Automated Risk Assessment for School Violence: a Pilot Study

School violence has increased over the past ten years. This study evaluated students using a more standard and sensitive method to help identify students who are at high risk for school violence. 103 participants were recruited through Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center (CCHMC) from psychiatry outpatient clinics, the inpatient units, and the emergency department. Participants (ages 12–18) were active students in 74 traditional schools (i.e. non-online education). Collateral information was gathered from guardians before participants were evaluated. School risk evaluations were performed with each participant, and audio recordings from the evaluations were later transcribed and manually annotated. The BRACHA (School Version) and the School Safety Scale (SSS), both 14-item scales, were used. A template of open-ended questions was also used. This analysis included 103 participants who were recruited from 74 different schools. Of the 103 students evaluated, 55 were found to be moderate to high risk and 48 were found to be low risk based on the paper risk assessments including the BRACHA and SSS. Both the BRACHA and the SSS were highly correlated with risk of violence to others (Pearson correlations>0.82). There were significant differences in BRACHA and SSS total scores between low risk and high risk to others groups (p-values <0.001 under unpaired t-test). In particular, there were significant differences in individual SSS items between the two groups (p-value <0.001). Of these items, Previous Violent Behavior (Pearson Correlation?=?0.80), Impulsivity (0.69), School Problems (0.64), and Negative Attitudes (0.61) were positively correlated with risk to others. The novel machine learning algorithm achieved an AUC of 91.02% when using the interview content to predict risk of school violence, and the AUC increased to 91.45% when demographic and socioeconomic data were added. Our study indicates that the BRACHA and SSS are clinically useful for assessing risk for school violence. The machine learning algorithm was highly accurate in assessing school violence risk.     

Domestic Violence: Counseling Strategies That Minimize the Impact of Secondary Victimization

topic . Psychotherapy with abused women
purpose . To contrast the usefulness of several models of psychotherapy with abused women
source . Review of the literature and clinical experience of the authors
conclusions . Because marital counseling often focuses on the violence as a product of the couple system rather than oppression of the woman, the authors recommend individual counseling to address developmentally determined feelings of helplessness. The goal of this psychotherapy is empowerment.     

From Model to Case: Implementation,Follow-Up,and Evaluation of a Permanent School Prevention Program

This article describes the prevention model Creciendo Juntos [Growing up Together], its theoretical framework, characteristics and methodological approach, and the population groups in which it has been implemented and results obtained. It then focuses on the implementation, beginning in 2013, of a school prevention program based upon this model that covered a whole school community. After 4 years, the process, results, and impact were evaluated, and the data are presented here. Process evaluation was developed through observations of the development of the program on the premises and in school groups. Interviews of school authorities, teachers, and facilitators were also conducted. The impact evaluation was conducted by means of a trend study, developed using two samples. In the 2014 baseline, randomly selected students participated as the experimental group. The data obtained in a Mexico City survey were considered part of the control group. In 2017, a second application was performed, which used the validated data from epidemiological research on students in the same geographical area as the control group. The process evaluation showed that the program guidelines had been incorporated as part of the school identity, and the guidelines provided were followed. The impact evaluation evidenced favorable modification of drug use: a decrease of more than 30% in tobacco use in the past year and problems associated with alcohol use in all age groups, and a decrease of 25% in marijuana use in the past year. The evaluation process developed supports the implementation of the Creciendo Juntos model and underlines the importance of its flexibility and the possibility for adaptation of guidelines and procedures to the specific situation of each community.

     

Violence Against Women and the Assaulted Staff Action Program

Women have been subjected to high rates of victimization at home, in the community, and at work. An earlier study found female inpatient staff to be at risk for same-gender patient assaults in psychiatric hospitals and female community residential staff to be at increased risk for assaults from male patients in residences. This study sought to revisit the original 2-year findings during a subsequent 6-year period. Inpatient and community assault data were gathered within the context of the Assaulted Staff Action Program (ASAP), a post-incident crisis response approach. Female inpatient staff were again found to be at increased risk in both inpatient and community settings. However, in this second study, female community residential staff were found to be at increased risk for assault from both male and female patients. The findings and their implications are discussed.     

Epilepsy in Bristol Secondary School Children

The recent report of the British Advisory Committee on the Health and Welfare of Handicapped Persons entitled People with Epilepsy (1969) deserves study far beyond British shores as a framework within which to restructure our thinking about epilepsy. In their "Envoi" the Committee makes the comment that, "There were many areas of the life of those with convulsive disorders about which we would have liked to have factual information." They made a firm plea for further clinical and social research. With the active support of the British Epilepsy Research Fund we are attempting in Bristol—a typical North European city—to answer some of their questions in order to find out more about the life and needs of school children with epilepsy.     

Jamaican neuropathy: an electrophysiological study

Jamaican neuropathy (JN) is a common disorder in Jamaica and has characteristics similar to neurological diseases found in other tropical areas. JN is a clinical syndrome and occurs in two forms: spastic and ataxic. This is the first known electrophysiological study of this disease. In the spastic group of JN, peripheral electrophysiological findings were mostly normal, suggesting a central cause for their symptoms. The only patient with the ataxic form of JN had a chronic axonal peripheral neuropathy.     

A Home and School Support Project for Children Excluded from Primary and First Year Secondary School

Background:  In the last 10 years the problem of exclusion has reached a crisis point. Research suggests that exclusion is a complex phenomenon that needs involvement from all the involved services such as Health, Education and Social Services.
Method:  One hundred and twenty-four pupils, aged 4–12 years who, through school and social exclusion, were at risk of developing more serious mental health difficulties, were randomly allocated to standard care ( n  = 62) or standard care plus the new intervention ( n  = 62).
Results:  There were no significant differences in the primary outcomes between the two groups at either of the outcome assessments. However, the intervention group with non-compliance cases removed from the analysis did significantly better ( p  < . 014, 95%CI −12.8 to −1.4).
Conclusions:  The Home and School Support project managed to reduce the number of excluded days and the appearance of mental health symptoms for pupils who engaged fully with the intervention. The project also highlights the importance of multi-agency involvement at a very early stage.     

Violence and Epilepsy: A Close Relation Between Violence and Postictal Psychosis

Summary: Purpose: We investigated the incidence of well-directed violent behavior and suicide attempts in patients with temporal lobe epilepsy, with special attention to postictal psychosis.
Methods: We compared 57 episodes of postictal psychosis with 62 episodes of acute interictal (or alternative) psychosis and with 134 complex partial seizures. All patients were matched for age and for age at onset of seizures.
Results: The incidence of well-directed violent behavior against human beings was significantly higher (23%) during postictal psychotic episodes than during acute interictal episodes (5%) and postictal confusion (1%). Suicide attempts were also more frequent during postictal psychosis (7%) than during either acute interictal psychosis (2%) or postictal confusion (0%).
Conclusions: Our study showed that well-directed violent and self-destructive behavior was not a feature of epileptic psychosis in general but a specific hallmark of postictal psychosis.     

School Based Early Identification and Intervention Service for Adolescents: A Psychology and School Nurse Partnership Model

Background: Adolescents are increasingly experiencing multiple stresses and emotional problems. Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services have a role in working creatively to provide easily accessible and non-stigmatising services.
Method: A training and consultation model was developed to respond to the needs of Tier 1 staff encountering vulnerable adolescents in a deprived inner city area. This paper describes the development of a partnership between the clinical psychology service and the school health system and the application of the practice model.
Conclusion: The evaluation, clinical implications and future developments are discussed.     

Middle School Primary Prevention Program for Eating Disorders: A Controlled Study with a Twelve-Month Follow-Up

The aim of this pilot study was to evaluate the efficacy of a new school-based eating disorder prevention program designed to reduce dietary restraint and the level of preoccupation with regard to shape and weight. One hundred and six (61 females and 45 males) 11 to 12-year-old students were evaluated, 55 of whom participated in the program (experimental group). An additional 51 students formed the control group. The program met for six sessions, two hours per session. After six months, the experimental group received two booster sessions of two hours in two consecutive weeks. Outcome measures included the Eating Disorder ExaminationQuestionnaire (EDE-Q), the children's version of the Eating Attitudes Test (EAT), the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (RSES), and a Knowledge Questionnaire (KQ) devised by the authors of the program. The questionnaires were administered in both the experimental and control groups, one week before the intervention, one week afterwards, and at six-month and 12-month follow-ups. Unlike a previous school-based eating disorder prevention program, in the experimental group both an increase in knowledge and a decrease in some attitudes were maintained at 12-month follow-up (Eating Concerns EDE-Q scores). Although more intensive interventions seem necessary to modify shape and weight concern and self-esteem, these findings suggest that the intervention had been useful since it led to both an increase in knowledge and a decrease in some dysfunctional eating attitudes.     

The Effect of an Education Program on Attitudes and Beliefs about Bullying and Bullying Behaviour in Junior Secondary School Students

This study assessed an intervention targeting bullying. Six schools were recruited, with 444 children aged between 12 and 15 years. Schools were randomly allocated to an intervention comprising education to students, parents and teachers about bullying and strategies believed to prevent bullying, or wait-list condition. Students reported bullying experiences on the Peer Relations Questionnaire and attitudes using the Attitude to Victim and Bully Scales, prior to the intervention and one year later. There was little difference between conditions on most measures. Short-term educational approaches appear to have little impact on bullying behaviour, and schools may need to develop alternative approaches.     

Changing Stigma Through a Consumer-Based Stigma Reduction Program

This study assessed the Anti-Stigma Project workshop, a contact/education intervention developed by On Our Own of Maryland, Inc. and the Maryland Mental Hygiene Administration. Two separate randomized controlled trials administered pre- and post-test questionnaire assessments. One included people with mental illness (N = 127) and a second included mental health providers (N = 131). Post-intervention, people with mental illness were more aware of stigma, had lower levels of prejudice, and increased belief in recovery. Providers were more aware of stigma, had lower levels of prejudice, and increased concurrence in self-determination of people with mental illness. Increasing providers’ stigma awareness and recognition can promote higher quality service delivery. Increasing stigma awareness and recognition for people with mental illness can foster confidence in overcoming psychiatric disabilities. Using a participatory action research team, our protocol included extant and newly developed stigma change tools. Organizations seeking to conduct effective evaluation studies should consider collaborative processes including the expertise of affected constituents.     

A Pilot Study on Developing a Standardized and Sensitive School Violence Risk Assessment with Manual Annotation

School violence has increased over the past decade and innovative, sensitive, and standardized approaches to assess school violence risk are needed. In our current feasibility study, we initialized a standardized, sensitive, and rapid school violence risk approach with manual annotation. Manual annotation is the process of analyzing a student’s transcribed interview to extract relevant information (e.g., key words) to school violence risk levels that are associated with students’ behaviors, attitudes, feelings, use of technology (social media and video games), and other activities. In this feasibility study, we first implemented school violence risk assessments to evaluate risk levels by interviewing the student and parent separately at the school or the hospital to complete our novel school safety scales. We completed 25 risk assessments, resulting in 25 transcribed interviews of 12–18 year olds from 15 schools in Ohio and Kentucky. We then analyzed structured professional judgments, language, and patterns associated with school violence risk levels by using manual annotation and statistical methodology. To analyze the student interviews, we initiated the development of an annotation guideline to extract key information that is associated with students’ behaviors, attitudes, feelings, use of technology and other activities. Statistical analysis was applied to associate the significant categories with students’ risk levels to identify key factors which will help with developing action steps to reduce risk. In a future study, we plan to recruit more subjects in order to fully develop the manual annotation which will result in a more standardized and sensitive approach to school violence assessments.     

Predictors of School Violence Perpetration and Victimization: Effects of Drug Use and Sociodemographic Characteristics

International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction - A randomized controlled trial was conducted with 6391 7th- and 8th-grade students in 72 public schools in six Brazilian cities. A confirmatory...     

Promoting Size Acceptance in Elementary School Children: The EDAP Puppet Program

A puppet program for elementary school children was implemented through early childhood education to promote size acceptance. School children (N = 152) completed an evaluation of the program and 45 fifth grade girls completed the Figure Rating Scale either before or after the program. To students, the program's most important message was “not to tease others” and “be a good friend.” Figure Rating Scale data suggest that the program reduces negative stereotypes about large body shapes. This preliminary report suggests that the puppet program achieves its goal of promoting greater acceptance of diverse body shapes by discouraging teasing and encourag-ing students to treat everybody well.