Main description:

Despite the public alarm following several high-profile school shootings that occurred in the United States over the past decade, little is known about the actual incidence and characteristics of school-associated violence. School Violence and Primary Prevention grew out of a recent special issue of the Journal of Primary Prevention, which Thomas W. Miller guest edited. Understanding violence and reducing injury and death associated with violence is now, unfortunately, a major public health concern and is now a major objective of the Healthy People 2010 initiative.

School Violence and Primary Prevention covers clinical issues in treating victims of school violence and assessing children with the potential for violence. The editor will also examine the effectiveness of prevention intervention programs and offer larger policy recommendations. The book will look at environmental factors such as cultural issues on behaviors from bullying to mass school shootings. And uniquely, the book will go into topics such as sexual boundaries and body image. In all, this book aims for a theoretical and applied picture of the current state of school violence and prevention.

Feature:

Covers school violence prevention for public health professionals

Includes chapters on sexual boundaries and body image

Extremely timely topic

Back cover:

Paralleling the public concern generated by high-profile school shootings and the growing dialogue about bullying, professionals in school and public health settings need effective strategies for preventing violence, treating victims, and assessing at-risk children. In School Violence and Primary Prevention, more than three dozen clinicians, counselors, educators, and researchers provide readers with multiple levels of understanding on the subject: the scope of school violence, possible roles of the home environment, and the contexts of child/teen/school culture. Various forms of student aggression and antisocial behavior—from bullying to sexual harassment to mass shootings (including the Virginia Tech massacre)—are discussed in depth, and the book evenly balances theoretical knowledge with practical applications from elementary school to college.

Among the topics covered:

• School-based prevention strategies, from character education to the Bully Free Program.

• Developmental, trauma, and neurobiological perspectives on school violence.

• Sociocultural and cross-cultural approaches to prevention.

• Threat and risk assessment in individuals and schools.

• The roles of teachers and mental health personnel in prevention and intervention.

• Rarely explored areas including cliques, cults, body image issues, and the impact of violence on perpetrators.

Matching the prevalence of the problem with its range of ideas, School Violence and Primary Prevention is critical reading for school professionals including teachers, counselors and administrators, medical and mental health professionals working with children, and makes a valuable graduate text in psychology, public health, and social epidemiology.

Contents:

Part 1. Theoretical Issues & Assessment of School Violence.- The Trauma of School Violence.- Clinical Processing of Trauma in Children.- Assessment of Violence potential among school children.- Developmental Issues in School Based Aggression Prevention from a social cognitive perspective.- Assessment of sexual abuse and trauma: Clinical measures.- A Comparison of two school-based Conflict Management Programs.- Incidence and Prevalence of School Violence.- Part II: Bullying and Abusive Behavior.- Prevention Intervention strategies for Bullying Behavior in the schools.- Sexual Boundary Violations in the schools: Recognition and Prevention.- Bullying Behavior: What is the potential for school violence.- Understanding mass school shootings: Links between person hood power in a competitive school environment.- Part III: The Influence of Culture on School Violence.- Clinical and Cultural Issues in Diagnosing and Treating Child Victims of Peer Abuse.- Body Image, exercise dependence and cultural expectations in the school setting.- School based cults and Violence: Clinical Issues and Case Study.- Impact of Culturally relevant violence prevention.- Part IV:Prevention Interventions.- Recognition and Management of Peer Violence in the Schools.- Clinical Pathways for the Diagnosis and Treatment of Victims of School Violence.- Effectiveness of violence prevention curriculum among elementary children.- Character Education As a Preventive Strategy in School Violence.- Part V: Future Directions.- School Bullying & Victimization: Lessons Learned.- Legislating School Crisis Response: Good Policy or Just Good Politics?.- Violence in the Schools: Clinical issues and case analysis for high-risk children.- Acceptability and Student Outcomes of a Violence Prevention Curriculum.- Violence Prevention Interventions: Barriers and Solutions.- School Violence Prevention: Current Status & Policy Recommendations.