Living in a conflict zone: Where do students feel safe from violence

The importance of students' sense of safety to their well-being has been previously established, yet very little is known about their feeling of safety in schools and in other everyday locations. The present study examined the perceived safety in school, and in six other locations, of 1,110 Israeli adolescents. Feelings of safety were compared in students who lived in an armed conflict zone and in students who lived in a peaceful environment. Controlling for students' exposure to violence both in school and out of school, the findings revealed that students living in a conflict zone perceived schools as very unsafe, whereas students living in other areas perceived schools as very safe. Also, females and students living in a conflict zone reported feeling less safe than males and students living in peaceful areas. Only marginal effects were attributed to direct exposure to either armed conflict or school violence.