Northeastern University, Boston, MA, 02115, USA.
J Urban Health. 2018 Jun;95(3):344-360. doi: 10.1007/s11524-018-0244-8.
School neighborhood violence continues to be a major public health problem among urban students. A large body of research addresses violence at school; however, fewer studies have explored concentrations of violence in areas proximal to schools. This study aimed to quantify the concentration of shootings near schools to elucidate the place-based dynamics that may be focal points for violence prevention. Geocoded databases of shooting and school locations were used to examine locational patterns of firearm shootings and elementary, middle, and high schools in Boston, Massachusetts. Analyses utilized spatial statistics for point pattern data including distance matrix and K function methodology to quantify the degree of spatial dependence of shootings around schools. Results suggested that between 2012 and 2015, there were 678 shooting incidents in Boston; the average density was 5.1 per square kilometer. The nearest neighbor index (NNI = 0.335 km, p < .001, O = 0.95 km, E = 0.28 km) and G function analysis revealed a clustered pattern of gun shooting incidents indicative of a spatially non-random process. The mean and median distance from any school to the nearest shooting location was 0.35 and 0.33 km, respectively. A majority (56%, 74/133) of schools in Boston had at least one shooting incident within 400 m, a distance that would take about 5 min to walk if traveling by foot. The bivariate K function indicated that a significantly greater number of shootings were clustered within short distances from schools than would be expected under a null hypothesis of no spatial dependence. Implications for students attending schools in racially homogenous neighborhoods across all income levels are discussed.
校园邻里暴力仍然是城市学生面临的一个主要公共卫生问题。大量研究探讨了学校内的暴力问题；然而，较少的研究探索了学校周边地区暴力的集中程度。本研究旨在量化学校附近枪击事件的集中程度，以阐明可能成为预防暴力焦点的基于地点的动态。利用枪击和学校位置的地理编码数据库，研究了马萨诸塞州波士顿市的枪支射击和小学、初中和高中的位置模式。分析利用空间统计数据对点模式数据进行了分析，包括距离矩阵和 K 函数方法，以量化学校周围枪击事件的空间依赖程度。结果表明，2012 年至 2015 年间，波士顿发生了 678 起枪击事件；平均密度为每平方公里 5.1 起。最近邻居指数（NNI=0.335km，p<0.001，O=0.95km，E=0.28km）和 G 函数分析显示，枪击事件呈聚类模式，表明这是一个空间非随机过程。任何学校到最近枪击地点的平均和中位数距离分别为 0.35 和 0.33km。波士顿的大多数学校（56%，74/133）距离最近的枪击地点不到 400m，如果步行，大约需要 5 分钟。二元 K 函数表明，在没有空间依赖假设的情况下，从学校到短距离的枪击事件明显更加集中。讨论了对所有收入水平种族同质社区中就读学校的学生的影响。
