Dewey G. Cornell

Bullying, Self-Control, and Adhd

We investigated the influence of low self-control and Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) on bullying and bully victimization in a sample of 1,315 middle school students using a school survey. Students who reported taking medication for ADHD were at increased risk for bullying as well as victimization by bullies. The correlation between ADHD status and bullying could be explained by low self-control, a construct theorized by Gottfredson and Hirschi to be the most important determinant of criminality. In contrast, the correlation between ADHD status and bullying victimization was independent of self-control. Subsequent analyses found that self-control influenced bullying victimization through interactions with student gender and measures of physical size and strength. These findings identify low self-control and ADHD as potential risk factors for bullying and victimization and have implications for research on self-control in young adolescents.

Supportive School Climate and Student Willingness to Seek Help for Bullying and Threats of Violence.

This study investigated the relations between student perceptions of support and student willingness to seek help for bullying and threats of violence in a sample of 7318 ninth-grade students from 291 high schools who participated in the Virginia High School Safety Study. Hierarchical linear modeling indicated that students who perceived their teachers and other school staff to be supportive were more likely to endorse positive attitudes toward seeking help for bullying and threats of violence. In schools with more perceived support, there was less of a discrepancy in help-seeking attitudes between girls and boys. Findings suggest that efforts by school staff to provide a supportive climate are a potentially valuable strategy for engaging students in the prevention of bullying and threats of violence.

Anger as a predictor of aggression among incarcerated adolescents.

This study examined the validity of trait anger as a predictor of aggressive behavior among juvenile offenders. Two standard self-report anger scales were administered to 65 recently incarcerated male adolescents. These youths were followed prospectively for physical and verbal aggression during 3 months of subsequent incarceration. Anger scores were not correlated with participant history of violent offending or staff ratings of anger. However, anger scores from both instruments were predictive of subsequent physical and verbal aggression. For example, the Trait Anger scale successfully classified 66% of juvenile offenders into high and low aggressive groups; receiver operating characteristic analysis obtained an effect size of .72. These results support the predictive validity of self-reported anger in identifying juvenile offenders at risk for institutional aggression.

What Can Be Done About School Shootings? A Review of the Evidence

School shootings have generated great public concern and fostered a widespread impression that schools are unsafe for many students; this article counters those misapprehensions by examining empirical evidence of school and community violence trends and reviewing evidence on best practices for preventing school shootings. Many of the school safety and security measures deployed in response to school shootings have little research support, and strategies such as zero-tolerance discipline and student profiling have been widely criticized as unsound practices. Threat assessment is identified as a promising strategy for violence prevention that merits further study. The article concludes with an overview of the need for schools to develop crisis response plans to prepare for and mitigate such rare events.

Psychopathy Screening of Incarcerated Juveniles: A Comparison of Measures

How well do brief screening measures correspond with a full-scale assessment of psychopathy among juvenile offenders? This study compared 3 independent screening measures (the Antisocial Process Screening Device [APSD] Self-Report [A. A. Caputo, P. J. Frick, & S. L. Brodsky, 1999], the APSD Staff Rating [P. J. Frick & R. D. Hare, 2001], and the Psychopathy Content Scale [D. C. Murrie & D. G. Cornell, 2000] on the Millon Adolescent Clinical Inventory [T. Millon, 1993]) with the Psychopathy Checklist: Youth Version (PCL:YV; A. E. Forth, D. S. Kosson, & R. D. Hare, in press) in a sample of 117 incarcerated male juveniles. Modest correlations (.30-.49) were found between PCL:YV scores and those of the 3 screening measures, and there was moderate accuracy (67%-82%) in identifying youth who scored relatively high (> or = 25) on the PCL:YV. Although these results support the construct of adolescent psychopathy, they indicate substantial limitations in the use of psychopathy screening measures with juvenile offenders.

The Relationship of School Structure and Support to Suspension Rates for Black and White High School Students

This study examined the relationship between structure and support in the high school climate and suspension rates in a statewide sample of 199 schools. School climate surveys completed by 5,035 ninth grade students measured characteristics of authoritative schools, defined as highly supportive, yet highly structured with academic and behavioral expectations. Multivariate analyses showed that schools low on characteristics of an authoritative school had the highest schoolwide suspension rates for Black and White students after statistically controlling for school demographics. Furthermore, schools low on both structure and support had the largest racial discipline gaps. These findings highlight the characteristics of risky settings that may not meet the developmental needs of adolescents and may contribute to disproportionate disciplinary outcomes for Black students.

Identification of Bullies and Victims: A Comparison of Methods

SUMMARY Bullying studies frequently rely on student self-report to identify bullies and victims of bullying, but research in the broader field of peer aggression makes greater use of other informants, especially peers, to identify aggressors and victims. This study compared self, peer, and teacher identification of bullies and bully victims in a sample of 416 middle school students. Overall, there was poor correspondence between self-reports and reports made by peers or teachers, but consistently better agreement between peers and teachers, in identifying both bullies and victims of bullying. Peer and teacher identification of bullies were more consistently associated with subsequent school disciplinary infractions than were self-reports. These results raise concern about reliance on student self-reports of bullying and bully victimization.

The Culture of Bullying in Middle School

Abstract The purpose of this study was to assess the nature and extent of student attitudes toward bullying. We investigated the consistency and prevalence of student attitudes across gender, race, socioeco-nomic status, and grade level. We also assessed whether students with positive attitudes toward peer aggression and students with higher trait anger were especially prone to support a normative structure that encourages bullying. Based on a data set including 6 middle schools and over 2,400 students, our results indicate that a culture of bullying is a pervasive phenomenon among middle school students and should be an important consideration in bullying prevention efforts.

Psychopathy Scores Predict Adolescent Inpatient Aggression

This prospective study found that psychopathy scores predicted aggressive behavior among 72 adolescent psychiatric inpatients, even after controlling for age, sex, socioeconomic status, length of hospital stay, and independent self-report measures of impulsivity and conduct problems. Psychopathy was assessed within 3 days of hospital admission by clinical raters trained in the use of Hares Psychopathy Checklist–Revised. Aggressive behavior was recorded by clinical staff members who were unaware of psychopathy ratings. Adolescents rated higher in psychopathy exhibited higher frequencies of both reactive and instrumental aggressive behavior than adolescents rated lower in psychopathy. Post hoc regression analyses revealed that psychopathy had incremental validity in predicting aggression beyond the contribution of clinical diagnosis or scores on the Millon Adolescent Clinical Inventory.

Aggressive Attitudes Predict Aggressive Behavior in Middle School Students

This prospective study found that self-reported attitudes toward peer aggression among 403 middle school students were both internally consistent (Cronbachs alphas = .81 and .82) and stable over time (7-month test—retest r = .66). Most notably, aggressive attitudes were correlated with 4 outcome criteria for aggressive behavior: student self-report of peer aggression, peer and teacher nominations of bullying, and school discipline referrals. Significant correlations ranged from .09 to .37. Receiver operating characteristic analyses resulted in effect sizes ranging from .59 to .75. Overall, this study demonstrates that assessment of student attitudes toward aggression yields concurrent and predictive information related to a range of aggressive and disruptive behaviors in middle school.