Other Resources

• A Parent's Guide to Teen Dating Violence: Questions to Start the Conversation (PDF/8 pages) : "Dear Parent or Guardian: Could violence be a part of your teen's social life or dating relationships? The answer may surprise you. While we think that relationship violence is something that could never affect the lives of our children, the truth is that nearly a third of girls surveyed said that they know at least one person at school who was physically abused by the person they were dating. The good news is that there is a lot we, as parents, can do to step in and help. All it takes is a little time, focus, and acommitment to reach out, listen and talk to our teens."
• Building a Culture of Peace in our Schools : A collection of resources from the Center for Nonviolent Solutions
• CARE: Creating a Respectful Environment (PDF: 135KB/21 pages) : A School Improvement Conference based on the 40 Developmental Assets of Search Institute 'Giving Kids What They Need To Succeed': a project of the Hampton City Schools, Hampton, Virginia.
• Campaign for a Commercial Free Childhood: Violence in Media : "Research demonstrates that viewing entertainment violence can lead to increases in aggressive attitudes, values, and behavior, particularly in children. Yet media fraught with violence-including television programs, movies, video games, and music-are routinely marketed to children. . . . Children exposed to violent programming at a young age have a higher tendency for violent and aggressive behavior later in life."
• Cyberbullying Research Center : "The Cyberbullying Research Center is dedicated to providing up-to-date information about the nature, extent, causes, and consequences of cyberbullying among adolescents. Cyberbullying can be defined as "willful and repeated harm inflicted through the use of computers, cell phones, and other electronic devices."
• STRYVE Youth Violence data and resources : "The Resources section provides information on a wide range of topics related to youth violence, including definition and causes, impact, prevention, help, and news."
• Teaching Tolerance: A Project of the Southern Poverty Law Center : Founded in 1991 by the Southern Poverty Law Center, Teaching Tolerance is dedicated to reducing prejudice, improving intergroup relations and supporting equitable school experiences for our nation's children. We provide free educational materials to teachers and other school practitioners in the U.S. and abroad.
• loveisrespect : National Dating Abuse Helpline: 1-866-331-9474. "loveisrespect.org is a joint project between the National Dating Abuse Helpline and Break the Cycle to provide resources for teens, parents, friends and family, peer advocates, government officials, law enforcement officials and the general public." Be sure to check out their Teen Power and Control Cycle at http://www.loveisrespect.org/resource-center/power-and-control-scenarios/

Articles

• "Teen Dating Violence: Take it Seriously before it Happens Again" from Ms. Magazine : Last week, the Boston area was shocked to hear that the body of Wayland, Mass., high-school graduate Lauren Astley, 18, was found in a marsh in what looks to be an act of teen domestic violence that occurred after Astley ended a three-year relationship with her boyfriend Nathaniel Fujita. As if this wasn't awful enough, the Boston Globe interviewed a cross-section of Boston area teens and found that, despite the recent tragedy, many of them think they're 'too young' to worry about dating violence.
• 'Anoka-Hennepin School District GLBT policy criticized' from the Star Tribune : "Two national groups have urged the Anoka-Hennepin School District to repeal a policy that requires teachers remain neutral about gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender issues (GLBT). The Southern Poverty Law Center and the National Center for Lesbian Rights, which sued the district earlier this year in a separate case, sent a letter Tuesday to the district after being contacted by students and alumni who said they were bullied in school because they were GLBT or perceived as GLBT. . . ."
• 'Local group leads charge against bullying' from the Star Tribune : "The National Bullying Prevention Center, an anti-bullying center in Bloomington, has become a national leader, drawing attention from the White House and beyond."
• 'Study gives insight into student bullies and their victims' from Minnesota Public Radio : "If you're a parent of a Minnesota student, there's more than a 50 percent chance your child has been bullied--or bullied another student--at least once."
• Bullying in Minnesota Schools: An analysis of the Minnesota Student Survey, 2010 : An analysis of the Minnesota Student Survey, 2010
• Campaign for a Commercial Free Childhood: Sexualization : Children today are inundated with media and marketing that use sex to sell products. Embedded in these sexualized images are harmful messages that equate personal value with sexual appeal and turn sex into a commodity. Movies, music, TV programs, video games, and even toys marketed to children are rife with degrading images that objectify and sexualize girls and woman. Boys are also affected when sex is commodified, presented in the context of harmful stereotypes, and intertwined with power and violence.
• Child bullies are prone to sexual violence as adolescents, study shows : Children who bully others are more likely to perpetrate sexual violence when they enter adolescence, according to a new study led by bullying expert Dorothy Espelage at the University of Illinois.
• Education and Safety Information for the Use of Todays Technology-A PowerPoint Slide Presentation (PPT: 188KB/29 Slides) : A powerpoint laying out some of the dangers of social networking for teens, from the Central Minnesota Sexual Assault Center.
• How Social Factors Shape Health: Violence, Social Disadvantage and Health (PDF: 794KB/19 pages) : "This is one in a series of 10 issue briefs on the social determinants of health. The series began as a product of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Commission to Build a Healthier America and continues as a part of the Foundations Vulnerable Populations portfolio."
• Playground bullying: It doesn't happen in a vacuum : "For nearly two decades, researchers have had evidence that schools' 'ecologies' either sustain or suppress bullying. Now, a study recently published in the School Psychology Review has added another plank to the avalanche of evidence that bullying is not a problem involving just two kids, but rather a systemic failure."
• Safety for Today's Technology- a PowerPoint Presentation (PPT: 3MB/36 Slides) : A powerpoint presentation from the Central Minnesota Sexual Assault Center about the dangers to young people of online and cell phone technology.
• What Can Be Done About School Bullying? Linking Research to Educational Practice (PDF: 178KB/10 pages) : In this article, the authors review research on individual, peer, and school contributions that may be critical factors for enhancing efforts to address bullying among students

Data

• CDC data : Resources here include quick facts, CDC data sources, other federal data sources and non-federal data sources
• Campaign for a Commercial Free Childhood: Sexualization : Children today are inundated with media and marketing that use sex to sell products. Embedded in these sexualized images are harmful messages that equate personal value with sexual appeal and turn sex into a commodity. Movies, music, TV programs, video games, and even toys marketed to children are rife with degrading images that objectify and sexualize girls and woman. Boys are also affected when sex is commodified, presented in the context of harmful stereotypes, and intertwined with power and violence.
• Cyberbullying Data from Cyberbullying Research Center : The primary mission of the Cyberbullying Research Center is to provide up-to-date information about the nature and extent of online agression among adolescents. Drs. Hinduja and Patchin frequently communicate with youth and adults on the front lines and formally survey students on a regular basis. Results from their most recent research is summarized below.
• Cyberbullying: Electronic Dating Violence Fact Sheet (PDF: 302KB/5 pages) : A Brief Guide for Educators and Parents
• Cyberbullying: Identification, Prevention and Response (PDF: 490KB/5 pages) : A new summary about the harmful effects of cyberbullying and what you can do to prevent it.
• Data and Statistics (MNCASA) : While statistics can provide valuable information, they must be reviewed with a critical eye. Statistics are often taken out of a fuller context and may not provide the clearest picture. The statistics shared here are chosen to give you a sketch of the issue of sexual violence in Minnesota and in the US. Use them carefully and consult the links which will connect you to additional research and data about sexual violence.
• Emerging Issues Facing Tweens and Teen (Futures Without Violence)(PDF: 101KB/2 pages) : Young people age 12 to 19 experience the highest rates of rape and sexual assault, 1 people age 18 and 19 experience the highest rates of stalking, 2 and 15.5 million U.S. children live in families in which partner violence occurred at least once in the past year. 3 That is partly because, every day teens and tweens deal with issues that members of older generations never contemplated  How do I get help if my boyfriend/girlfriend is pressuring me to send a sexy text? Should I break up with my boyfriend/girlfriend on Facebook? What do I do if someone is spreading online rumors about me? Emerging issues like sexting, sexual coercion and bullying help create a serious problem for millions of youth.
• How Social Factors Shape Health: Violence, Social Disadvantage and Health (PDF: 794KB/19 pages) : "This is one in a series of 10 issue briefs on the social determinants of health. The series began as a product of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Commission to Build a Healthier America and continues as a part of the Foundations Vulnerable Populations portfolio."
• Indicators Of School Crime And Safety: 2009 : Presents data on crime and safety at school from the perspectives of students, teachers, and principals. A joint effort by the Bureau of Justice Statistics and the National Center for Education Statistics, this annual report examines crime occurring in school as well as on the way to and from school. It also provides the most current detailed statistical information on the nature of crime in schools and school environments and responses to violence and crime at school. Data are drawn from several federally funded collections including the National Crime Victimization Survey, Youth Risk Behavior Survey, School Survey on Crime and Safety, and the Schools and Staffing Survey.
• Links Between Violence and Chronic Diseases, Mental Illness and Poor Learning (Fact Sheet) : Violence has far-reaching consequences for young people, families and neighborhoods, beyond serious physical injury and death. These fact sheets describe how violence affects other health problems and community concerns, such as chronic diseases, mental illness and poor learning.
• Safe Schools Healthy Students Grantees Report Reduced Violence and Safer Schools (SAMHSA)(PDF: 936KB/1 page) : Safe Schools/Healthy Students Grantees Report Reduced Violence and Safer Schools
• School Violence: Data & Statistics (CDC) : The first step in preventing school violence is to understand the extent and nature of the problem. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the U.S. Department of Education, and the U.S. Department of Justice gather and analyze data from a variety of sources to gain a more complete understanding of school violence.
• The Connection between Dating Violence and Unhealthy Behaviors (Futures without Violence)(PDF: 99KB/2 pages) : Teen dating violence is a huge problem in this country. This research indicates a strong connection between dating violence and unhealthy behaviors.
• The Facts on Tweens and Teens and Dating Violence (Futures without violence)(PDF: 109KB/2 pages) : While dating, domestic and sexual violence affect women regardless of their age, teens and young women are especially vulnerable. Young people age 12 to 19 experience the highest rates of rape and sexual assault, and people age 18 and 19 experience the highest rates of stalking. Add to that the 15.5 million U.S. children who live in families in which partner violence occurred at least once in the past year and you have a huge number of young people in this country whose lives are affected-sometimes shaped-by violence.
• Youth risk behavior surveillance US 2009 (CDC) : The Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System (YRBSS) monitors six categories of priority health-risk behaviors among youth and young adults. This report summarizes results from the 2009 national survey, 42 state surveys, and 20 local surveys conducted among students in grades 9--12.

Research

• Bullying Beyond the Schoolyard: Preventing and Responding to Cyberbullying : "Hinduja and Patchin are two of the most respected researchers on cyberbullying, and their in-depth research lays the foundation for this book. This book contains the best practices that principals can implement at their schools to prevent and respond to acts of cyberbullying."
• Bullying, Victimization, and Sexual Harassment During the Transition to Middle School (PDF: 79KB/14 pages) : Bullying, in the form of physically, verbally, relationally, or sexually aversive behaviors, increases as youngsters make the transition to middle school. To date, however, policy and research in education and educational psychology has attended only minimally to the social dynamics of school organization or peer groups that may underlie this crisis. We argue that a combination of school- and peer-level factors contribute to bullying, victimization, and sexual harassment.
• Promising Programs (CDC) : Prevention principles, relevant review articles and chapters, and other resources
• Research Annotated Bibliography from the Center for Restorative Justice and Peacemaking : This collection consists of summary annotations on all available restorative justice dialogue research the Center has been able to locate to date. The forms of restorative justice dialogue represented in the collection include Victim Offender Mediation (also known as Victim Offender Reconciliation, Victim Offender Dialogue, and Victim-Sensitive Offender Dialogue), Group Conferencing (including family group conferencing and community group conferencing), Circles, and Other (reparation boards and other dialogue services).
• School bullying among adolescents in the United States: Physical, verbal, relational, and cyber (PDF: 246KB/8 pages) : "Findings: Parental support may protect adolescents from all four forms of bullying. Friends associate differentially with traditional and cyber bullying. Results indicate that cyber bullying is a distinct nature from that of traditional bullying."
• The Effectiveness of Universal School-Based Programs for the Prevention of Violent and Aggressive Behavior (CDC) : During 2004--2006, the Task Force on Community Preventive Services (Task Force) conducted a systematic review of published scientific evidence concerning the effectiveness of these programs. The results of this review provide strong evidence that universal school-based programs decrease rates of violence and aggressive behavior among school-aged children.
• The Theoretical and Empirical Links between Bullying Behavior and Male Sexual Violence Perpetration (PDF: 233KB/53 pages) : Bullying experiences and male sexual violence (SV) perpetration are major public health problems, and while extant literature suggests that they may share some developmental correlates, there is no established empirical link between being a perpetrator or victim of bullying and SV perpetration in the literature. Nonetheless, some SV prevention programs in the U.S. include bullying prevention components for elementary and middle-school aged children.

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For questions about this page, please contact the Injury and Violence Prevention program at:health.injuryprevention@state.mn.us

See also Health Promotion and Chronic Disease