A Study on the Vandalism Behavior of Middle School Students in Taiwan: The Nature and Demographic Differences of Vandalism and an Analytical Study on the Coping Strategies with Vandalism

Abstract

The main purpose of this study is to investigate the vandalism behaviors in middle school and the strategies of student's coping with vandalism as reported by self-declared middle school students; and to study the role of students' gender, grade and SES level differences in vandalism behavior, motivations and reaction. A total of middle school students gathered by a random sampling. Vandalism behavior has always happened in campus. One half of the students responding to the survey have vandalized school property in the past one year. This shows that vandalism is a very serious problem in school. Student vandalism more often takes the form of defacing rather than destruction. Significantly more boys than girls have been reported for defacing school property. Besides, grade and SES level also play an important role in vandalism, motivations and reaction to vandalism. Some of the many variables affecting motivations for and reactions to vandalism include differences in gender, grade and SES. For example, the higher a student's grade level, and the higher a student's SES, the more likely he is to engage in vandalism. Some aspects of student's reaction to vandalism were the main factors contributing to the prevalence of vandalism behavior were the strategies most highly recommended by students. Although most teachers will admonish vandals, they can't take away the motivation of fun that contributes to vandalism. In our conclusions, we provide relevant suggestions for adolescents, teachers, and educational authorities.