No abstract

Early detection of severe violence is a significant challenge for many schools. Three studies were conducted on samples of 6th, 8th, and 10th graders (12-16 years old). The first study, based on paired reports of teachers and students (n = 130), showed that a high percentage of both victims and perpetrators of severe violence are not identified by teachers but are known to students. The second and third studies were based on qualitative (n = 30) and quantitative methods (n = 524) and revealed the factors that explain students' willingness to report or seek help from their teachers. The findings highlight the role of victims as a source of information regarding perpetrators and suggest a new perspective for early identification of severe violence in schools.

This study examined the contribution of parental conditional regard (PCR) and societal conditional regard (SCR) -divided into positive and negative regardto high school dropouts' adjustment (i.e., well-being, loneliness, and future orientation) along the different stages of the dropout process. Specifically, the current study focused on dropouts from a traditional community, where dropping out was accompanied by various social repercussions. The study, conducted in Israel among Ultraorthodox Jewish males, included 261 participants, ages 14-21 (M = 17, SD = 1.17), who were at different stages in the dropout process. Structural equation modeling indicated a negative contribution of parental conditional negative regard to adjustment, while societal conditional positive regard made a positive contribution to adjustment. Moreover, dropouts indicated higher parental and societal conditional regard than students at other stages of the dropout process. Findings highlight the importance of SCR and PCR in understanding the adjustment of dropouts in traditional communities.

Students’ willingness to seek help from a teacher to deal with four different forms of violence (physical, relational, verbal, and use of weapon) was studied. The role of positive teacher–student relationships and whether such relationships mediate students’ perceptions of the teacher’s ability to assist were assessed. Findings pointed to only partial mediation in physical, relational, and verbal violence and no mediation in the case of weapon use. Girls and younger students were more willing to seek help for all forms of violence. The importance of relationships with teachers for dealing with school violence is discussed.

Objective: Although schools have a meaningful effect on students' lives, their role as a resilience factor for students experiencing ethno-political violence has never been studied. The aim of the present study was to investigate the contribution of students' school experience, and the school climate in particular, to students' coping with violence, and specifically its effect on the development of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and posttraumatic growth (PTG). Method: A cross-sectional telephone questionnaire survey was held with 534 Israeli high school students who live under constant violence as result of an ethno-political conflict in their region. Results: School climate accounted for 36% of the variance in PTSD and 20% of the variance in PTG. School safety and level of school facilities predicted lower levels of both PTSD and PTG. School connectedness and teacher's support were found to make a positive contribution to PTG. Furthermore, the risk for PTSD decreases with increasing school attendance. Girls presented higher PTSD and PTG than boys. Conclusion: A positive school climate is an important resilience factor for explaining students' PTSD and PTG and should be taken into account when designing interventions for students exposed to ethno-political violence.