Data were collected within the Milwaukee public schools from 1974 to 1976. The initial response rate was 85 percent. Subjects' experience with school-based theft, robbery, and interpersonal violence (getting beat up) in the intervening year was assessed, as were attitude toward defensive violence and attitude change. Results failed to find any significant effect of criminal victimization either upon attitude or pattern of attitude change. However, both victim and nonvictim groups were found to become more positive toward defensive violence as they moved from grade 6 to 7. The lack of a victimization effect in this sample may result from the trivial and nonviolent nature of the offense. The possibility that violent victimization (assault) may produce attitudinal change could not be tested because of the small number of reported assaults. Another possible explanation of findings is that sociocultural factors may be more important in producing relatively homogeneous attitudes toward violence than the impact of particular life experiences. Tabular data, 64 references, and footnotes are provided.