Background: In rural communities, understanding and improving school climate may benefit youth facing unique contextual challenges to well-being. As education research rarely focuses on rural schools, we aimed to examine school climate and student well-being with a particular focus on rural schools, compared to suburban schools. Methods:…

Background: In 2020, US schools closed due to SARS-CoV-2 but their role in transmission was unknown. In fall 2020, national guidance for reopening omitted testing or screening recommendations. We report the experience of 2 large independent K-12 schools (School-A and School-B) that implemented an array of SARS-CoV-2 mitigation strategies that…

Background: Teachers report higher levels of stress than most occupational groups. Burnout is a specific psychological condition that results from chronic job stress characterized by emotional exhaustion, low personal accomplishment, and depersonalization. This study considers associations between aspects of the school environment and teacher…

Background: Our aim was to identify sex- and location-specific risk factors for suicide ideation/planning and attempts among American Indian youth. Methods: Biennial data for 6417 American Indian high school students attending reservation and urban schools were extracted from the Montana volunteer sample Youth Risk Behavior Survey data for pooled…

Background: Violence and bullying perpetration among boys are major public health problems. We address gaps in the literature by examining: (1) how risk and protective factors co-occur, and (2) how different risk/protection profiles are associated with violence and bullying perpetration among adolescent boys. Methods: Data came from the…

Background: Low-income and racial/ethnic minority students often face distinct challenges in attending school leading to lower academic performance, low graduation rates, and overall, an indicator of diminished long-term social and financial stability. Chronic absenteeism is a national problem and to address this, a better understanding of risks…

Background: Teen pregnancy continues to burden families, communities, and society. Programs continue to educate and impower youth and young adults to make positive behavioral decisions. Methods: We evaluated a program aimed at high-risk youth in after-school programs. The goal of the program was to instill a sense of community and empathy, as well…

Background: This study used a new Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED) assessment tool to test the associations between physical attributes of schools and violence-related behaviors and perceptions of students. Methods: Data were collected from 4717 students from 50 middle schools. Student perceptions of risk and safety, and…

Background: Bullying behavior is a concern among school-aged youth and anti-bullying programs have been implemented in schools throughout North America. Most anti-bullying programs are delivered to adolescent youth because antisocial-aggressive behaviors are typically associated with this developmental stage. This paper is a review of empirically…

Background: Threat assessment is a widely recommended practice used by schools to investigate and respond to student threats of violence; however, students are often reluctant to disclose threats. Methods: We developed an online educational program for students to increase their understanding of threat assessment and the need to report serious…

Background: Tobacco, alcohol, and illicit drug use among lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) high school students as well as related environment and school-level risk and protective factors were examined. Methods: Data was acquired from the 2015 CDC's Youth Behavior Risk Survey for Kentucky (N = 2577). Prevalence of substance use was calculated for…

Background: Much etiologic research has focused on individual-level risk factors for teen dating violence (TDV); therefore, less is known about school-level and neighborhood-level risk factors. We examined the association between alcohol outlet density around high schools and TDV victimization and the association between markers of physical…

Background: Teen dating violence (TDV) negatively impacts health, mental and physical well-being, and school performance. Methods: Data from a nationally representative sample of high school students participating in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)'s 2013 Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS) are used to demonstrate associations…

Background: The purpose of this study was to describe the prevalence of aggressive and violent behaviors in the context of the school environment in a nationally representative sample of adolescent youth and to illustrate these patterns during 2001-2011. Methods: We analyzed data from 84,734 participants via the Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance…

Background: Perceptions of school safety have an important effect on students' development. Based on the model of "context-process-outcomes," we examined school safety as a context variable to explore how school safety at the school level affected students' self-esteem. Methods: We used hierarchical linear modeling to examine the link…