Thomas R. Simon

Factors Associated with Bullying Behavior in Middle School Students

In this study, bullying was examined as a continuum of mild-to-extreme behaviors, and the potential correlates of bullying others were delineated. To improve identification and targeting of those youth at risk for bullying, demographic, behavioral, and psychosocial correlates were tested on a continuous measure of bullying behavior rated according to the number and frequency of behaviors. Among 558 middle school students surveyed in 1995, only 20% reported no bullying behavior. In multiple regression analysis, misconduct, anger, beliefs supportive of violence, confidence in using nonviolent strategies, and intentions to use nonviolent strategies were associated with levels of bullying behavior. Although boys reported more bullying behavior than did girls, gender was not a significant predictor in the multiple regression analysis. These study results were inconsistent with the perspective that early adolescents were either bullies or nonbullies and indicated the need for a comprehensive approach to preventing bullying behavior.

Stress, Coping, and Social Support among Homeless Youth.

Evaluated in this study was the extent to which stress, coping strategies, and social support were associated with depressive symptoms, poor physical health, and substance use in homeless youth. Data were obtained from a stratified random sample of 432 homeless youth recruited.from service sites and street sites in Los Angeles, California. Stres,sful life events were associated positively with symptoms of depression, poor physical health, and substance use. Use of emotion-focused coping strategies increased the risk of symptoms of depression, poor health, and substance-use disorders, whereas use of problem-focused coping strategies decreased the risk of alcohol use disorder and poorhealth. Social support decreased the risk of symptoms of depression and poor health but was not related to the risk of substance use. Results indicate that effective coping skills and social support may counteract the negative efficts of stressful life events on physical and psychological health in homeless youth.

Homeless youths and young adults in Los Angeles : Prevalence of mental health problems and the relationship between mental health and substance abuse disorders

Although understanding of the subsistence patterns, service utilization, and HIV-risk behaviors of homeless youths and young adults is increasing, relatively little is known about the epidemiology of mental health problems in this group or the relationships between mental health problems and substance use. This study measured symptoms of depression, low self-esteem, ADHD, suicidality, self-injurious behavior (SIB), and drug and alcohol use disorder in a sample of homeless youth and young adults living in Hollywood, CA. Results indicated extremely high prevalences of mental health problems, as compared with corresponding rates of mental health problems found among housed youths in previous studies. Prevalence of mental health problems differed by age and ethnicity. African Americans were at lower risk of suicidal thoughts and SIB than were those of other ethnicities. Older respondents and females were at increased risk of depressive symptoms, and younger respondents were at increased risk of SIB. Previous history of sexual abuse and/or assault was associated with increased risk of suicidality and SIB. Risk factors for drug abuse disorder included ethnicity other than African American, homelessness for 1 year or more, suicidality, SIB, depressive symptoms, and low self-esteem. Risk factors for alcohol abuse disorder included male gender, white ethnicity, homelessness for 1 year or more, suicidality, and SIB. Extremely high rates of mental health problems and substance abuse disorders in this sample suggest the need for street-based and nontraditional mental health services targeted toward these youths and young adults.

Short-Term Stability and Prospective Correlates of Bullying in Middle-School Students: An Examination of Potential Demographic, Psychosocial, and Environmental Influences

Stability and change of bullying over a four-month interval was examined in 516 middle school students (grades 6-8). The stability coefficient was .65 for the entire sample. There was a significant increase in bullying behavior from Time 1 to Time 2 for 6th grade students; no significant change in bullying was found among 7th or 8th graders. For 6th graders, a greater confidence in using non-violent strategies was associated with less bullying at Time 2, while beliefs supportive of violence and misconduct, less positive adult influences, and more negative peer influences were associated with greater likelihood of bullying at Time 2. Higher levels of impulsivity, anger, and depression were also associated with greater levels of bullying over time. Several explanations for the increase in bullying behaviors among 6th graders are discussed and linked to intervention efforts.

Attitudinal Acceptance of Intimate Partner Violence among U.S. Adults

Attitudinal acceptance of intimate partner violence (IPV) is an important correlate of violent behavior. This study examined acceptance of IPV using data collected from a nationally representative telephone survey of 5,238 adults. Multivariable logistic regression analyses were used to test for associations between sociodemographic characteristics, exposure to violence, question order, and acceptance of hitting a spouse or boyfriend/girlfriend under specific circumstances. Depending on the circumstance examined, acceptance of IPV was significantly higher among participants who were male and younger than 35; were non-White; were divorced, separated, or had never married; had not completed high school; had a low household income; or were victims of violence within the past 12 months. Participants were more accepting of women hitting men; they also were consistent’; more likely to report tolerance of IPV if they were asked first about women hitting men rather than men hitting women. Reports of IPV tolerance need to be interpreted within the context of the survey. Efforts to change IPV attitudes can be tailored to specific IPV circumstances and subgroups, and these efforts should emphasize that the use of physical violence is unacceptable to both genders.

Suicide Ideation Among US College Students Associations With Other Injury Risk Behaviors

Abstract Suicide, the endpoint of a continuum that begins with suicide ideation, is the third leading cause of death among the US college-aged population. The first and second leading causes of death among this age group, unintentional injury and homicide, may also be linked to suicide ideation. We used data from the National College Health Risk Behavior Survey to examine the association between suicide ideation and injury-related behaviors among 18- to 24-year-old college students. Students who reported suicide ideation were significantly more likely than students who did not report considering suicide to carry a weapon, engage in a physical fight, boat or swim after drinking alcohol, ride with a driver who had been drinking alcohol, drive after drinking alcohol, and rarely or never used seat belts. Given this clustering of injury-related risk behaviors, college prevention programs should aim to reduce risks for injuries comprehensively, rather than addressing each risk behavior separately.

Project towards no tobacco use: 1-year behavior outcomes.

OBJECTIVES We present 1-year follow-up data from a school-based tobacco use prevention project designed to test the effectiveness of three main components of social influence programs. The components teach refusal skills, awareness of social misperceptions about tobacco use, and misconceptions about physical consequences. METHODS Four different curricula were developed and tested in a randomized experiment involving 48 junior high schools. The outcome variables examined were changes in initial and weekly cigarette and smokeless tobacco use 1 year after the intervention. RESULTS Analyses indicated that each of the component programs were effective in decreasing both the initial and the weekly use of cigarettes except for the curriculum in which refusal skills were taught. Also, each curriculum was effective in decreasing the initial use of smokeless tobacco except for the one aimed at correcting social misperceptions. Only the combined curriculum showed an effect on the weekly use of smokeless tobacco. CONCLUSIONS The combined intervention was the most effective overall in reducing the initial and weekly use of cigarettes and smokeless tobacco. This suggests that different reasons for use exist and need to be counteracted simultaneously. However, since single programs were also effective in reducing all but weekly smokeless tobacco use, any of these components may be worthwhile prevention tools.

Characteristics of homicide followed by suicide incidents in multiple states, 2003-04.

Objective: To calculate the prevalence of homicide followed by suicide (homicide/suicide) and provide contextual information on the incidents and demographic information about the individuals involved using data from a surveillance system that is uniquely equipped to study homicide/suicide. Methods: Data are from the National Violent Death Reporting System (NVDRS). This active state-based surveillance system includes data from seven states for 2003 and 13 states for 2004. The incident-level structure facilitates identification of homicide/suicide incidents. Results: Within participating states, 65 homicide/suicide incidents (homicide rate  =  0.230/100 000) occurred in 2003 and 144 incidents (homicide rate  =  0.238/100 000) occurred in 2004. Most victims (58%) were a current or former intimate partner of the perpetrator. Among all male perpetrators of intimate partner homicide 30.6% were also suicides. A substantial proportion of the victims (13.7%) were the children of the perpetrator. Overall, most victims (74.6%) were female and most perpetrators were male (91.9%). A recent history of legal problems (25.3%), or financial problems (9.3%) was common among the perpetrators. Conclusions: The results support earlier research documenting the importance of intimate partner violence (IPV) and situational stressors on homicide/suicide. These results suggest that efforts to provide assistance to families in crisis and enhance the safety of IPV victims are needed to reduce risk for homicide/suicide. The consistency of the results from the NVDRS with those from past studies and the comprehensive information available in the NVDRS highlight the promise of this system for studying homicide/suicide incidents and for evaluating the impact of prevention policies and programs.

Effectiveness of anonymised information sharing and use in health service, police, and local government partnership for preventing violence related injury: experimental study and time series analysis

Objective To evaluate the effectiveness of anonymised information sharing to prevent injury related to violence. Design Experimental study and time series analysis of a prototype community partnership between the health service, police, and local government partners designed to prevent violence. Setting Cardiff, Wales, and 14 comparison cities designated “most similar” by the Home Office in England and Wales. Intervention After a 33 month development period, anonymised data relevant to violence prevention (precise violence location, time, days, and weapons) from patients attending emergency departments in Cardiff and reporting injury from violence were shared over 51 months with police and local authority partners and used to target resources for violence prevention. Main outcome measures Health service records of hospital admissions related to violence and police records of woundings and less serious assaults in Cardiff and other cities after adjustment for potential confounders. Results Information sharing and use were associated with a substantial and significant reduction in hospital admissions related to violence. In the intervention city (Cardiff) rates fell from seven to five a month per 100 000 population compared with an increase from five to eight in comparison cities (adjusted incidence rate ratio 0.58, 95% confidence interval 0.49 to 0.69). Average rate of woundings recorded by the police changed from 54 to 82 a month per 100 000 population in Cardiff compared with an increase from 54 to 114 in comparison cities (adjusted incidence rate ratio 0.68, 0.61 to 0.75). There was a significant increase in less serious assaults recorded by the police, from 15 to 20 a month per 100 000 population in Cardiff compared with a decrease from 42 to 33 in comparison cities (adjusted incidence rate ratio 1.38, 1.13 to 1.70). Conclusion An information sharing partnership between health services, police, and local government in Cardiff, Wales, altered policing and other strategies to prevent violence based on information collected from patients treated in emergency departments after injury sustained in violence. This intervention led to a significant reduction in violent injury and was associated with an increase in police recording of minor assaults in Cardiff compared with similar cities in England and Wales where this intervention was not implemented.

Measuring Sex Differences in Violence Victimization and Perpetration Within Date and Same-Sex Peer Relationships

This study examines sex differences in the patterns of repeated perpetration and victimization of physical violence and psychological aggression within dating relationships and same-sex peer relationships. Data were obtained from the Youth Violence Survey: Linkages among Different Forms of Violence, conducted in 2004, and administered to all public school students enrolled in grades 7, 9, 11 and 12 (N = 4,131) in a high-risk school district. Analyses of adolescents who dated in the past year (n = 2,888) show that girls are significantly more likely than boys to report physical violence and psychological aggression perpetration within dating relationships. However, boys are significantly more likely than girls to report physically injuring a date. Boys are also significantly more likely than girls to report physical violence victimization and perpetration within same-sex peer relationships. Implications and directions for future research are discussed.