The purpose of this quantitative, non-experimental, causal-comparative study with a self-reported survey design was to investigate how the leadership styles of secondary-school leaders influence school culture. Participants involved secondary-school administrators across four intermediate units in Eastern Pennsylvania: LIU 18, NEIU 19, CIU 20, and…

Objective: Examine associations between care seeking reasons in college health and counseling centers and sexual violence (SV). Participants: College students (n = 2,084 baseline, n = 1,170 one-year follow up) participating in a cluster randomized controlled trial of an SV reduction intervention on 28 campuses. Methods: Computer-based survey data…

Trauma has been shown to cause poor academic performance, high drop-out rates, lack of confidence, lack of connection to peers, difficulty regulating emotions, and more (Bishop et al., 2019; Duncan, 2000; Gaywish & Murdoch, 2018; Hallett & Crutchfield, 2017; Hallett et al., 2018; Redford, 2015; Warnecke & Lewine, 2019). The student…

Less than 24 hours after police murdered George Floyd, Black Lives Matter protesters organized in several cities to demand that their elected officials defund their police and redirect this funding to better healthcare, schools, public transportation, affordable housing, and food security. Eventually, these protesters came together in rural…

Sexual violence (SV) on college campuses disproportionately affects cisgender (nontransgender) women, sexual minorities (e.g., gays/lesbians, bisexuals), and gender minority (e.g., transgender/nonbinary) people. This study investigates gender and sexual behavior differences in common SV intervention targets--SV-related knowledge, prevention…

This article analyzes how guns emerged as both urgent topics of dialogue and common features of everyday life for 228 students and their teachers in six communities across the United States who participated in the Digital Democratic Dialogue (3D) Project, a year long social design-based experiment aimed at foregrounding youth voice and fostering…

Objective: To describe provider experiences with implementation of the GIFTSS (Giving Information for Trauma Support and Safety) intervention. Participants: Health and counseling center staff from participating campuses attended trainings between August 2015 and August 2016. Interviews were conducted between May and August 2017. Methods: Providers…

Purpose: Groups of students were enrolled in a course that sought to produce a three-phase theoretical model over three semesters. Design/methodology/approach: A design project to comprehensively address school violence was launched at a university in eastern Pennsylvania. Findings: This article updates the recent and most critical finding of the…

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…

Access to public charter schools could theoretically reduce school safety problems by increasing competitive pressures, improving matches between schools and students, enhancing discipline policies, and allowing students to relocate to peer groups and cultures that discourage risky behaviors. Using publicly available data from the Pennsylvania…

This study examined attitudes toward campus carry -- a policy that would permit individuals to carry concealed firearms on a university's grounds if they possess a permit. Survey data were collected from a sample of 1,380 members of a campus community -- undergraduate students, graduate students, faculty, and staff -- at a medium-sized public…

This exploratory study used data collected from a representative sample of 522 Pennsylvania residents and 238 Pennsylvania college students to measure attitudes toward four different types of campus carry (CC) -- student, faculty, staff, and universal carry. Findings indicated that a slight majority of both samples believed that armed staff and…

Were those gunshots I just heard? Between 1990 and 2014 school shootings more than tripled when compared the prior 30-year span of 1960 to 1990. FBI data from 2000-2013 shows active violent incidents were resolved or ended due to citizen engagement of the perpetrator in 16.2% of the total incidents. Common police response times to an active…

The current study explored early adolescent child-level predictors (physical aggression, impulsivity, empathy) and contextual-level predictors (peer deviance, neighborhood dangerousness) of violent and nonviolent antisocial behavior (AB) in late adolescence. Additionally, we tested the moderating role of rejecting parenting on these associations…

It is very important that schools be careful not to scare children about a place where they should feel safe. Thus, it is imperative that any active shooter drill be preceded by extensive education and preparation. Drills should be carefully planned by local police and the school crisis team, and school psychologists' involvement is critical.…