 | The 131st Annual Meeting (November 15-19, 2003) of APHA |
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| The 131st Annual Meeting (November 15-19, 2003) of APHA |
Hanno Petras, PhD, Mental Health, Johns Hopkins University, 624 N. Broadway, Baltimore, MD 21205-1999, 410-955-0421, hpetras@jhsph.edu, Howard Chilcoat, ScD, Division of Epidemiology, Services, and Prevention Research, National Institute on Drug Abuse, 6001 Executive Boulevard, Room 5153 MSC 9589, Bethesda, MD 20892-9565, Phil Leaf, Hopkins Center for the Prevention of Youth Violence, Johns Hopkins School of Public Health, 624 North Broadway, Baltimore, MD 21205, Nicholas Ialongo, PhD, Department of Mental Hygiene, Johns Hopkins School of Public Health, 624 North Broadway, Baltimore, MD 21205, and Sheppard G. Kellam, MD, American Institutes for Research, 1000 Thomas Jefferson Street, NW, Washington, DC 20007.
The purpose of this research is to investigate the gender specific impact of school suspensions on the risk for a violent court record by the age of 19. Participants originate from a community epidemiological sample of children who participated in a randomized intervention trial targeting early learning and aggression in first and second grade (Kellam & Rebok, 1992) in 19 Baltimore City public schools. 2042 of the 2311 (88.4%) participants had valid information on the variables of interest and are consequently selected for this presentation. Out of the 2042, 49.8% were females and 67.8% were of African-American heritage. Furthermore, 24.1% were removed at least once between first and seventh grade and 14.4% had at least one violent Juvenile Court record. Of the 294 participants with a violent record, 55.1% also showed a record for at least one school removal, which had occurred for most of these adolescents before the violent event (95.1%). For both males and females, being removed from school significantly increased the risk for later violence (Males: OR=4.06, 95% CI=2.98/5.52; Females: OR=5.54; 95% CI=3.31/4.30). Further analyses will explore the differences and similarities between violent adolescents with and without prior removal from school.
This presentation draws attention to the risk, which is associated with disciplinary activities in schools. From a preventive point of view, this indicates that in order to successfully prevent youth violence multilevel interventions are needed, such as on the individual as well as on the system or school level.
Learning Objectives:
Keywords: Risk Factors, Youth Violence
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.