In 2013, the U.S. Department of Education published revised guidelines for emergency response planning for colleges and universities in the United States. These guidelines reflect the collective work of numerous government intelligence, law enforcement, and preparedness agencies that have taken into account the past successes and failures of schools in response to natural disasters and man-made disasters such as cyber hacking and targeted violent incidents on campuses. With a collective enrollment of over 20 million students annually and valuable physical resources such as libraries, stadiums, and medical centers at institutions of higher education (IHE), an effort to identify the current safety personnel, practices, and services was conducted. The purpose of this research was to identify areas of IHE compliance with the government guidelines and to identify differences, if any, by school enrollment size and region of the country. A cross-sectional design was used to describe compliance with the government guidelines and examine the differences based on a random sample drawn from all accredited 4- year public colleges and universities (n=708) in the United States. A sample of 17% of all eligible institutions was selected (n=120), and a 70.8% response rate was obtained (n=85). Directors of public safety were interviewed by telephone and reported information regarding their school’s availability of mental health counseling, crime prevention programs, emergency communications plans, emergency operations plans, and personnel training. The major findings of this study revealed that only 64 (75%) schools offered disaster response presentations to new students and staff, while 9 (11%) reported that their written emergency operations plans were not available to their communities, and that only 53 (62.4%) offered presentations regarding cyber-security and safeguarding online information. This study also revealed that 40 (47%) of the respondents either did not have or did not know if their school had an emergency operations plan for dealing with database theft, and 55 (64.7%) either did not have or did not know if there was a plan in place to safeguard the private contact information used in their emergency communications systems. With an estimated 300,000+ college students annually studying abroad, only 44 (51.3%) respondents reported offering travel safety presentations to their communities. Few differences were identified based on enrollment or regional location. The implications are discussed within the context of increasing national trends of gun violence, armed civilians and officers on campuses, cyber hacking, and increased participation by students and researchers traveling abroad.

Peer aggression and bullying are significant problems for children in American schools. While a large body of research has been conducted in this area, none to date has examined the combined roles of temperament (behavioral activation system, or BAS, and behavioral inhibition system, or BIS), and empathy in predicting participation in bullying interactions. Previous research has found that low empathy facilitates aggressive behavior, while high empathy inhibits it, and has linked poor emotion regulation to conduct disorders. Thus, if these factors can predict behaviors towards peers, they may also predict (independently and in combination) involvement in bullying, specifically the roles assumed in those interactions - that is: bully, victim, bully-victim (a child who is both bully and victim), or defender/protector. The present study tested 226 middle school students on a measure of empathy (Interpersonal Reactivity Index), and a measure of temperament (BIS/BAS Scales). The students also completed a Peer Nomination Inventory to identify children who were aggressive toward others, victimized by peers, and/or protected peers from bullies. Although not all predictions were supported, results showed that certain sub-components of empathy, such as empathic concern (affective empathy) and personal distress (a measure of emotion regulation) predicted the behavior of "pure bullies" (bullies who are not themselves victimized), but not of other aggressive children such as bully-victims. High BAS drive and low BIS were significant predictors of aggressive behavior, and BAS reward responsiveness predicted protective behavior. Victimized children had higher fantasy (ability to identify with fictional characters) and lower perspective-taking (cognitive empathy) skills, and tended not to have overlapping characteristics and behaviors with protective children. / These characteristics did not interact significantly with each other or with age, gender, ethnicity, or SES of students. It was concluded that pure bullies lack affective empathy, and victims lack cognitive empathy. That is, empathy is multidimensional and empathy deficits vary in type, but all lead to some form of socioemotional impairment. Furthermore, aggressive victims are a unique sub-group of children with unique characteristics. / by Chantal M. Gagnon. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2012. / Includes bibliography. / Electronic reproduction. Boca Raton, Fla., 2012. Mode of access: World Wide Web.

Community collaborations have become increasingly common responses to prevent the occurrence of complex public health problems, such as violence, substance abuse, HIV/AIDS, and others. A key unanswered question is: what predicts sustainability of collaboratives? This article explores this question through a cross-site evaluation of 12 local collaboratives funded through the National Funding Collaborative on Violence Prevention (NFCVP). Conducted as longitudinal case studies, the evaluation is distinct from previous efforts in incorporating data from multiple sources. The results confirm findings from previous studies that have identified having a history of collaboration, a diverse and broad coalition, a clear vision and operation guidelines, and diversified and sufficient funding as key sustainability factors. In addition, this study has found that collaborations that are growing and expanding are more likely to have high resident involvement, a mix of professional and grassroots representation, and a facilitating, rather than direct, role in conducting prevention activities.

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Intimate partner violence (IPV) as it stands today still exists in many violent cases involving intimate relationships. Intervention programs seek to address this issue, however, fails to meet their intended outcomes to reduce prevalence rates of IPV. The research study evaluated the use of a prevention program and measures its effectiveness among high school students. This study sought to explain IPV prevention programs, making it explanatory and necessitates a quantitative research design. This study used secondary data analysis to assess effectiveness of this particular prevention program. Data was collected from 130 high school students within the Inland Empire who completed pre-surveys and post-surveys. Through data analysis, the study found the prevention program was effective by increasing the high school students’ knowledge about local resources for those experiencing IPV, specifically where to go for help. Another key finding revealed a majority of the participants were able to correctly define types of relationships and communication styles. However, the prevention program does not necessarily assess for participants’ knowledge on how to address conflict in a healthy manner, as measured by questions asked within the pre-surveys and post-surveys. This is not to say this particular prevention program was not effective in some areas. Still, there is room for improvement as far as future research; collaboration with seasoned researchers, school administrators, and social workers; and policy recommendations on this topic of school-based IPV prevention programs.

Intimate partner violence (IPV) is an extremely prevalent and concerning social issue, with limited current intervention and prevention strategies. Batterer intervention programs (BIPs) have demonstrated some small effects of programs in reducing offender recidivism, however there is a growing understanding that not all offenders respond similarly to batterer intervention and the problem of IPV persists. Restorative justice programs including impact panels may be an important addition to BIPs, but research is extremely limited on impact panel effectiveness and whether panels are appropriate for IPV or pose additional safety risks to survivors. The current study consists of a naturalistic mixed-methods evaluation of the use of IPV impact panels in the context of batterer intervention. Data collection methods include an ethnographic inquiry of the program setting and participant experiences, archival data analysis of offender responses to the panel (N = 287), and focus groups (k = 4) with survivors, offenders, and BIP providers to investigate the panel's impact on survivors and offenders and generate potential indicators of panel outcomes for survivors and offenders. Findings suggest that panel impacts on survivors include reaching new understandings, healing, and empowerment; panel impacts on offenders include connection with survivor speakers, reaching new understandings, and healing. Implications, limitations, and future aims of this program of research are discussed.

In response to high profile violent incidents and crimes, many schools have developed plans that address school discipline to create a school climate and culture wherein everyone is valued and treated with respect. The problem that prompted this study is teachers are struggling with effectively implementation prevention program. The purpose of this study was to explore the perceptions of teachers about school violence prevention programs. Guided by Bronfenbrenner's ecological systems theory, this study examined the connection among school violence, environment, discipline and prevention programs; and it explored approaches to creating safe communities in schools. The research questions focused on teachers' perceptions of the implemented strategies, of the barriers to program success, and of supervising roles of high school administrators. The 9 participants were Grade 9-12 urban school teachers who had 3 to 5 years of full time teaching experience and who had 2 to 3 years of work experience at the targeted high school. This qualitative case study described and analyzed data from individual interviews, self-reported observations, and researcher observations. Emergent themes were identified from the data through open coding and findings were developed and validated. The key results were that teachers support a uniform program and security officers help reduce school violence; that program implementation can be strengthened by increased funding, community support and professional development. Implications for social change are that educators, parents, students and community members must work collaboratively to create a safe school environment and a culture of problem solving and resolution.

Using a 471-case nursing sample, the current study examined the direct and indirect relationships between workplace aggression (including physical and psychological) against nurses and their health and safety consequences. Specifically, physical and psychological aggression nurses experienced were related to their job dissatisfaction, turnover intention, physical symptoms, injuries and exposure to contagious disease directly and/or indirectly through their emotional strain (irritation, anxiety, and depression). In addition, my findings demonstrated that stronger violence prevention climate (i.e., good prevention practices/response and low pressure for unsafe practices) was related to less frequent violence and psychological aggression incidents nurses experienced. Also, my results indicated significant moderating effect of organizational violence prevention practices/response (one dimension of violence prevention climate) in the relationships of nurses' physical and psychological aggression with their anxiety and depression, such that nurses who perceived stronger (vs. weaker) violence prevention climate seemed to be more (vs. less) anxious about or depressed by aggression incidents that occurred to them. However, overall nurses who perceived stronger violence prevention climate felt less anxious and depressed at work than those who perceived weaker climate. Finally, regarding the role of social burden, there was evidence from this study supporting its positive relationship with nurses' perceived irritation, anxiety, and depression although there did not seem to be evidence supporting its moderating role between nurses' aggression experience and their emotional strain. In summary, emotional strain seemed to be a relatively consistent mediator between nurses' aggression experiences and their health or safety consequences, and nurses' perceived social context (violence prevention climate and social burden) did significantly and directly relate to their health and safety consequences, but more research is warranted before we conclude about their potential moderating role in the aggression-consequence relationships.

Cognitive behavioral violence prevention (CB-VP) parenting groups are commonly used for the primary and secondary prevention of violence. These groups use persuasive messages that target violence-related attitudes and cognitions, with the expectation that this will result in behavior change. Despite their frequent use as family violence prevention strategies, little is known about the actual messages being exchanged in CB-VP groups and how participants perceive and recall these messages. This study analyzes messages aimed at changing behaviors as recalled by Hispanic participants in federally funded Fatherhood groups in Miami, Florida. Applying concepts from violence prevention, behavior change messages were classified by topic, type of behavior targeted, compliance gaining strategies (Marwell & Schmitt, 1967), and sources of influence Wheeless, Baraclough & Stewart, 1983). The most common topics reported by participants included parenting role, discipline, communication content and spending time with children. Over a third of the appeals targeted behaviors that were not observable actions, but rather cognitive acts such as thinking, reflecting, and paying attention. Reward and punishment were the most frequently used compliance gaining strategies, followed by moral and expertise strategies. Most appeals were based on the expected outcomes of the proposed behaviors as the main source of influence. The results of this study provide a greater understanding of the motivations used to support behavior change messages in violence prevention parenting groups.

The high prevalence of sexual violence warrants continued research into its prevention. Understanding consensual sexual experiences holds promise for sexual violence prevention; however, sexual consent is a surprisingly understudied phenomenon. Existing research focuses on the tactics used to coerce consent and the ways in which college students initiate and indicate consent. Research that begins to articulate a theory of consent may help engineer situations antithetical to sexually violent experiences. This study is a first step toward that objective. This paper presents findings from an exploratory research study on college students’ conceptualizations of sexual consent. The purpose of this study was twofold: To investigate how college students define consent and to understand how context influences the consent process. To explore these research questions, quantitative and qualitative data were collected using Q methodology. Exploratory factor analysis revealed two groups of college students who conceptualize consent differently. One group focuses on the importance of consent to rape prevention, the other to healthy sexuality promotion. Qualitative interview data suggest contextual variables such as definition of consent and relationship type influence consent to a lesser extent than alcohol use, personal sexual experience, discrepant levels of sexual experience between partners, and feelings for a potential sexual partner. Results support replacing the current model of consent, in which consent is a contractual obligation between sexual partners, with one of sexual communication, where consent is woven into a broader conversation about healthy sexuality. The strengths and limitations of doing so are discussed and directions for future intervention research are presented.