Cross-sectional data were collected on substance use behaviors and potential correlates in 1,494 African American students enrolled in grades 5-12 in eight schools in a central Alabama school district. Using a risk and asset framework, self-reported recent alcohol, cigarette, and marijuana use were analyzed by identifying and measuring levels of…

When art, music, and poetry are integrated into the art room, children can confront difficult themes in works of art and process information in highly personal ways (Jewitt & Kress, 2003). An arts classroom gives children the time and place to confront images of war and violence and decode the multiple levels of meaning (Arnold, 1997) found within…

It is believed that repeated exposure to real-life and to entertainment violence may alter cognitive, affective, and behavioral processes, possibly leading to desensitization. The goal of the present study was to determine if there are relationships between real-life and media violence exposure and desensitization as reflected in related…

Validity data are presented for a new measure of threat appraisals in response to community violence. Adolescents (N = 358; 45% male; 91% African American, M = 12.10 years, SD = 1.63) and their maternal caregivers participated in two waves of a longitudinal interview study focused on the consequences of exposure to community violence. Structural…

This research examined the hypothesis that a tendency to base one's self-worth on peer approval is associated with positive and negative aspects of children's well-being. A sample of 153 fourth through eighth graders (9.0 to 14.8 years) reported on need for approval, global self-worth, social-evaluative concerns, anxiety and depression, and…

A dynamic cascade model of development of serious adolescent violence was proposed and tested through prospective inquiry with 754 children (50% male; 43% African American) from 27 schools at 4 geographic sites followed annually from kindergarten through Grade 11 (ages 5-18). Self, parent, teacher, peer, observer, and administrative reports…

In order to combat escalating aggression and violence in schools, it is important to understand the relationship between intrafamilial communication and aggressive behaviors. In this study, the authors examined the link between preadolescents' perceptions of parent-child communication and their levels of school-based aggressive behavior. The…

There is a need for an effective violence reduction program for early adolescents in schools. Social psychologists have had success teaching adolescents integrative negotiation strategies that help them to resolve potentially violent conflicts. The caveat is that these strategies are effective only in cooperative social contexts and backfire in…

This document is a sample framework for elementary school reports. The framework is for an elementary school district that administered the Elementary School California Healthy Kids Survey (CHKS) in Fall 2004 to fifth-grade students. The CHKS is a comprehensive youth health-risk and resilience data collection service, sponsored by the California…

Statistics indicate that many victims of fatalities from abuse are children of teenage parents. Profiles of typical abuse perpetrators match the characteristics of many students with emotional and behavioral disorders (EBD) and place them at higher risk of acting impulsively and using violent and abusive behaviors. Teaching students parenting…

In a comprehensive survey of the literature title "Coping With Violence in the School System," Benbenisti, Astor, and Marachi (2003) map out the programs being deployed throughout the school system today. Those programs listed are "peace builders," "second step," "Richmond's youth against violence,"…

The Comic Book Project was launched originally as a way of putting into practice some of the most important educational research of the last decade--that is, the correlation between involvement in the arts and performance in academic subjects (Deasy, 2002; Fiske, 1999). This article is not necessarily about comic books; it is about children…

This chapter focuses on the moderating role of inimical peer relationships in the association between community violence exposure and children's functioning difficulties. A series of hierarchical regression analyses demonstrated that community violence exposure is consistently related to psychosocial maladjustment only for children who are…

This study examined the relative contributions of exposure to violence, parental monitoring, and television viewing habits to children's self-reported symptoms of psychological trauma. Children in grades 3-8 in 11 public schools completed an anonymous self-report questionnaire administered during usual school hours. The final sample was comprised…

This study used Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) to develop a teacher-friendly model for understanding the relationship between children's exposure to traumatic events, such as violence exposure, and their school achievement. With a sample of 146 urban elementary (grades 2-5) children, three variables (mental health behaviors,…