Youth perceptions of their school violence risks

In order to gauge youth perceptions of school violence, this study links two perceptual bias literatures: third-person perception and optimistic bias. The intersection of the two literatures may be especially beneficial in understanding how adolescents process and interpret public health messages and subsequently engage in risk behaviors or self-protective behaviors in health contexts. Participants were 350 urban adolescents in school-based violence prevention sessions who completed a survey. Findings indicate shared predictors of third-person perception and optimistic bias (age, self-esteem) as well as differences (knowledge). The findings also provide insight into understanding how adolescents process and interpret public health messages and subsequently engage in risk behaviors or self-protective behaviors in health contexts.