Subscribe today for more stories, tips, and updates.

Cincinnati Children's Blog
  • Subscribe
  • CincinnatiChildrens.org
  • Contact Us
  • Blog
  • Healthy Living
  • Rare and Complex Conditions
  • Safety and Prevention
  • Heart Conditions
  • Learning and Growing
  • Research and Discoveries
  • ?
  • Blog
  • Healthy Living
  • Rare and Complex Conditions
  • Safety and Prevention
  • Heart Conditions
  • Learning and Growing
  • Research and Discoveries
  • ?
  • Subscribe
  • CincinnatiChildrens.org
  • Contact Us
HOME/Child Development and Behavior/Promising Research to Identify Risk Factors for School Violence

Promising Research to Identify Risk Factors for School Violence

Promising Research to Identify Risk Factors for School Violence
August 24, 2016
0 Comments
By: Drew Barzman, MD

Every time I hear about another account of school violence, my heart sinks and I think about how I can speed up my current research efforts so that we could potentially have a better system in place for preventing these types of tragedies from happening.

We recently published a pilot study to help identify middle and high school students’ risk for violent behavior in schools. And while I’m excited about the potential that it holds, it can’t come fast enough.

When we started this type of work more than 10 years ago, we were assessing risk factors for violence within a hospital setting. But as school violence started occurring more frequently, we decided to change our focus.

Back then, I wasn’t a parent, but a concerned psychiatrist with a special interest in forensics and aggression. Now that I have two eight year olds and a 10 year old, I have a vested interest in finding a solution. I want my kids – and all kids for that matter – to be safe while they’re in our nation’s schools.

The objective of this study was to pilot a rapid and standardized method to identify students at-risk for school violence, which is defined as verbal or physical aggression towards others, and to analyze the results to assist with risk management and action steps.

Students in the study came from fifteen different schools in Ohio and Kentucky who had shown concerning behaviors, such as becoming odd, quiet, withdrawn, isolative, or any change from baseline – all of which can be warning signs of potential school violence.

We then recorded interviews of the 25 students who were referred to us, using two scales with the same set of fourteen questions each. Utilizing manual annotation – a clinical research method being developed to extract relevant information from human language – our data analysts used scales to assign risk levels to the students and then analyzed the content of the language. We were able to identify and categorize specific words and phrases that could be associated with a student’s risk to others or to themselves.

The analysis showed that there were statistically significant differences in the content of language between the high risk and low risk groups for violence, including violent acts or thoughts, self-harm thoughts or acts, negative feelings or actions of others, and violent media use (video games, music, and movies).

Our pilot resulted in identifying 11 kids who were moderate to high risk for violence. We then offered recommendations for how they could get help.

We think this methodology can offer more objective analysis of the student’s language to improve risk assessments, rather than a subjective and unreliable interpretation by the interviewer.

The ultimate goal is to have a computer app that schools can use to record and analyze what students are saying, which could objectively identify their risk factors for violence and produce a prevention plan.

The way it typically happens now is that when there is a concern at school, the parent or guardian brings the student to the emergency room (ER). And the staff there don’t know the child or the situation and don’t have the information they need to assess him or her. They need information from the school but students often arrive in the ER after the school has closed.

We’re hoping that instead of being sent to the ER, kids can be evaluated right at the school, using the technology we’ve developed, with an action plan of next steps based on the results of the objective assessment.

We are encouraged by the results of this pilot and hope to receive more funding to continue our efforts in preventing school violence. While there are no guarantees, early intervention is an effective tactic to prevent commonly seen violence, such as bullying, school fights, attempts at harming others and the more rare tragedy of school shootings.  We expect to be successful in improving outcomes for schools, students, and families throughout the U.S.

Editor’s note: If you’d like to contribute funding to further Dr. Barzman’s research, please click here. Choose “psychiatry research” and in the comments section write that the donation is for “school violence.”

 

Subscribe today for more stories, tips, and updates.

Related Articles

Warning Signs of Suicide and Ways to Get Help
Warning Signs of Suicide and Ways to Get Help
Tips for Teaching Resiliency in Kids
Tips for Teaching Resiliency in Kids
How ‘Patiently Made’ Has Brought Us Closer Together
How ‘Patiently Made’ Has Brought Us Closer Together
How ‘Patiently Made’ Was Born
How ‘Patiently Made’ Was Born
TAGS:
  • psychiatry
  • School Health

About the author: Drew Barzman, MD

Drew Barzman, MD, is a forensic psychiatrist and the director of Child and Adolescent Forensic Psychiatry Service at Cincinnati Children's.

Write A Comment

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

No Comments Yet

Topics

  • Cancer and Blood Diseases
  • Child Development and Behavior
  • Childhood Obesity
  • Chronic Care Networks
  • Cincinnati Walks for Kids
  • Featured Faces
  • Fetal Conditions
  • Fitness and Nutrition
  • Food Allergies
  • Ghana 2012
  • Health Care Public Policy
  • Health Care Quality
  • Health Care Reform
  • Healthy Living
  • Heart Conditions
  • Hospital Operations
  • How We Do It
  • Learning and Growing
  • Meet The Team
  • Nurses Week 2012
  • Patient Family Experience
  • Patient Flow
  • Patient Safety
  • Patient Stories
  • Pin of the Week
  • Radiology
  • Rare and Complex Conditions
  • Research
  • Research and Discoveries
  • Safety and Prevention
  • Share Your Story
  • Technology
  • Uncategorized
  • Vaccines
  • Volunteerism
  • What Makes Us Different
  • What's New
See All Topics
See Less Topics

Subscribe

Never miss a post! Sign up to get new blog updates delivered to your email.

Popular Posts

  • Caring for the Caregivers of Children with Congenital Heart Disease  2.5k views
  • 6 Questions to Ask When Your Child Complains of Chest Pain 1.9k views
  • Button Batteries: What Parents Should Know 679 views
  • Stuttering In Young Kids: When To Be Concerned 673 views
  • Laryngomalacia: Is My Child’s Noisy Breathing Serious? 653 views
  • Bedwetting Solutions: Tips for Helping Your Child Overcome It 584 views
About

The Cincinnati Children’s blog features thoughts and perspectives from our experts on all things pediatric health. This blog does not provide medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Learn More »

Contact Us
  • 3333 Burnet Avenue, Cincinnati, Ohio 45229-3026
  • 1-513-636-4200 | 1-800-344-2462
  • TTY: 1-513-636-4900
  • socialmedia@cchmc.org
Connect With Us
  • Subscribe
  • CincinnatiChildrens.org
  • Contact Us

© 2009-2022 Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center