School sexual harassment (SH) is defined as unwelcome behavior of a sexual nature that interferes with a student's ability to learn. There is an important need for schools to assess the prevalence of SH and its relation to school climate to guide intervention efforts. This study investigated 3 research questions: (a) Is there psychometric support for a 4-item multilevel measure of SH? (b) What is the prevalence of SH in a statewide high school sample, and how does SH vary across gender, grade level, race-ethnicity, and socioeconomic status? (c) Is an authoritative school climate-characterized by strict but fair discipline and supportive teacher-student relationships-associated with lower levels of SH for students? A statewide sample of high school students (N ϭ 62,679) completed a school climate survey that included a new 4-item measure of SH. Results of a multilevel confirmatory factor analysis indicated good fit for a single SH factor at both student and school levels. A multiway analysis of variance demonstrated the high prevalence of SH and variations across demographic groups. Multilevel hierarchical regression analyses indicated that an authoritative school climate accounted for 5.7% of the student-level variance and 38.3% of the school-level variance in SH scores. Routine assessment of SH can help school psychologists bring attention to this underrecognized problem. Impact and ImplicationsSexual harassment is an important national concern that has not been adequately recognized in high schools. Approximately 38% of high school students in a large statewide sample reported at least one incident of sexual harassment in the past year, with differences across gender, grade level, raceethnicity, and socioeconomic status. School psychologists can bring attention to the problem and advocate routine assessment of sexual harassment with a four-item scale. An authoritative school climate is associated with lower levels of sexual harassment.
Despite the widespread use of threat assessment in K–12 schools, there is a dearth of research investigating the staff training process. We evaluated the effectiveness of day-long training on the Comprehensive Student Threat Assessment Guidelines (CSTAG) in a sample of 4,666 multidisciplinary school personnel from administration, law enforcement, mental health, teaching, and other groups. Across 100 workshops conducted by 9 trainers, all discipline groups showed large and statistically significant increases in their knowledge of threat assessment from pretest to posttest. On average, participants achieved threat classification accuracy scores of 75% after completing the workshop. Over 95% of participants provided positive evaluations of the workshop and highly endorsed motivation to implement threat assessment in their schools. Overall, these findings support the use of workshop training to prepare multidisciplinary school-based threat assessment teams.
BACKGROUND Threat assessment is a widely recommended practice used by schools to investigate and respond to student threats of violence; however, students are often reluctant to disclose threats. METHODS We developed an online educational program for students to increase their understanding of threat assessment and the need to report serious threats. We investigated 2 research questions: (1) How are student characteristics of sex, grade level, and ethnicity/race associated with student knowledge of threat assessment and willingness to report threats? (2) Does the program increase knowledge of threat assessment and willingness to report threats? The sample consisted of 2338 students from 6 middle schools and 3 high schools. RESULTS Prior to program completion, boys were less willing than girls, and older students were less willing than younger students, to report threats. Post‐program questions revealed that the program significantly increased knowledge and willingness to report threats across student groups, with effect sizes (Cohen's d) ranging from small (.30) to large (1.43). CONCLUSIONS This program promotes school safety by teaching students about threat assessment and increasing willingness to report threats. The program is available online for other schools to use.
Objective: There is substantial heterogeneity in depressive symptomology for individuals with Parkinson's disease (PD). It is unknown whether the Beck Depression Inventory-Second Edition (BDI-II) is capable of identifying such phenotypic variations of depression. Method: We investigated the factor structure of the BDI-II and its associations with demographic characteristics and other nonmotor symptoms in PD. We reviewed the cases of 236 patients with a confirmed PD diagnosis. Evaluations included the BDI-II, Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA), Apathy Scale (AS), and Geriatric Anxiety Inventory (GAI). We used exploratory structural equation modeling (ESEM) with target rotations as this method integrates aspects of exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis. We conducted hierarchical regressions to assess for associations between the BDI-II factors and gender, age, education, disease duration, cognition, anxiety, and apathy. Results: ESEM supported the retention of a Somatic factor and an Affective factor that accounted for 53% of the model variance. Model goodness-of-fit measures were within normal limits. Higher AS scores were positively associated with the Somatic and Affective factors. Higher GAI scores were positively associated only with the Affective factor. There were no other significant relationships with factor scores. Conclusions: This study supports the retention of a two-factor model of the BDI-II in PD. These unique clusters of depressive symptoms in PD can be used to guide clinical decisions about the need for further psychiatric evaluation and the appropriateness of different therapeutic interventions. Key PointsQuestion: What Is the Factor Structure of the BDI-II in Parkinson's Disease? Findings: This study provides support for the retention of an Affective factor and a Somatic factor for the BDI-II in Parkinson's disease. Importance: These factors provide insight into the phenotypic variations of depressive symptomology in Parkinson's disease. Next Steps: Future studies should explore whether participant responses across these factors change in response to various treatments.
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