Threat Assessment in the School Setting

Nancy Rappaport, MD

Harvard Medical School

Background Data on School Violence

• School characteristics that are associated with higher rates of school violence are large school size, problematic leadership and presence of gangs in the school.

Source: Kaufman, P., Chen, X., Choy, S.P., et al. (2000), Indicators of school crime and safety, 2000. US Department of Education (NCES 2001-017) and US Department of Justice (NCJ-184176): Washington, DC.

Background Data on School Violence

• Children and adolescents are three times as likely to be victims of serious violent crime away from school than they are on school grounds.

Source: Kaufman P, Chen X, Choy SP, et al. (2000), Indicators of school crime and safety, 2000. US Department of Education (NCES 2001-017) and US Department of Justice (NCJ-184176): Washington, DC.

0%2%4%6%8%

10%12%

6th 8th 10th 12th

19951999

Student Victimization Statistics

Percentage of students ages 12-18 who reported criminal victimization at school during the previous 6 months

Percent

Grade

Source: U.S. Department of Education (National Center for Education Statistics), U.S. Department of Justice (Bureau of Justice Statistics), Indicators of School Crime and Safety 1999.

Most Common Types of School Violence

• Interpersonal disputes

• Assaults without weapons

• Assaults between (male) students

• Before and after school, during transitions between classes, during lunch

How Is School Violence Measured?

• Self-Report Surveys

• Studies do not report using response reliability or validity checks

• Public Health Model

Source: Cornell DG, Loper AB (1998), Assessment of violence and other high-risk behaviors with a school survey. School Psychology Review 27: 317-330.

Ambiguous Questions

• “In the past thirty days, how many times have you brought a weapon to school [gun, knife or club]?” (YRBS)

• Multiple weapons• Choice of time period• Level of severity

Source: Kann L, Kinchen SA, Williams BI, et al. (1998), Youth risk behavior surveillance - United States, 1997. Journal of School Health, 68, 355-369.

School Violence Statistics

• In a 2001 survey of high school students, 17.4% had carried a weapon to school during the 30 days preceding the survey.

Source: Grunbaum J, Kann L, Kinchen SA, et al. (2001), Youth risk behavior surveillance - United States, 2001. Surveillance Summaries, 28 June 2002.

Expulsions for Bringing Firearms to School

• 57% involved high school students

• 33% involved junior/middle school students

• 10% involved elementary school students

Gun-Free Schools Act Report: School Year 1998-1999, U.S. Department of Education, October 2002

Reprinted by permission

“Battered Teacher Syndrome”

• Depression

• Elevated Blood Pressure

• Interrupted Sleep

• Headaches

Source: Bloch, AM (1976), The battered teacher. Today’s Education, 66:58-62.

• School violence is an important part of the daily lives of children in schools… It affects where they walk, how they dress, where they go and who their friends are. As long as teachers treat violence at arms’ length, as something that is someone else’s problem, they will continue to neglect the opportunity to intervene in a crucial aspect of the children’s lives. By ignoring school violence, the name-calling, the shoving, the fighting, the harassment, they are condoning it. children see teachers walking by, pretending not to notice, and they learn that the way we treat others, the way we interact on the street or in the playground, is nobody’s business but our own. Teachers must talk about violence, they must recognize it, examine it, dissect it, and let children see and understand its secrets and its sources. Without this examination it remains an ugly secret that society cannot understand or control.

Source: Epp JR, Watkinson AM (1997), Systemic violence in education: Broken promise. Albany: State University of New York Press.

Crimes Against Teachers

0

50

100

150Per 1,000

Total Theft Violent SeriousViolent

Nonfatal crimes against teachers at school by instructional level

K-5

6-8

9-12

On average, each year from 1993 to 1997 there were 131,400 violent crimes against teachers at school, as reported by both public and private schools. This translates into a rate of 31 crimes for every 1,000 teachers and a rate of 53 thefts for every 1,000 teachers.

Source: U.S. Department of Education (National Center for Education Statistics), U.S. Department of Justice (Bureau of Justice Statistics), Indicators of School Crime and Safety 1999.

Multiple-Victim Homicide Incidents at School

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

1992-93 1993-94 1994-95 1995-96 1996-97 1997-98Source: 1999 Annual Report on School Safety. The School Associated Violent Deaths Study, Center for Disease Control and Prevention and the US Department of Education, 2000.

Number of Incidents

• A 14-year old girl in Pennsylvania spoke honestly during a class discussion of the Colombine tragedy. She stated that she could understand how a person could be driven by hurtful others to a point of wanting to explode and hurt someone. She was quickly escorted to the principal’s office, physically searched for weapons, and then suspended from school.

Source: National Public Radio (6 May 1999), All things considered. Transcript by Burrelle’s Information Services, Livingston, NY

Characteristics of Students Exhibiting Violent Behavior

“Classroom Avenger”• Premeditated assailant

involved with shooting multiple students

• Often comes from rural or suburban areas and different family backgrounds and academic achievement, with little prior involvement with the juvenile justice system

Typically Violent Student• Often from families in

turmoil with a history of abuse and neglect

• Failing academically• Struggling with

impulsive behavior, poor frustration tolerance and limited concentration

Source: Twemlow SW, Fonagy P, Sacco FC, O’Toole ME, (2002), Premeditated mass shootings in schools: Threat assessment. J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry 41:475-477.

Guidelines for AssessmentGuidelines for Assessment

• High-level threats include direct, specific threats where the student has concrete plans to execute his threats

• Medium-level threats can be concrete with descriptive detail but lack discernable preparation plans.

• Low-level threats are those threats that seem exaggerated; the student has inconsistent details of a plan

Source: Fein RA, Vossekuil B, Pollack WS, et al. (2002), Threat Assessment in schools: A guide to managing threatening situations and to creating safe school climates. United States Secret Service and United States Department of Education, Washington, D.C.

Classification of Risks

• Individual traits describe a wide range of behaviors such as low frustration tolerance, poor coping skills, recent rejection, and signs of depression

• Family dynamics highlight difficult parent-child relationships including parents denying their child’s troubled behavior and providing minimal supervision

Source: Twemlow, S.W., Fonagy, P., Sacco, F.C., O’Toole, M.E. (2002), Premeditated mass shootings in schools: Threat assessment. J. Am. Acad. Child Adolesc. Psychiatry, 41:475-477; Browne, J.A., Losen, D.J., Wald, J. (2001), Zero tolerance: Unfair, with little recourse. New Directions for Youth Development, 92:73-99.

Classification of Risks, ctd.

• School problems are teasing, and a school climate that encourages a code of silence and reinforces bullying behavior

• Community factors may inhibit or stimulate aggression depending on the availability of guns, immersion in deviant peer groups, and easy access to drugs and alcohol

Assessment Guidelines

• Has there been any communication that suggests ideas or intent to attack?

• Has the student shown deviant fantasies of revenge?

• Has the student engaged in attack-related behaviors?

• How organized is the student’s thinking and behavior?

• Is the student experiencing hopelessness, desperation and/or despair?

Assessment Guidelines (ctd.)

• Does the student have a trusting relationship with at least one responsible adult?

• Does the student see violence as an acceptable-or desirable-way to solve problems?

• Is the student’s conversation and “story” consistent with his or her actions?

• Are other people concerned about the student’s potential for violence?

• What circumstances might affect the likelihood of an attack?

Zero Tolerance: Can Suspension and Expulsion Keep Schools

Safe?Skiba RJ, Noam GG (eds.), New

Directions for Youth Development: Theory Practice Research, Volume 92. Winter 2001, Jossey-Bass Press.

• Currently the majority of public schools adopt a “zero tolerance” stance for any kind of violent behavior with no research to demonstrate the efficacy of these policies

• Political solution

Source: Editor’s Notes: New Directions for Youth Development, 92:1-6.

• There is a disproportionate representation of minority students and students with special needs being suspended or expelled

Source: Skiba RJ, Peterson RL (1999), The dark side of zero tolerance: Can punishment lead to safe schools? Phi Delta Kappan, 80:372-382.

• Many students recommended for expulsion from schools do not represent danger to other students or staff and are a heterogeneous group

Source: Morrison GM, D’Incau B (1997), The web of zero tolerance: Characteristics of students who are recommended for expulsion from school. Education and Treatment of Children, 20(3):316-335.

• Disconnected group

• Socialized delinquent group (31/158)

• Troubled group

• “First offense” group

Source: Morrison GM, D’Incau B. (2000), Developmental and service trajectories for students with disabilities recommended for expulsion from school. Exceptional Children,66:257-272.

Federally Mandated Special Education Protection

• More than ten days of suspension in one school year

• Expulsion proceedings

Source: Morrison GM, D’Incau B. (2000), Developmental and service trajectories for students with disabilities recommended for expulsion from school. Exceptional Children,66:257-272.

• Is the offense a “manifestation” of their disabling condition?

• Determination of their appropriate placement

Source: Morrison GM, D’Incau B. (2000), Developmental and service trajectories for students with disabilities recommended for expulsion from school. Exceptional Children,66:257-272.

Five-Step Case Evaluation Consultation Model

1. Informed consent

2. Referral information

3. Contact with school and other professionals

4. Student and parent interviews

5. Report and feedback

Conditions of Psychiatric Evaluation

• Office of Special Education

• Special Education Services eligibility

• NOT confidential

Selected Specific Behavior Rating Scales

Source: Connor, D.F. (2002), Aggression and Antisocial Behavior

in Children and Adolescents: Research and Treatment. New York:

Guilford.

Scale/ Reference:Aggression

Age Range

Conduct Domains Informants

New York Teacher Rating Scale (NYTRS; LS Miller et al., 1995)

6-14 Defiance, Physical Aggression, Delinquent Aggression, Peer Relations

Teachers

Predatory-Affective Aggression Questionnaire (Vitiello et al., 1990)

10-18 Predatory Aggression, Affective Aggression

Other (Staff, Peers)

Proactive-Reactive Aggression Scale (Dodge & Coie, 1987)

5-18 Reactive Aggression, Proactive Aggression

Parents, Teachers, Other

StructuredAssessment ofViolenceRisk inYouth

Source: Bartel P, Borum R, Forth A (2002), Structured Assessment for Violence Risk in Youth (SAVRY). Consultation Edition.

Children’s Aggression Scale – Teacher Version (CAS-T)

• Verbal aggression

• Aggression against objects and animals

• Provoked physical aggression

• Unprovoked physical aggression

• Use of weapons

• ReliabilitySource: Halperin JM, McKay K, Grayson RH, Newcorn JH. (2003), Reliability, validity, and preliminary normative data for the Children’s Aggression Scale – Teacher Version. J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry 42:965-971.

CASE STUDIES

Case One

• Individual Factors

• Family Factors

• School & Peer Factors

• Treatment

• Situational Factors

• Attack-Related Behaviors

Myth of the“Teenage Werewolf”

• Popular media often insinuates that there are minimal warning signs for violent teenagers. In contrast, violent students often have histories of low frustration tolerance, impulsivity and angry outbursts. Adolescents who are at risk often externalize their anger and are less subtle about their agitation.

Treatment System Gaps

• Practical Limitations

• Crisis Response

• Lag Time

Coordinated System of Care• Access to a psychiatric emergency

room, inpatient unit, outpatient services

• Shared Responsibility

• School Setting

Multisystemic Response

• Flexibility

• Adolescents with conduct problems

• Department of Mental Health (DMH) diagnosis

Source: Mattison RE, Spirito A (1993), Current consultation needs of school systems. In: Child and Adolescent Mental Health Consultation in Hospitals, Schools, and Courts, ed. B Nurcombe, GK Fritz RE Mattison & A Spirito. Arlington, VA: American Psychiatric Publishing, pp. 161-183; Henggeler SW, Melton GB, Smith LA (1992), Family preservation using multisystemic therapy: An effective alternative to incarcerating serious juvenile offenders. J Consulting Clin Psychol, 60:953-961.

Case Two

• Situational Factors

• Attack-Related Behaviors

• Family Factors

• School & Peer Factors

Clinical Prediction of Risk

• Very little research on the accuracy of clinical prediction of violence in adolescents

• Risk factors, resilience factors, potential triggers• Grisso: “I do not know whether this youth will

engage in violent behavior, but the risk that it may happen is (greater than, similar to, less than) the risk posed by youths in general in (the relevant setting).”

Source: Comer JP (1997), Waiting for a Miracle: Why Schools Can’t Solve Our Problems and How We Can. New York: Dutton. Grisso T (1998), Forensic Evaluation of Juveniles. Sarasota, FL: Professional Resource Press.

• The importance of advocacy in modifying the disciplinary action

Source: Morrison GM, D’Incau B. (2000), Developmental and service trajectories for students with disabilities recommended for expulsion from school. Exceptional Children,66:257-272.

• There is a key distinction between predicting violence and emphasizing preventing violence by suggesting appropriate interventions.

Source: Sewell K W, Mendelsohn M (2000), Profiling potentially violent youth: Statistical and conceptual problems. Children’s Services: Social Policy, Research, and Practice, 3:147-169.

Enhancing Protective FactorsChild Factors Family

FactorsExtrafamilial Factors

•Easy Temperament•Higher IQ•Internal locus of control•High self-esteem•Academic competence•Social competence•Competence in activities

Good parent-child relations

External supportsFriendshipsAvailability of Opportunities

Source: Connor DF (2002), Aggression and Antisocial Behavior in Children and Adolescents: Research and Treatment. New York: Guilford.

Case Three

• Individual Factors

• Family Factors

• School & Situational Factors

• Systemic Assessment

Systemic Violence

• Contextually embedded

• School climate

• Institutional practices that adversely affect individuals

Source: Furlong MJ, Morrison G (2000), The school in school violence: Definitions and facts. Journal of Emotional & Behavioral Disorders, 8:71-82.

• Schools can be an arena where cultural differences are amplified.

Source: Delpit LD (1995), Other People's Children: Cultural Conflict in the Classroom. New York: New Press. Lightfoot SL (1978), Worlds Apart: Relationships Between Families and Schools. Basic Books: New York.

Time Somebody Told MeQuantedius Hall, “Son of Reality,” Age 12

Time Somebody Told MeThat I am lovely, good and real

That I am Beautiful insideIf they only knew

How that would make me feel.

Time Somebody Told MeThat My mind is quick, sharp

and full of witThat I should keep on trying

and never quit.

Time Somebody Told MeHow they loved and needed me

How my smile is filled with hopeAnd my spirit sets them free

How my eyes shine, full of lightHow good they feel when they hug me tight.

Time Somebody Told Me

So, I had a talk with myselfJust me, nobody else

‘cause it was timeSomebody Told Me.

Source: Franco, B (ed.), 2000. You Hear Me? Poems and writing by teenage boys. Cambridge, MA: Candlewick Press.