Multiple professional associations and agencies have recommended that schools establish threat assessment processes and procedures. Such recommendations have been directed at school districts in Colorado, a state that has experienced multiple school shootings. In this exploratory study, the nature and prevalence of threat assessment conducted in…

School personnel, particularly educators and school psychologists, are a first line of defense in protecting children from abuse. Teachers play an important role in the detection and reporting of child abuse. The relationship established between teachers and their students can facilitate the identification of child abuse. By virtue of their work,…

Using structural equation modeling, concurrent associations were assessed among physical bullying, relational bullying, physical victimization, relational victimization, injury and weapon carrying using data from the population of 1300 adolescent girls and 1362 adolescent boys in grades 7-12 in a Colorado school district. For both genders, being a…

This study identified selected child factors (e.g., age, gender, race/ethnicity, disabilities, prior victimization, and relationship to perpetrator of abuse), family risk factors (e.g., substance abuse, domestic violence, inadequate housing, and financial problems), and services provided by child protective services that likely increased reports…

Since 1996, our research team has conducted 15 focus groups with 169 middle-school youth in small communities as formative research for campaigns against alcohol, tobacco, drugs, and violence. Some key findings of a synthesis of focus-group results are that girls and boys perceive different risks to alcohol and tobacco use; peer relationships are…

The "Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report" ("MMWR") Series is prepared by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Data in the weekly "MMWR" are provisional, based on weekly reports to CDC by state health departments. This issue of "MMWR" contains the following studies: (1) Youth Risk Behavior…

Exposure to violence at school remains a significant problem for children and adolescents. This study examined the relationship between exposure to violence at school and child reports of psychological trauma symptoms and violent behavior. The sample consisted of children in grades 3 through 12 in 17 public schools from two different states. Rates…