School Mental Health Project

Article of the Month

February 2004

Helping Students Cope with Emotional Trauma: Neglect and Abuse; Bullying and School Violence and
Helping Students Cope with Substance Abuse

Emotional Trauma Neglect and Abuse Bullying and School Violence Substance Abuse

Emotional Traumatop

The first article, Trauma’s Impact on Learning and Behavior: A Case for Interventions in Schools, is from the National Institute for Trauma and Loss in Children (NITLC). It is a good overview of different types of responses to trauma and four types of interventions. Neglect, abuse, bullying and school violence, as well as other acts, can cause trauma to children.

The second item is a handbook published by The Center for Children and Families in the Juvenile Justice System, the Family Violence Prevention Fund and the National Education Association. Entitled Children Exposed to Domestic Violence: A Teacher’s Handbook to Increase Understanding and Improve Community Responses, it is an excellent guide for all school personnel.

Neglect and Abusetop

The Children's Bureau of the U.S. Department of Human Services in partnership with the States publishes annual statistics on child maltreatment from State child protective services (CPS) agencies. This summary of key findings presents highlights based on data submissions by the States for calendar year 2001. A link to the full report is provided.

Protecting Our Children from Abuse and Neglect is a brief article with good basic information provided by the American Psychological Association.

Bullying and School Violencetop

The Melissa Institute has a number of short items (good for handouts) about bullying. They are:

What Is Bullying?

Definition of Bullying

Bullying Myths Quiz

Making a Difference in Bullying

Bullying: An Imbalance of Power

Youth Violence: A Report by The Surgeon General is a comprehensive report with much information. The above link sends you to the entire report. Below are links to specific parts of the report that you can choose. Note the section in Chapter 2 on “Violence at School.”

Secretary's Message
Foreword
Preface
Acknowledgments

Executive Summary

Chapter 1: Introduction

Scope, Focus, and Overarching Themes

Secondary Areas of Concern

Youth Violence: The Public Health Approach

Myths About Youth Violence

Sources of Data and Standards of Evidence

· Data Sources

· Standards of Scientific Evidence for Multidisciplinary Research

· Level of Evidence

Overview of the Report's Chapters

Chapter Conclusions

· Chapter 2 The Magnitude of Youth Violence

· Chapter 3 The Developmental Dynamics of Youth Violence

· Chapter 4 Risk Factors for Youth Violence

· Chapter 5 Prevention and Intervention

Preparation of the Report

References

Chapter 2: The Magnitude of Youth Violence

Measuring Youth Violence

The Violence Epidemic

Arrests for Violent Crimes

· Arrest Rates and Trends

· The Role of Firearms

· Comparing Arrests to Other Trends

· Arrests Versus Self-Reported Incidents

Prevalence of Violent Behavior

· International Prevalence

Differences by Sex and Race/Ethnicity

· Differences in Self-Reports

· Differences in Arrest Rates

Violence at School

· Homicides and Nonfatal Injuries

· Weapons at School

· Perceptions of School Violence

Gangs and Violence

Conclusions

Chapter 3: The Developmental Dynamics of Youth Violence

Early- and Late-Onset Trajectories

Onset and Prevalence of Serious Violence

Cumulative Prevalence

Rates of Offending and Violent Careers

Developmental Pathway to Violence

Chronic Violent Offenders

Superpredators?

Co-Occurring Problem Behaviors

· Violence and Mental Health

Offending and Victimization

Transition to Adulthood

Conclusions

Chapter 4: Risk Factors for Youth Violence

Introduction to Risk and Protective Factors

· Risk Factors

· Protective Factors

· A Note on Sources

· Summary

Risk Factors in Childhood

· Risk Factors by Domain

· Summary

Risk Factors in Adolescence

· Risk Factors by Domain

· Summary

· Unexpected Findings and Effects

Proposed Protective Factors in Childhood and Adolescence

· A Note on Sources

· Proposed Protective Factors by Domain

· Summary

Conclusions

Appendix 4-A: Lipsey and Derzon’s Classes of Risk Factors

Appendix 4-B: Violence in the Media and Its Effect on Youth Violence

Media Violence: Exposure and Content

Major Behavioral Effects of Media Violence

· Television and Film Violence Experimental Studies

· Cross-Sectional Surveys

· Longitudinal Studies Other Studies

· Violence in Other Media

· Potential Moderators of Behavioral Effects

Summary of Major Empirical Research Findings

Preventive Efforts

Implications

Chapter 5: Prevention and Intervention

Promoting Healthy, Nonviolent Children

Methods of Identifying Best Practices

Scientific Standards for Determining Program Effectiveness

· Model

· Promising

· Does Not Work

Stategies and Programs: Model, Promising, and Does Not Work

· Primary Prevention: General Populations of Young People

· Ineffective Primary Prevention Programs

· Secondary Prevention: Children at High Risk of Violence

· Ineffective Secondary Prevention Approaches

· Tertiary Prevention: Violent or Seriously Delinquent Youths

· Ineffective Tertiary Programs and Strategies

Cost-Effectiveness

Conclusions

Going to Scale

References

Appendix 5-A: Consistency of Best Practices Evaluations

Appendix 5-B: Descriptions of Specific Programs That Meet Standards for Model and Promising Categories

Model Programs: Level 1 (Violence Prevention)

· Functional Family Therapy (FFT)

· Multidimensional Treatment Foster Care

· Multisystemic Therapy (MST)

· Prenatal and Infancy Home Visitation by Nurses

· Seattle Social Development Project

Model Programs: Level 2 (Risk Prevention)

· Life Skills Training (LST)

· The Midwestern Prevention Project

Promising Programs: Level 1 (Violence Prevention)

· Intensive Protective Supervision Project

· Montreal Longitudinal Study/Preventive Treatment Program

· Perry Preschool Program

· School Transitional Environmental Program (STEP)

· Striving Together to Achieve Rewarding Tomorrows (CASASTART, formerly Children At Risk [CAR])

· Syracuse Family Development Research Program

Promising Programs: Level 2 (Risk Prevention)

· Bullying Prevention Program

· Families and Schools Together (FAST Track)

· Good Behavior Game

· I Can Problem Solve

· The Incredible Years Series

· Iowa Strengthening Families Program

· Linking the Interests of Families and Teachers (LIFT)

· Parent Child Development Center Programs

· Parent-Child Interaction Training

· Preparing for the Drug-Free Years

· Preventive Intervention

· Promoting Alternative Thinking Strategies (PATHS)

· The Quantum Opportunities Program

· Yale Child Welfare Project

Chapter 6: A Vision for the Future

· Continue to Build the Science Base Accelerate the Decline in Gun Use by Youths in Violent Encounters

· Facilitate the Entry of Youths into Effective Intervention Programs Rather Than Incarcerating Them

· Disseminate Model Programs with Incentives That Will Ensure Fidelity to Original Program Design When Taken to Scale

· Provide Training and Certification Programs for Intervention Personnel

· Improve Public Awareness of Effective Interventions

· Convene Youths and Families, Researchers, and Private and Public Organizations for a Periodic Youth Violence Summit

· Improve Federal, State, and Local Strategies for Reporting Crime Information and Violent Deaths

· Conclusion

Glossary

Substance Abusetop

The web offers a plethora of resources on substance abuse, some helpful, some not. Perhaps one of the most helpful web sites is by the National Institute for Drug Abuse in the National Institute of Health. There are three items on this web site to investigate:

1. The first is a booklet entitled Preventing Drug Abuse Among Children and Adolescents: A Research Based Guide for Parents Educators and Community Leaders. It is an excellent resource and was distribute by the faculty at the session on substance abuse in the Eastern Region School Mental Health Training Series. When you click on the title, you will go to a page that gives you a choice of downloading the pamphlet or the complete booklet.

2. The second item is called NIDA Goes Back to School: Science-based Drug Abuse Education. It is described as “your source of FREE information about the latest science-based drug abuse publications and teaching materials.”

3. The third item is a resource for students, NIDA for Teens: The Science Behind Drug Abuse, but is also very helpful for public school personnel and parents. It is very user friendly and fun.