Factors associated with school psychologists' perceptions of campus violence

Journal Article (Journal Article)

Recent concern about school violence has increased demands on school psychologists to respond to safety concerns on their school campuses. In this study, 123 school psychologists responded to a survey about their perceptions, experiences, and readiness to meaningfully address school violence. School psychologists reported that they do not worry about their personal safety at school (78%), but most felt unprepared to deal with school violence (73%) and had received no specialized training in this area (85%). A principal components analysis of the types of violence school psychologists perceived to occur on their campuses identified a range of incidents from bullying to antisocial behavior. School psychologists working in inner-city schools were more likely to believe that their schools had high levels of violence (45.6%) compared with those working in urban-not inner-city (14.3%), suburban (4.9%), or rural (0%) schools. Recommendations to prepare school psychologists to help prevent, reduce, and respond to campus violence are discussed.

Full Text

Duke Authors

Cited Authors

  • Furlong, M; Poland, S; Babinski, L; Muñoz, J; Boles, S

Published Date

  • January 1, 1996

Published In

Volume / Issue

  • 33 / 1

Start / End Page

  • 28 - 37

International Standard Serial Number (ISSN)

  • 0033-3085

Digital Object Identifier (DOI)

  • 10.1002/(SICI)1520-6807(199601)33:1<28::AID-PITS4>3.0.CO;2-S

Citation Source

  • Scopus