult. The number would show
up as “unknown” on the caller ID.
RQ 2a: Who do Native Hawaiian high school victims of violence tell
about their experience?
In Table 4.9 students were asked if they were the victims of any violent
incidences covered in the survey, whom would they most likely report to.

Table 4.9. Whom would they most likely report to

People that students confide in.
Frequency
% (N=113)
Close friend or classmate 66
Parents 20
Sibling or trusted member of the family 9
Counselor 7
Other 6
Teacher 2
Grandparent 1
None of the above 1
School administrator such as a Vice principal 0

This chart clearly shows that friends are the number one option for reporting
violent behavior followed by parents and siblings. None of the students felt that the
VP was an option for reporting violent behavior even though he would be directly
52
involved in the investigation of these violent incidences on campus. For the purpose
of statistical analysis to compare students’ preferred confidant I compressed the three
groups into agents of the family, agents of the school, and friends. Most if not all the
students fell into one of these three groups. The agents that did not fall into the
groups listed above were a mix of agents including boyfriends, a dorm advisor, and
god. This group was left out of the statistical analysis because the sample was too
small.
RQ 2b: Do the people in whom the students confide vary by victim
characteristics such as gender, grade, age, cultural identification,
mother’s education, or father’s education.
Variables with no statistically significant differences
After the different reporting agents were collapsed into three different
categories comparisons were made for these groups against different characteristics
of the victim including gender, grade, age, cultural identification, mother’s
education, and father’s education to see if these characteristics were related to the
victim’s choice of confidant. The analysis showed that there was no significant
difference between boys and girls and whom they confide in. There was also no
statistical difference in the student’s reporting behavior in relation to grade, age
level, and parent’s education. However there was statistical significance found in the
last variable analyzed, which was the cultural identification of the victims.
53
Table 4.10. Confidant vs. cultural identification of victim

Haw %
(N=62)
American %
(N=32)
Friend 57* (N=34) 43 (N=26)
Family 82* (N=23) 18 (N=5)
School 83* (N=5) 17 (N=1)
*Statistically significant. P< .05

Earlier in the chapter the discussion about cultural identity found that Native
Hawaiian respondents identified themselves culturally into two major groups, those
who identify culturally as Native Hawaiians and those who culturally identified
themselves as American. Using a Chi-square analysis, Table 4.10 shows that across
the three groups, students that culturally identified as Native Hawaiian were more
likely to confide in someone than their peers who identified themselves as culturally
American. The most significant difference was in the family where 82 percent of
students who self identified as being culturally Hawaiian confided in family
members while only 18 percent of students who culturally identified as American
would confide in family. Students who identified as culturally Hawaiian were more
likely to confide in their friends than students that identified as Americans.
It would be interesting to see what part of Hawaiian culture is it that makes it
more likely for them to report to these agents. Is it the family unit known as ‘ohana?
Are culturally Hawaiian students more open to talk about their feelings than students
who identify as culturally American? Another question in the culture and reporting
54
behavior section of the survey, asked if having a strong background in Hawaiian
culture helped them to make good decisions about reporting violent behavior.
According to the data collected form the survey 53 % of respondents agreed or
strongly agreed (17%) with this statement. Forty four percent disagreed with this
statement while 3% strongly disagreed with this statement.
RQ3: What barriers do Native Hawaiian students perceive about
reporting violent behavior?
For this question Table 4.11 was created to show the statement that students
most agreed upon as a barrier to reporting a violent act.

Table 4.11. Barriers to reporting behavior

Barrier
Strongly agree-
Agree %
Loss of anonymity 57
No protection from retaliation. 56
Betrayal of friends 44
Feeling ashamed 37
Fear of parents finding out. 36
Not having a trusted adult to confide in. 25
Not trusting authority 17
55
Overall, the three barriers that the students felt most strongly about were their
fear of losing anonymity, the lack of the schools ability to protect the student from
retaliation, and the betrayal of friends. The two barriers students felt least strongly
about were not having a trusted adult to confide in, and not trusting authority figures.
Overall, students felt strongly that there were trusted adults that they could confide in
on campus. When students were asked if their school provided a safe environment to
report violent behavior, 77 % agreed or strongly agreed with that statement. As a
sub question relating to barriers, students were asked if it was important to students
that the adults they confide in understood them as a Native Hawaiian (culture,
community, and background). When asked about this statement the majority (75%)
agreed or strongly agreed that the adult they confided in needed to understand them
as a Hawaiian.
Questions by Sub group
Gender
In this part of the analysis the researcher took the questions concerning
barriers and ran T-tests and ANOVAs for the Likert scale questions to see if any
statistical differences would show across characteristics of the victim such as gender,
grade, age, cultural identification, mother’s education, or father’s education. In the
area of gender, Table 4.12 shows three questions that showed significant data. The
answers are based on a four point Likert scales ranging from strongly agree to
strongly disagree.
56
Table 4.12. Gender and barriers

Question
What is
your
gender
Mean
Std
deviation
Significance
Sig. (2-
tailed)
Male 2.04 .852 .003** Having a strong background in
Hawaiian culture helps me to make
good decisions when it comes to
reporting violent behavior.
Female 2.52 .685 .000**
Male 2.29 .815 I would not report violent
incidences in my school because I
feel that telling an adult is a
betrayal to my classmates. (I.e.
ratting someone out
Female 2.88 .857 .005**
Male 2.66 .963 In my home, I am taught that if I am
being bullied or picked on in school
I must fight back rather than tell an
adult.
Female 2.82 .917
Statistically significant: * =p<. 05 **p<. 01

The first statement concerns how Native Hawaiian students feel about how
having a strong cultural background helps students make better decisions about
reporting violent behavior. In this analysis there was a significant effect for gender t
(109)=-3.09, p<. 003, with boys agreeing more strongly than girls. The second
statement asked if betrayal to classmates was a barrier to reporting violent behavior
to adults. In this question, there was a significant effect for gender t (106)=-3.64, p<.
000, with boys agreeing more strongly than women. Lastly, a statement was made
about the degree to which students are taught in the home to fight back when
confronted by bullying in school instead of reporting to an adult. The T-test revealed
57
a significant effect for gender t (108)=3.01, p < 005, with boys agreeing more
strongly than the girls.
Mother’s education
A statistical significance was also found in the same statement concerning
being taught to fight a bully instead of reporting to an adult when the statement was
broken out by mother’s education. In the earlier questions, students identified their
parents as either a 1 (having some form of college education) or a 0 (not having any
formal college education). Table 4.13 shows the breakdown of the statement by
education of the mother.

Table 4.13. Mother’s education vs. barriers

Question
What is
your
education Mean
Std
deviation
Significance
Sig. (2-
tailed)
Some
college
2.91 .885 .005** In my home, I am taught that if I
am being bullied or picked on in
school I must fight back rather
than tell an adult.
No college 2.26 .915
Statistically significant: * =p<. 05 **p<. 01

These data shows a significant effect for mothers education, t (99)=3.01, p<.
005, with students of educated moms reporting higher scores. In this case, students
with educated moms were more likely to disagree with this statement as compared to
students of moms without any college education who would agree more with this
58
statement. However, no statistically significant effect was found when the same
statements were broken down by father’s educational background.
Results –Grade comparison
In Table 4.14 students were asked if there is at least one trusted adult in the
school that they could talk to when they had a problem. Twelve graders felt more
strongly about having at least one trusted adult in the school they can talk to if they
have a problem in comparison to 9
th
graders. This could be attributed to the fact that
students may have not built up a network of trusted adults that they can turn to until
they reach the later grades or it could reflect a lack of support in the lower grades for
victims of violence.

Table 4.14. Barriers and trusted adults

Dependent Variable What grade
are you in?
What grade
are you in Mean
Std
error Sig
9 10
11
12
1.78
1.40
1.39
.187
.332
.196
.813
.211
.006*
I feel there is at least
one teacher or adult in
this school I can talk to
if I have a problem
10 9
11
12
1.73
1.40
1.39
.187
.300
.136
.813
.211
.006
11 9
10
12
1.73
1.78
1.39
.332
.300
.306
.317
.211
.986
12 9
10
11
1.73
1.78
1.40
.196
.136
.306
.087
.006*
.986
Statistically significant: * =p<. 05 **p<. 01
59
In Table 4.15 students were asked if they felt more comfortable confiding in
an adult who understands them as a Native Hawaiian. Interestingly, seniors felt more
strongly than sophomores when asked about this statement.

Table 4.15. Grade and comfort in reporting

Dependent Variable
What grade
are you in?
What grade
are you in? Mean
Std
error Sig
9 10
11
12
2.24
2.00
1.84
.207
.364
.215
.259
1.0
.464
I am more comfortable
telling my problems to an
adult who understands me
as a Native Hawaiian
(culture, community,
background
10 9
11
12
2.00
2.00
1.84
.207
.331
.151
.259
.478
.011*
11 9
10
12
2.00
2.24
1.84
.364
.331
.336
1.000
.478
.639
12 9
10
11
2.00
2.24
2.00
.215
.151
.336
.464
.011*
.639
Statistically significant: * =p<. 05 **p<. 01

Results –Age comparison
The findings by age resemble the findings by grade level when students were
asked about these three questions:
60

1. I consider myself to have a strong background in Hawaiian culture.
2. I am more comfortable telling my problems to someone who understands
me as a Hawaiian.
3. I feel there is at least one adult I can talk to if there is a problem.
The 16 year olds who are considered sophomores and the 18 year olds who
are considered seniors showed the same statistical significance in these statements
pertaining to cultural identity and reporting. This means that the older students felt
more strongly about having a strong background in Hawaiian culture, were more
comfortable confiding in someone who understood them as a Hawaiian, and felt
there was at least one trusted adult they could talk to when there was a problem.
RQ 3a: To what extent does cultural identification as a Native Hawaiians
seen as helpful or a barrier when reporting violent behavior?
Results-Cultural identification
In this analysis responses were broken out into three groups that self
identified as being culturally Native Hawaiian (1), American (2), or other (3). Anova
analysis was done to sort responses to questions concerning barriers, cultural
identification, and reporting behavior. It is not surprising in Table 4.16 to find that
students who identify culturally as Hawaiians felt more comfortable confiding in
someone who understood them as a Native Hawaiian in comparison to students who
identified culturally as American.
61
Table 4.16. Comfort and cultural ID

Dependent Variable
Culturally I
most identify
with
Culturally I
most identify
with Mean
Std
error Sig
1 2 2.41 .146 .000**
3 2.25 .212 .060
2 1 1.85 .146 .000**
3 2.25 .229 .496
3 1 1.85 .212 .060
I am more comfortable
telling my problems to an
adult who understands me
a Native Hawaiian
2 2.41 .229 .496
Statistically significant: * =p<. 05 **p<. 01

In Table 4.17 students were asked if having a strong background in Hawaiian
culture helps me to make good decisions when it comes to reporting violent
behavior. In this statement students who self identified as NH felt strongly about this
statement as apposed to students who self identified as American.

Table 4.17. Cultural ID and making good decisions

Dependent
Variable
Culturally I
most identify
with
Culturally I
most identify
with
Mean
Difference
Std
error Sig
1 2 2.65 .161 .002*
3 2.42 .239 .247
2 1 2.14 .161 .002*
3 2.42 .255 .369
3 1 2.14 .239 .247
Having a strong
background in
Hawaiian culture
helps me to make
good decisions when
it comes to reporting
violent behavior
2 2.65 .255 .369
62
In Table 4.18, when students were given a violent situation such as a bully
picking on them at school, the students who identified as Native Hawaiian strongly
agreed that in their home they are taught to confront the bully rather than tell the
adult. These are the same students that felt that having a strong Hawaiian cultural
background helps them make good decisions when reporting violent behavior. This
suggests that even though Native Hawaiian students may feel that Hawaiian culture
helps them to make better decisions about reporting violent behavior they still are
being taught that violence is justified in certain situations.

Table 4.18. Cultural ID and fighting back

Dependent
Variable
Culturally I
most identify
with
Culturally I
most identify
with Mean
Std
error Sig
1 2 3.00 .193 .021*
3 3.18 .297 .035*
2 1 2.55 .193 .021*
3 3.18 .315 .565
3 1 2.55 .297 .035*
In my home if I
am being bullied
or picked on in
school I must
fight back rather
than tell an adult.
2 3.00 .315 .565
Statistically significant: * =p<. 05 **p<. 01

Conclusion
Overall, 75 percent of students surveyed were victims of at least one violent
incident on campus. Over half of students surveyed were victims of more than one
crime. The number one crime on campus was theft followed by the offering of
63
illegal drugs and alcohol on campus, and sexual harassment (inappropriate sexual
remarks). The lowest occurring crimes by frequency on campus were assault and
robbery. Girls were most likely to be sexually assaulted (unwanted touching) than
males on campus and were more likely to be threatened by email or text message.
The data shows that as students move from the 9-10 campus to the 11-12
campuses, theft and exposure to drugs and alcohol increases at a significant level.
However, the researcher is unsure whether this is happening among just this cohort
of seniors or if it’s a symptom of student’s movement into the older grades. Students
who identified as Native Hawaiian were more likely to tell someone about a violent
incident on campus.
Overall, if students did report a violent incident it would most likely be theft
(48%) or bullying (35%). In contrast drugs was the second highest crime reported on
the survey in frequency but was ranked last when it came to reporting. The data
shows that students are making clear choices on what violent incidences they should
report. It was also evident that cyber crimes were also at the bottom when it came to
the likelihood of reporting. Some students expressed in the survey that not much
could be done about cyber crime due to the anonymity of the perpetrator.
Students were more likely to tell their friends about a violent incident in
school followed by their peers and siblings. Vice principals and agents of the schools
were the least likely to be confided in by a victim. Students felt that loss of
anonymity, lack of protection from retaliation, and betrayal of friends were powerful
barriers when it came to reporting violent behavior. The majority of students also felt
64
that it was important that adults they confide in understood them as a Native
Hawaiian (culture, community, and background). Finally, students surveyed felt that
having a strong background in Hawaiian culture helps them to make good decisions
when reporting violent behavior.
65
CHAPTER 5
DISCUSSION
Introduction
The purpose of this study was to explore Native Hawaiian high schools
students experience with non-fatal violence and reporting behavior. The sample
taken for this study was taken from 113 Native Hawaiian high school students ages
14 -18 of who 113 completed the survey. The surveys were distributed in guidance
classrooms in a large private school. School administrators including the counselors
helped to identify eligible students of Native Hawaiian ancestry. From February to
early March the researcher distributed 250 surveys across select guidance classes for
a 45% response rate. The research questions chosen for this analysis were as follows.
RQ 1: What are the rates and types of unreported non-fatal violence
occurring among Native Hawaiian high school students on O’ahu ages 14-18?
RQ 1a: Do rates and types of violence experienced vary by victim
characteristics such as gender, grade, age, cultural identification, mother’s education,
or father’s education?
RQ 2: Do Native Hawaiian students report violent behavior or not based on
the type of violence?
RQ 2a: Who do Native Hawaiian high school victims of violence tell about
their experience?
66
RQ 2b: Do the people in whom the students confide vary by victim
characteristics such as gender, grade, age, cultural identification, mother’s education,
or father’s education.
RQ 3: What barriers do Native Hawaiian students perceive about reporting
violent behavior?
RQ 3a: To what extent does cultural identification as a Native Hawaiians
seen as helpful or a barrier when reporting violent behavior.
Key Findings
Rates of violence
The data gathered from respondents provided a rich picture of the frequency
and types of violence that can be found in their school. The first key finding was
that 75 % of students were victims of at least one of the major non-fatal violence
variables, which included bullying, cyber harassment, assault, robbery, sexual
harassment, theft, and the promotion of drugs and alcohol on campus. It was also
reported that over half of the students were victims of a violent act more than once
on campus. Seventeen percent were victims four or more times on campus. The data
suggest that even though this school is a private school there is violence happening
between Native Hawaiian students, which should be a cause for concern among
administrators.
The number one crime on campus was theft followed by the offering of
illegal drugs and alcohol on campus, and sexual harassment (inappropriate sexual
remarks). The lowest occurring crimes by frequency on campus were assault and
67
robbery. Girls were most likely to be sexually assaulted (unwanted touching) than
males on campus and were more likely to be threatened by email or text message.
The data shows that as students move from the 9-10 campus to the 11-12
campuses, theft and exposure to drugs and alcohol increases at a significant level.
However, the researcher is unsure whether this is happening among just this cohort
of seniors or if it’s a symptom of student’s movement into the older grades.
The important thing to realize here is that the rates of violence in this private
school are high and are comparable to violence that we see in public high schools
among students of Native Hawaiian ancestry. In recent years the demographics of
this school has become more like those of public high schools due to the change in
its admissions policies to allow a larger diversity of students including those with
indigent or orphaned backgrounds. It is also important to note that these students are
coming from the same troubled Native Hawaiian communities that are plagued with
violence and poverty (Affonso, Shibuya, and Frueh, 2007).
Gender and rates of violence
When rates of violence were broken out by gender, women were more likely
to be sexually harassed than their male peers. Women were also more likely to be
threatened by email or text message then male students. This finding is in line with
the current research, which shows that Native Hawaiian females were more likely to
be sexually assaulted by a peer or classmate (Lai, and Saka, 1999). One interesting
observation is that the same gender disparity was not found in the other cyber
harassment question concerning inappropriate postings on My Space or Face book.
68
However in discussions with counselors there have been many cases already in
which girls have harassed each other by posting inappropriate messages on Face
book and My Space.
In the conversations with school officials, I learned that the school has tried
to educate students on the dangers of online social networking as well as policies that
forbid the misuse of computer equipment on campus. However, students have said
anecdotally that the policy and consequences concerning computer use are unclear.
Many on campus also feel that social networking sites like Face Book can be
valuable tools when used responsibly. Currently, rules governing computer use are
evolving as we speak. Guidelines are currently being created to deal with issues of
cyber crime on campus (school official, 2010).
Who do they tell?
The issue of reporting is a complex one. The data suggests that few students
formally report any of these crimes and yet they do tell others, specifically their
friends, about them. In other words, there is a huge behavioral difference between
reporting (formally) and telling. Students know these crimes are happening because
they tell each other. What they don’t seem to be doing is accessing the formal
reporting network of adults that are trained to handle these types of situations.
Students were more likely to tell their friends about a violent incident in
school followed by their peers and siblings. Vice principals and agents of the schools
were the least likely to be confided in by a victim. Students felt that loss of
anonymity, lack of protection from retaliation, and betrayal of friends were powerful
69
barriers when it came to reporting violent behavior. It seems as though the majority
of students feel that the formal reporting network of adults cannot protect them in
ways that would allow them to report violent behavior. This is a key element for
administrators to figure out if they hope to help students report violent behavior.
The majority of students also felt that it was important that adults they
confide in understood them as a Native Hawaiian (culture, community, and
background). This is an important finding for counselors and administrators to note.
Students are also saying that adults need to take the time to know them and where
they come from so to perhaps build better conditions or relationships for reporting to
occur. This will take more contact time with counselors and students. Many
counselors felt they had not time to meet with the students as much as they wanted to
due to their current workload. In some cases they may only talk to students for a few
brief moments concerning their schedules or college plans. Finally, students
surveyed felt that having a strong background in Hawaiian culture helps them to
make good decisions when reporting violent behavior. I am not sure how Hawaiian
culture helps to make good decisions in reporting or what constitutes a good decision
for a student when it comes to reporting. Apparently, a good decision for them might
be protecting their friends and peers. This finding needs to be explored in much more
depth in a future study. I am also not sure what aspects of Hawaiian culture help
students make good decisions when reporting violent behavior. Is it Hawaiian values
or lessons learned from their ancestors such as aloha (love) and malama (caring)? Is
70
it things that they are taught in Hawaiian communities that they carry with them to
make decisions about reporting violent behavior?
Overall, if students did report a violent incident it would most likely be theft
(48%) or bullying (35%).An interesting finding emerged when I looked at the
frequency of the crimes committed and compared them to the students ranking of
crimes they were most likely to report. In contrast, drugs, was the second highest
crime reported on the survey in frequency but was ranked last when it came to
reporting. The data shows that students are making clear moral choices on what
violent incidences they should report. If they had something stolen from them or
were getting bullied they were more likely to report that as apposed to a student
offering them drugs on campus. This means that the students are very accepting or
silently accepting the existence of drugs on campus. Perhaps as mentioned earlier in
the chapter the barriers that were identified such as protection of anonymity, not
wanting to betray their friends, etc. have discouraged students reporting the existence
of drugs on campus. It was also evident that cyber crimes were also at the bottom
when it came to the likelihood of reporting. Some students expressed in the survey
that not much could be done about cyber crime due to the anonymity of the
perpetrator.
Given the data it is clear however that students may report to someone but it
is clearly not the agents of the school. It is also surprising that not even one student
would tell the vice principal even though they would be directly responsible for
handling cases of violence on campus. Perhaps for students, they feel that nothing
71
can be done about the crimes that are happing, or the existence of drugs on the
campus.
The school surveyed does not have a drug policy; instead it has a zero
tolerance policy, which means if you are caught with drugs on campus you will face
expulsion from the school. However, this does not appear to have deterred the
students from bringing drugs on campus. In the case of theft, students were more
likely to report it however most times the perpetrator is never caught (School
official, 2010). The school also does not have any bullying, sexual harassment, or
LBGT support workshops integrated into the curriculum through the character
education or counseling departments.
Who would they report to?
When the respondents were asked about whom they would report to it was
overwhelmingly friends (58%) followed by parents (18%), and siblings (8%). The
researcher had hypothesized that grandparent would have been higher given that
more grandparents are raising children among Hawaiian families (Kokua Council,
2009). In Hawaii it is estimated that 14,000 grandparents are raising 35,000 school
age children in the state of Hawaii as their sole care provider (Kokua Council, 2009).
However, most students did not choose grandparent as a confidant. The survey also
did not ask who the primary caregiver of the home was whether that be a parent,
guardian, or grandparent. It is also important to note that none of the 113 students
surveyed felt comfortable reporting a violent incident to a vice principal and only 6
% felt comfortable confiding in a counselor.
72
One question the researcher would have liked to ask would be why they do
not feel comfortable telling their grade level counselor or outreach counselor that is
assigned to them. Is it because they do not feel close enough to share that kind of
information? Is it because they feel that adult involvement makes the problems
worse? These questions could be posed in a future study. However we do know that
when the students were asked specifically about if they feel more comfortable
confiding in someone that understands them as a Native Hawaiian, the majority
(75%) agreed or strongly agreed with that statement. If that were the case, the
researchers next question to be posed would be if students feel that their counselors
understand them as a Native Hawaiian.
After the different reporting agents were collapsed into three different
categories comparisons were made for these groups against different characteristics
of the victim including gender, grade, age, cultural id, mothers education, and fathers
education to see if these differences would affect who the victims would confide in.
The analysis showed that there was no significant difference between males and
females and whom they confide in. There was also no statistical significance in the
students reporting behavior in relation to grade, age level, and parent’s education.
However there was statistical significance found in the last variable analyzed, which
was the cultural ID of the victims.
Earlier in the chapter the discussion about cultural identity found that Native
Hawaiian respondents identified themselves culturally into two major groups, those
who identify culturally as Native Hawaiians and those who culturally identified
73
themselves as American. Using a Chi-square analysis, Table 4.10 shows that across
all groups’ students that ID’d as culturally Native Hawaiian were more likely to
confide in someone than their peers who identified themselves as culturally
American. The most significant difference was in the family where 82 percent of
students who self identified as being culturally Hawaiian confided in family
members while only 18 %of students who culturally identified as American would
confide in family.
Students who identified as culturally Hawaiian felt more likely to confide in
their friends than students that identified as Americans. This shows the positive
effect that cultural ID can have on reporting behavior. However we do not know
what it is about cultural identification that helps students report violent behavior. It
could be that the Hawaiian family unit often referred to as ‘ohana helps to provide
students a broad network of people in whom students can confide in.
Barriers to reporting
The first question about barriers to reporting tried to get at a possible distrust
of authority figures among Native Hawaiian students. The statement says, “In my
community where I grew up I was taught not to trust authority figures like (adults,
teachers, police etc.)”. Eighty three percent of students disagreed or strongly
disagreed with that statement while only 17% of students agreed or strongly agreed
with that statement. It was clear that most respondents did not feel that they were
taught to distrust adults or authority figures in their communities. However it could
74
be that students may not have issues with trusting authority in general but may have
doubts about how adults may handle sensitive situations.
When the barrier questions were broken by sub group some interesting
findings were shown in the area of gender (Table 4.12). When asked if Hawaiian
culture helps students make good decisions about reporting violent behavior males
were shown to have a more positive effect about this statement than females. Males
were also more likely to not report violent behavior to authorities because they do
not want to betray their classmates than females. When asked if students are taught
to fight back a bully when confronted rather than tell an adult, males were more
likely to agree with this statement than females at a significant level. It is clear that
males were more prone to protect their friends even though they were participants in
a violent act, and were more prone to responding to a violent situation with violence,
even though they said that Hawaiian culture helps them make better decisions about
reporting violent behavior.
Mother’s and father’s education
Another interesting finding was reported when students were asked about
being taught to fight back when being bullied when broken out by mother’s
education. Table 4.13 showed that students with educated mothers were less likely to
agree with that statement than students whose mothers were not educated. The
researcher would have hypothesized that fathers education would have had more of
an impact than mothers education being that moms are more of the nurturers of the
family unit. Father’s education had no significant effect on how the students felt
75
about this statement. This means that whether the father is educated or not, the
learned response to a bully could be violence. This could be attributed to differences
in how males and females cope when faced with violence.
Grade and barriers
Significant effects were found in Table 4.2 between the sophomores and the
seniors in the statistical comparisons, which showed that seniors felt more strongly
than sophomores about having a strong background in Hawaiian culture. In Table
4.14 students were asked if there is at least one trusted adult in the school that they
could talk to when they had a problem. Amongst 12 graders a positive effect was
observed for this statement in comparison to 9
th
graders. Seniors also had a
significant positive effect to this statement when compared to sophomores. The data
reflects trends that as students move through the school they may develop a stronger
cultural identity as well as better networks of relationships with adults in the school.
Or, it may be reflective of this certain cohort of seniors that they feel a strong
connection to their culture.
In conversations with other teachers, we speculated on why students would
identify culturally as Hawaiian, agree that being culturally grounded helps them
make good decisions about reporting violent behavior but not be able to make good
decisions about violence. Some teachers shared the possibility that answering yes to
being culturally connected is a response that has been conditioned by the school.
Perhaps students are constantly told that being Hawaiian is a positive thing to strive
for without the students or the faculty really knowing what that means. It would be
76
interesting to ask the students what exactly about Hawaiian culture helps them makes
better decisions about reporting or dealing with violent behavior.
In my conversations with counselors at the school it was felt by some that it
would also be nice to have students be mentored in the lower grades by adults being
that there is a 225 to 1 student to counselor ratio, which is typically better than the
public school where the ratio would be 450 to 1. In many cases, counselors said that
students in the lower grades hardly ever see their counselors unless there are serious
problems. It is important to note that having information on the rates of violence and
reporting behavior for Native Hawaiian students can help to guide decisions of
administrators to provide services to our students. Awareness of the problem will
hopefully help to guide conversations into a better place to help our students and
provide a safer environment to our schools.
Comfort and cultural ID
In this analysis responses were broken out into three groups that self
identified as being culturally Native Hawaiian (1), American (2), or other (3). Anova
analysis was done to sort responses to questions concerning barriers, cultural
identification, and reporting behavior. It is not surprising in Table 4.16 to find that
students who identify culturally as Hawaiians felt more comfortable confiding in
someone who understood them as a Native Hawaiian as apposed to students who
identified as American. However it is clear that cultural ID has a strong affect on
whether the student will more likely tell someone if that person can relate to the
victim. Overall, students overwhelmingly felt that the school provides a safe climate
77
for reporting violent behavior however students still choose to report to their friends
rather than tell adults.
Shame and reporting
When respondents were asked about shame and reporting. Sixty three percent
of respondents disagreed or strongly disagreed with the statement that feeling
shameful about the incident prevented them from reporting. The majority of
respondents clearly felt that they would not be afraid of their parents finding out if
they reported violent behavior. In the area of retaliation, when students were asked
about this statement, “I would not tell an adult about a violent incident on campus
because the adults cannot protect me from retaliation from other students.” Fifty six
percent of students agreed or strongly agreed with this statement while 43 percent
disagreed or strongly disagreed with this statement.
In a statement concerning anonymity students were asked to respond to this
statement: “I would not tell adults at school about a violent incident because I am
afraid people would find out its was me”. The majority of students 57 percent agreed
or strongly agreed with this statement while 44 percent of students disagreed or
strongly disagreed with this statement. However when these statements were broken
out into sub groups no significant findings were discovered in the T-tests analysis. I
had thought that more statistically significance would have come out of these barrier
questions. Fear of retaliation and shame had been powerful forces to keep students
from reporting in the literature.
78
Recommendations for Practice and Future Studies
My first recommendation would be to offer better classes for students to take
within the Guidance department that deals directly with violence. In my
conversations with counselors I found that some counselors had received training in
a new curriculum called “Respect,” a sexual violence prevention program. The
Respect curriculum not only focuses on sexual harassment but also on Internet
safety, sexual violence, and building healthy relationships. It also has a disclosure
component and follow-up component that allows students to report and get help.
Currently some information is presented to students in the lower grades on sexual
harassment, decision-making, and binge drinking but there is no real follow up after
the info is presented. In the upper grades most guidance programs at this school turn
their attention to managing stress, college and career planning, and financial aide.
According to this research, issues with drugs and alcohol increase
dramatically as the students move into the higher grades yet there is little help and
treatment for students. Instead, students risk getting caught and expelled from school
where there are little services provided for children of private schools. The school
handbook does not say that students will be expelled if drugs are found on a student.
It just lays out possible consequences such as in school suspension, expulsion from
school, and arrest. However the school has been pretty consistent in expelling
students caught on campus. Net year the handbook will be revised to reflect clearer
consequences for students that are caught with drugs on campus as well as having
clearer rules to govern cyber bullying. However it is important to not that teachers
79
were not given input into the revisions of the handbook so that information has not
been made available to the faculty.
My second recommendation is to harness the finding that students tell each
other about these crimes, and find ways to prepare the “listener” with skills to help
the victim. The school could offer a class on peer mentoring for older students. After
completion of this class, student can be strategically located in different parts of the
campus to offer guidance and support for teens to come and get help and to talk
about their problems. The peer mentors can help to bridge the gap between the
victims and the people that are supposed to provide services. Currently there is no
transformative aspect to how the issue of violence is being presented to the students.
Students take a guidance class for no-grade so perhaps many of them do not take it
seriously. There is no processing of the information by the students where students
can work through some of the issues and come up with their own solutions.
My third recommendation that more outside experts be brought in to talk to
the students to show the real consequences of their actions and how it can effect
them in the short term and the long run. Perhaps if the students could have insight
into the real life consequences of violence they would make better choices. For
example groups like the Hawaii Internet Crimes against Children task force could
provide real examples of cases where people on the Internet have hurt students and
their reputations. It seems that many students do not realize that when things get
posted on the internet, they become part of a permanent existence on the web that
80
may come back to haunt them. Or it could show how violent crimes are being
handled and prosecuted and to show the consequences for committing theses crimes.
My last recommendation would be to further study how Hawaiian cultural Id
affects students’ perceptions of violence. In some cases having a strong cultural Id
has been a benefit to students because they feel that they have a network of support
to tell someone and get help. However not much is known about what parts of
cultural Id might negatively or positively affect a student’s decision making process
when faced with violent situations. It is also clear that male masculinity still plays a
dominant role in a student’s decision to report violent behavior. Native Hawaiian
males are more likely to protect their peers when faced with reporting a violent
incident and they are more likely to be taught that fighting back is a good choice
when met with bullying in the schools.
One of the problems with this analysis is the definition of Hawaiian culture.
In the analysis, I did not define to the students what having a strong background
meant. It is the same question that has been asked numerous times by Native
Hawaiians every time the topic is raised. What is a good Hawaiian look like? Is it
enough to just have Hawaiian blood? Does a good Hawaiian speak their native
language? Does a good Hawaiian dance hula? Does a good Hawaiian exhibit cultural
values like aloha (love and mutual respect), and malama (to care for one another).
Another possibility is that males may feel that standing up against perceived injustice
or oppression may be part of male masculinity and the correct choice for a Hawaiian
given the historical and political context of Hawaii’s history. It also would be
81
interesting to find out how males and females perceive what being a good Hawaiian
is. Is it something that Hawaiians are born with, something that they have to work
through, or is it a journey of learned characteristics acquired over a lifetime?
It would be important to understand what teachers know about the violence
that is happening at the school. Is it because they are not seeing it or because they
think that nothing can be done about it. A qualitative study could be done to ask
questions about what teachers know about the violence problem at the school. Are
they surprised? Is it just what they expect at a large private school? Do the think
anything can be done to fix it? It would be interesting to find out from teachers their
thoughts and perspectives on the violence problem given that they are very close to
the students on a daily basis.
It would also be interesting to do a qualitative study on how the counselors
feel about the problem of violence in the school. In the researcher’s conversations
with counselors in setting up the study, counselors had very strong opinions on
solving the violence problem. They also feel very compelled to want to do something
to help the students and were not very surprised with some of the results. Most felt
that real fixes must come from the upper leadership level with increased, staff,
commitment, and resources.
The same qualitative study could be done for students to see why exactly
there is a reluctance to report to school authorities. It would be interesting to gather a
more rich perspective on why students turn to their friends instead of the school. It is
clear in this study that they feel there are trusted adults in the school they can turn
82
too especially in the higher grades where the drug use and theft appear to increase
with this cohort of kids. It would also be interesting to survey the same group of kids
over their four years to see how their attitudes change over time at the school in
relation to reporting violent behavior. We can also ask questions about who are the
perpetrators of these crimes? Are they athletes, close friends, or even adults at the
school.
Another issue that could be explored is the concept of loyalty. Students could
be asked their views on how they feel about having someone to talk to in the school
as compared to actually reporting a violent act. Students may feel that there are
people in the school that they could turn to in a bad situation but are reluctant to
report. Is it out of fear from the perpetrator? Is it the fact that student carries some
kind of unspoken power or status among their peers such as an athlete or someone
who is popular? These questions could be explored in depth in a qualitative study.
In closing, this school has a very public image and mission to serve children
from orphaned and indigent backgrounds. They have a chance to be proactive in this
regard now that they have research to inform their next steps and decisions moving
forward. However, it could be another opportunity to sweep this quietly under the
rug to avoid looking bad in the media and the press. If that is the case, we truly lose
out on an opportunity to serve the students and the mission of the school and to be a
model for other schools who serve Native Hawaiian children. In recent years the
school has done a lot of outreach in the Native Hawaiian community to educate
Hawaiians. In the meantime, the school has repeatedly been in the newspapers and
83
press concerning issues of violence in their school. Perhaps it is more important to
take care of ones own house and family first before trying to reach out to help others.
84
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APPENDIX
SURVEY

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Abstract (if available)

Abstract This dissertation is about school violence and reporting behavior among Native Hawaiian students. The study surveys a population of Native Hawaiians grades 9-12 to ask about the types of violence that happens in their school and who the student would report to if they were the victims of a violent incident. The study also looks at the barriers that students face to reporting violent behavior.

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Asset Metadata

Creator Wilhelm, Hans J. (author)

Core Title Who do we tell? School violence and reporting behavior among native Hawaiian high school students

School Rossier School of Education

Degree Doctor of Education

Degree Program Education

Publication Date 07/09/2010

Defense Date 05/06/2010

Publisher University of Southern California (original), University of Southern California. Libraries (digital)

Tag OAI-PMH Harvest,reporting behavior,school violence

Place Name Hawaii (states), islands: Oahu (geographic subject)

Language English

Contributor Electronically uploaded by the author (provenance)

Advisor Sundt, Melora A. (committee chair), Brewer, Dominic J. (committee member), Melguizo, Tatiana (committee member)

Creator Email hawilhel@ksbe.edu,hippoluva1@gmail.com

Permanent Link (DOI) https://doi.org/10.25549/usctheses-m3183

Unique identifier UC1232493

Identifier etd-Wilhelm-3926 (filename),usctheses-m40 (legacy collection record id),usctheses-c127-351366 (legacy record id),usctheses-m3183 (legacy record id)

Legacy Identifier etd-Wilhelm-3926.pdf

Dmrecord 351366

Document Type Dissertation

Rights Wilhelm, Hans J.

Type texts

Source University of Southern California (contributing entity), University of Southern California Dissertations and Theses (collection)

Repository Name Libraries, University of Southern California

Repository Location Los Angeles, California

Repository Email cisadmin@lib.usc.edu