While educators have limited control over the broader geo-political challenges and physical violence affecting school safety, mental and emotional distress that students experience must also be considered. There are ways to keep children safe and calm fears in the face of the growing unease associated with school shootings in the United States,…

Active shooter drills are widely used in schools throughout the United States, with more than 92% of public schools having an active shooter plan. These drills can increase student stress and anxiety and can have a variety of negative effects, such as somatic complaints, anxiety, poor self-regulation of emotions and behaviors, risk for depression,…

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…

While Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) play a crucial role in children's and parents' ability to maintain routines, their impact during armed conflicts remains understudied. During a 10-day military operation in Israel involving missile launches, we conducted an online survey among parents of children aged 1-7, to assess the relationship…

School violence, and particularly, school shootings, remain a serious concern among parents, community members, educators, and governmental leadership at the local, state, and national levels. While school shootings periodically dominate media coverage of school safety issues, schools are among the safest places for students in the community. This…

The author, director of UCLA's Institute for Democracy, Education, and Access, shares results of a study he led exploring how principals in U.S. high schools are responding to five specific societal challenges; he highlights what principals said about the challenge of gun violence in their schools. More school leaders reported their school being…

The current study examined the unique and interactive effects of family and community violence across types of violence (weapon, physical, and death) and relationship proximity (self, family/friend, and strangers) in African American adolescents (mean age = 12.63, SD = 0.99, 54% female). Items from the community violence and family violence…

The ability to creatively resolve conflict supports excellence in communication and fosters a positive classroom/studio climate. Despite the fact that school violence continues to be high, many schools fail to teach conflict management, social-emotional skills, or community building to all educators. This research-based article shares dance…

New to the curriculum at many colleges this fall will be instruction for students in survival skills. The training material will not be like Clemson University's "College Survival Skills" Web site, which features useful advice on note taking, studying for exams, and dealing with professors. Rather, a new security DVD, Shots Fired on Campus:…

Firearms account for the majority of deaths among young Black men in America. This article presents a qualitative investigation of youth temptations, emotional reactions, and subsequent behavior with respect to guns. Twenty-three youth enrolled in a community-based firearm reduction program have participated in interviews on retrospective…

The largest single incident of the Northern Ireland conflict took place in Omagh on 15 August 1998 when a car bomb exploded in the town centre killing 29 people in addition to two children (unborn twins). Four hundred were injured, 135 were hospitalised and 26 families were bereaved. The Community Trauma and Recovery Team was established following…