J Sch Health

BACKGROUNDThis study used a new Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED) assessment tool to test the associations between physical attributes of schools and violence-related behaviors and perceptions of students.METHODSData were collected from 4717 students from 50 middle schools. Student perceptions of risk and safety, and violence were assessed. Evaluators used the CPTED School Assessment (CSA) to quantify how well the physical elements of each school correspond to ideal CPTED principles. Generalized linear mixed models were used to adjust for school- and student-level characteristics.RESULTSHigher CSA scores were generally associated with higher perceptions of safety and lower levels of violence perpetration and perceived risk in unadjusted models. Higher CSA scores were also associated with lower odds of missing school because of safety concerns in most adjusted models, with significant adjusted odds ratios (AORs) ranging from 0.32 to 0.63. CSA scores for parking and bus loading areas also remained associated with higher perceived safety (AORs = 1.28 and 1.32, respectively) and lower perceived risk (AORs = 0.73 and 0.66, respectively) in adjusted models.CONCLUSIONSThe CSA is useful for assessing school environments that are associated with violence-related behaviors and perceptions. The CSA might help guide school environmental modifications to reduce violence.CC999999/Intramural CDC HHS/United States2019-04-01T00:00:00Z29498060PMC58585546076vault:2758

The Landau-Zener transition and the surface hopping method for the 2D Dirac equation for graphene

A Lagrangian surface hopping algorithm is implemented to study the two dimensional massless Dirac equation for Graphene with an electrostatic potential, in the semiclassical regime. In this problem, the crossing of the energy levels of the system at Dirac points requires a particular treatment in the algorithm in order to describe the quantum transition-- characterized by the Landau-Zener probability-- between different energy levels. We first derive the Landau-Zener probability for the underlying problem, then incorporate it into the surface hopping algorithm. We also show that different asymptotic models for this problem derived in [O. Morandi, F. Sch{\"u}rrer, J. Phys. A: Math. Theor. 44 (2011)] may give different transition probabilities. We conduct numerical experiments to compare the solutions to the Dirac equation, the surface hopping algorithm, and the asymptotic models of [O. Morandi, F. Sch{\"u}rrer, J. Phys. A: Math. Theor. 44 (2011)]

J Sch Nurs

Supportive school policies and well-prepared school nurses can best address the needs of students with chronic health conditions. We analyzed nationally representative data from the 2012 School Health Policies and Practices Study to examine whether districts with policies requiring that schools provide health services to students with chronic health conditions were more likely to provide funding for professional development (PD) or offer PD to school nurses on those health services than districts without such policies. Compared to districts without certain requirements for health services related to chronic health conditions, districts with those requirements were more likely to provide PD on related topics (for all comparisons, p 64 .001). For some topics, however, regardless of district requirements, PD was fairly low and suggests the need for increases in the rates at which districts provide PD to support school nurses who deliver services to students with chronic health conditions.CC999999/Intramural CDC HHS/United States2016-06-01T00:00:00Z25228667PMC4572695vault:1290

J Sch Psychol

Research suggests that students who bully may perceive the school climate less favorably. Person-centered analyses were used to identify distinct groupings of bullying behaviors and related social-emotional factors (i.e., victimization, internalizing, and perception of school and bullying climate). Latent class analyses were conducted on a sample of 10,254 middle and 2509 high school students and indicated four classes in middle school (Low Involvement, Verbal, High Physical/High Verbal, and High Involvement) and three classes in high school (Low Involvement, Verbal, and High Involvement). A Low Involvement bullying class characterized most students and was related to positive adjustment, whereas a High Involvement bullying class represented the smallest proportion of the sample (1.6% middle school and 7.3% in high school). Students in the High Involvement class reported increased victimization and internalizing problems, feeling less safe and less belonging, and perceiving the school climate to be more supportive of bullying (i.e., perceiving adults' prevention and intervention efforts as ineffective). In middle school, the High Physical/High Verbal class reported significantly higher levels of victimization as compared to the Verbal class. Findings highlight heterogeneity in bullying behaviors and underscore the importance of prevention and intervention programming that addresses safety and belonging.T32 DA007292/DA/NIDA NIH HHS/United States1U49CE00728-011/CE/NCIPC CDC HHS/United StatesK01CE001333-01/CE/NCIPC CDC HHS/United StatesT32DA007292 1/DA/NIDA NIH HHS/United States2019-03-12T00:00:00Z23870442PMC6414047vault:3165

J Sch Health

BACKGROUNDProfessional development (PD) and collaboration help ensure the quality of school health education. The purpose of this study was to examine trends in the percentage of lead health education teachers (LHETs) receiving PD on health topics and collaborating with other school staff on health education activities.METHODSThis study analyzed representative data from 41 states participating in School Health Profiles surveys between 2000 and 2010. Logistic regression examined linear trends in the percentage of LHETs who received PD on 12 topics and who collaborated on health education activities.RESULTSSignificant increases in the percentage of LHETs receiving PD on nutrition and physical activity and significant decreases in the percentage of LHETs receiving PD on alcohol- and other drug-use prevention and human immunodeficiency virus prevention were seen. Significant increases in the percentage of LHETs who collaborated with physical education staff and nutrition services staff were seen in 29 and 39 states, respectively.CONCLUSIONSAlthough 10-year increases in PD and collaboration in the areas of nutrition and physical activity are encouraging, PD and collaboration in other topic areas still need improvement. These results will help states target more resources toward PD and collaboration in areas where they have been decreasing.20132015-09-10T00:00:00ZCC999999/Intramural CDC HHS/United States24020688PMC4564690864

J Sch Violence

Limited research has been conducted on the state-level factors that may be associated with intentional school shootings. We obtained school shooting data from the | that identified any act of intentional interpersonal gunfire in a K-12 school over the course of two decades. We also compiled new data on active school shootings during the same twenty-year time period, which identified any attempted mass shooting incident in a K-12 school. We conducted a time-series analysis to measure the association of permissiveness of state firearm laws and state gun ownership with K-12 school shootings and active shootings. More permissive firearm laws and higher rates of gun ownership were associated with higher rates of both school shootings and active school shootings after controlling for critical covariates. Specific recommendations for K-12 schools to consider as they seek to prevent acts of intentional gunfire on school grounds are presented.R24 HD087149/HD/NICHD NIH HHSUnited States/U01 CE002698/CE/NCIPC CDC HHSUnited States

J Sch Health

BACKGROUND:Little is known about the effectiveness of school district concussion policies on reducing the concussion prevalence among students.METHODS:Data from the 2016 School Health Policies and Practices Study and 2017 Youth Risk Behavior Survey for 10 school districts were linked. The outcome variable was having a sports- or physical activity-related concussion during the 12 months before of the survey. Exposure variables were two district policies, including district-funded professional development and prioritizing return to the classroom before returning to athletics. Logistic regression models estimated the odds of a concussion among students in districts with one, both, or neither policy (referent).RESULTS:In districts with district-funded professional development, the odds of students self-reporting 65 2 sports- or physical activity-related concussions were 1.4 times higher than in districts with neither policy. In districts with a policy prioritizing a return to the classroom before returning to athletics, the odds of students self-reporting 65 2 concussions were significantly lower (OR=0.6) than in districts with neither policy.CONCLUSION:School district concussion policies may have positive effects by identifying and reducing multiple concussions among students.IMPLICATIONS FOR SCHOOL HEALTH:Expansion of involvement of athletic trainers, education opportunities, and concussion management teams may improve policy uptake.CC999999/ImCDC/Intramural CDC HHSUnited States

J Sch Health

BACKGROUND:Being bullied online is associated with being bullied in school. However, links between online bullying and violence-related experiences are minimally understood. We evaluated potential disparities in these associations to illuminate opportunities to reduce school-based violence.METHODS:We used five cohorts of Youth Risk Behavior Survey national cross-sectional data (2011-2019, Ntotal = 73 074). We used survey-weighted logistic and multinomial models to examine links between online bullying and five school-based violence-related experiences: offline bullying, weapon carrying, avoiding school due to feeling unsafe, being threatened/injured with a weapon, and physical fighting. We examined interactions by sex, race/ethnicity, and sexual identity.RESULTS:Being bullied online was positively associated with all offline violence-related behaviors. Groups with stronger associations between online bullying and physical fighting, including boys, adolescents whose sexual identity was gay/lesbian or unsure, and many adolescents of color (Black, Hispanic/Latino, and Asian/Pacific Islander adolescents), had stronger associations between online bullying and either weapon carrying or avoiding school.CONCLUSIONS:Online bullying is not an isolated harmful experience; many marginalized adolescents who experience online bullying are more likely to be targeted in school, feel unsafe, get in fights, and carry weapons. Reduction of online bullying should be prioritized as part of a comprehensive school-based violence prevention strategy.R49CE003094/CE/NCIPC CDC HHSUnited States/K01 DA045224/DA/NIDA NIH HHSUnited States/R01DA037866/DA/NIDA NIH HHSUnited States/R01 DA048853/DA/NIDA NIH HHSUnited States/R49CE003094/ACL/ACL HHSUnited States/R01DA048853/DA/NIDA NIH HHSUnited States/R01 DA037866/DA/NIDA NIH HHSUnited States/R49 CE003094/CE/NCIPC CDC HHSUnited States/K01DA045224/DA/NIDA NIH HHSUnited States

J Sch Health

BACKGROUNDWhile it is a national priority to support the health and education of students, these sectors must better align, integrate, and collaborate to achieve this priority. This article summarizes the literature on the connection between health and academic achievement using the Whole School, Whole Community, and Whole Child (WSCC) framework as a way to address health-related barriers to learning.METHODSA literature review was conducted on the association between student health and academic achievement.RESULTSMost of the evidence examined the association between student health behaviors and academic achievement, with physical activity having the most published studies and consistent findings. The evidence supports the need for school health services by demonstrating the association between chronic conditions and decreased achievement. Safe and positive school environments were associated with improved health behaviors and achievement. Engaging families and community members in schools also had a positive effect on students' health and achievement.CONCLUSIONSSchools can improve the health and learning of students by supporting opportunities to learn about and practice healthy behaviors, providing school health services, creating safe and positive school environments, and engaging families and community. This evidence supports WSCC as a potential framework for achieving national educational and health goals.26440816PMC460677