Background: Mass school shootings have created fear in the American public. The results of this fear have been the hardening of schools, lockdowns, and active shooter drills, yet the mass shootings have not ended. The goal of this study was to analyze the mental health awareness of K-12 public schools teachers in Texas with a goal to identify the…

Background: Youth violence, victimization, and bullying are pervasive in schools across the United States and are detrimental for learning and healthy development. K-12 school safety is an increasingly urgent issue to research and understand from multiple perspectives. Physical and psychological safety in school is linked to better student and…

Background: Youth identifying as lesbian, gay, bisexual (LGB) and/or transgender/gender nonconforming (TGNC) are at increased risk of violence. School policies and practices may mitigate this risk. Methods: Researchers merged data from the 2016 New Mexico School Health Profiles and the 2017 New Mexico Youth Risk and Resiliency Survey. Researchers…

Background: Our objective is to describe violence-related injuries to early adolescents that occurred at school, resulting in emergency department (ED) evaluation. Methods: This retrospective cohort study at an urban academic pediatric ED in Baltimore, MD, identified patients 10-15 years old who presented with an injury from intentional,…

Background: This study aimed to investigate the association between violent sexual victimization and muscle-building exercise among adolescents. Methods: Cross-sectional data from the 2019 National Youth Risk Behavior Survey (N = 8408) were analyzed. Two indicators of non-dating-related sexual violence (lifetime, past 12 months), along with one…

Background: School shooting events and lockdowns have increased in the United States, raising concerns about their impact on youth mental health. Method: This study assessed the association between school lockdowns and changes in youth mental health in 10,049 children who participated in the Adolescent Brain and Cognitive Development study. The…

Introduction: Gender-based violence is a worldwide problem. School-based socio-educational interventions could be effective in preventing gender-based violence. We assessed the effectiveness of the "Let's focus!" program, aimed at health and equitable interpersonal relationships among high school students. Methods: We conducted a…

Background: Sexual violence (SV) is a serious public health concern, and lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and questioning (LGBTQ+) youth report higher rates than their heterosexual and cisgender peers. This qualitative study aimed to understand LGBTQ+ students' perspectives on how middle and high school environments can better prevent…

Background: Exposure to injury and violence early in life increases the risk of experiencing injury and violence later in life. In 2019, the top 3 leading causes of death among 15- to 18-year-olds in the United States were unintentional injury, suicide, and homicide. This study examines the extent to which schools promote injury and violence…

Background: Adolescent dating violence (ADV) continues to be a health concern. Most previous research has examined physical and or sexual ADV with little attention to verbal violence. Methods: Drawing on the social-ecological framework, the current study examined the moderating influence of school adult connectedness on experiences of verbal only,…

Background: Addressing school violence is an important public health goal. To assess the role of school mental health curricula in violence prevention, we evaluated effects of an anti-stigma curriculum on violence victimization/perpetration. Methods: An ethnically/socioeconomically diverse sample of 751 sixth-graders (mean age 11.5 years) across…

Background: Being bullied online is associated with being bullied in school. However, links between online bullying and violence-related experiences are minimally understood. We evaluated potential disparities in these associations to illuminate opportunities to reduce school-based violence. Methods: We used five cohorts of Youth Risk Behavior…

Background: Schools are important venues for addressing interpersonal violence among youth. However, it is unclear to what extent school violence prevention practices have been implemented across states and over time. This study examined trends in the percentage of US secondary schools that engaged in practices related to violence prevention (eg,…

Background: Sexting is common among adolescents and is associated with numerous health risk behaviors and negative psychosocial constructs. This study examined the relationships between high school students' experiences with sexual violence victimization, dating violence victimization, and engagement in risky sexual behaviors with experiences of…

Background: Interpersonal relationships undoubtedly have a bidirectional connection with the health of individuals and communities. Relational models based on equity contribute to well-being, while asymmetrical relationships based on hierarchies and differences of power negatively impact mental, physical, and social health. Methods: A conceptual…