Psychology in the Schools Volume 30, October 1993

SCHOOL PSYCHOLOGISTS’ PERCEPTIONS OF PHYSICALLY AGGRESSIVE STUDENT BEHAVIOR AS A REFERRAL CONCERN IN NONURBAN DISTRICTS

JAMES LARSON

University of Wisconsin- Whitewater

This survey questioned practicing school psychologists in the state of Wisconsin regarding their experience with the number of behavioral referrals for which physically aggressive behavior was the principal concern. Increases of at least a moderate degree were perceived by school psychologists across grade levels. Survey items further in- vestigated school psychologists’ perceptions regarding the stability of teacher-assault incidences and weapons violations over the past 10 years. Implications for an expanded role for the school psychologist in prevention and intervention procedures are discussed.

Aggressive behavior and other antisocial acts within a school building create a climate of fear and hostility among teachers and students alike. In a typical month, approx- imately 282,000 students and 5,200 teachers are physically attacked in the United States (Batsche & Moore, 1992). During 1987, nearly 3 million street crimes (assault, rape, robbery, or theft) were attempted or completed inside schools or on school property (Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, 1989). Of particular note is that minority students were found to be twice as affected by violence as White students (U.S. Department of Education, 1984). These figures are not limited to middle and high school students. In a 1987 study of two elementary schools in an urban Midwest city, 50% of the teachers claimed to have been threatened by their students, and physical fights between students were reported by teachers to be a major problem (OJJDP 87-MV- CX-OOO4, cited in National School Safety Center, 1991). In addition, 8% of the students reported being physically threatened with a gun or knife at least once during the school year, and nearly 75% reported having been involved in a fistfight at least once during the year.

Although the tendency is to look to the largest urban school systems to find major problems with school violence, recent data suggest that such a perspective may be too narrow. In a 1990 study of 23 small central Texas communities reported by the National School Safety Center, 25% of 1,004 10th-grade students reported that they had carried a weapon to school in the past year. Fifty-two percent had not or did not remember having received any instruction in school regarding how to avoid fights (National School Safety Center, 1991) .

School psychology, as represented in the professional literature, has shown little apparent interest in discussing aggression as a discrete behavior to be addressed in pro- fessional practice. A review of the major school psychology journals over the past 10 years uncovered only three articles in which student aggression was the predominant focus (Larson, 1992). This paucity of research by school psychologists is curious, par- ticularly given the concern expressed in the popular media over the last decade as schools resort to tighter and more costly security measures. Additionally, the past 10 years have seen groundbreaking work on the treatment of childhood aggression by researchers such

The author wishes to thank Ms. Kelly Hatch, Dr. Greg Cook, and Ms. Shirley Cottle for their assistance

Requests for reprints should be sent to James Larson, Psychology Department, University of Wisconsin- in the preparation of this manuscript.

Whitewater, Whitewater, WI 53190-1790. 345

346 Larson

as Kazdin, Lochman, Patterson, and their colleagues, each of whom has called for greater involvement from the school setting (e.g., Coie, Underwood, & Lochman, 1991; Kazdin, 1987; Lochman, Lampron, Gemmer, Harris, & Wyckoff, 1989; Reid & Patterson, 1991).

METHOD

Participants Three hundred and forty currently practicing Wisconsin school psychologists were

selected from a Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction listing of certified practi- tioners. A stratified random sampling procedure was employed to ensure representa- tion from school psychologists practicing in urban, suburban, and rural school districts. A total of 225 surveys was returned, representing a 66% return rate. One respondent was eliminated at hidher own request.

Because the survey asked for subjective estimates of 10-year data based in large part on experience, a decision was made to restrict the results to those respondents with 10 or more years of experience (50%). In addition, the demographics of the state of Wisconsin are such that the overwhelming number of respondents were from districts with fewer than 10,OOO pupils (84%). The number of surveys returned from individuals in larger districts who possessed at least 10 years of experience was too small for com- parative analysis. Consequently, the results of this survey were restricted to those respondents with at least 10 years of experience who were currently employed in a district of fewer than 10,OOO pupils (N= 93). Although the sample size is comparatively small, the smaller district focus and advanced experience of the respondents offer potentially useful data regarding trends in physically aggressive behavior as a referral concern.

Instrument and Procedure A 19-item questionnaire was developed to assess school psychologists’ perception

of incidence and intervention in the area of student aggression. The survey was piloted with 11 school psychologists from the local university area and revisions were made. The final mailed packet contained a cover letter, post-paid return envelope, and the revised survey, which consisted of three sections. In Section I, demographic data were obtained. In Section 11, respondents were asked to estimate the rate and direction of change in referrals to the psychologist for student aggression at the elementary, middle, and high school levels over a 10-year period. Respondents were provided with opera- tional definitions of both “aggression” and “referral.” Aggression was defined narrowly as “a physical assault (e.g., hitting, shoving, tripping) on another individual with the apparent intent to inflict bodily injury or obtain a specific outcome.” Verbal assaults, harassment behavior, or other forms of nonphysical aggressive behavior were not in- cluded in the definition. Referral was defined as “any student brought to your profes- sional attention by formal or informal means, whether for purposes of exceptional or regular education needs.” For each grade level - elementary, middle, and high school - the school psychologists were asked to estimate subjectively the change in the 10-year referral totals on the following scale:

1. Increased profoundly (at least 75% to 100%) 2. Increased significantly (50% to 75%) 3. Increased moderately (25% to 50%) 4. Little discernible fluctuation in the past 10 years

Aggressive Student Behavior 347

5 . Decreased moderately (25% to 50%) 6. Decreased significantly (50% to 75%) 7. Decreased profoundly (at least 75% to 100%)

The scale was developed and piloted in consultation with field-based school psychologists associated with a university training program. No additional validation measures were undertaken. Additionally, respondents were asked to estimate rate and direction of change for student-on-staff assaults and weapons violations. In Section 111, respondents were asked to identify school and district policies and practices related to intervention with aggressive students. Respondents were also asked to provide data relative to their own level of training with aggressive students and their perceptions of future training needs and best practices.

RESULTS

Referrals for Aggressive Behavior At the elementary level, 66% of the respondents reported an increase in the number

of referrals for aggressive student behavior over the past 10 years. A total of 32% of the respondents reported no discernible fluctuation, with the remaining 2% reporting a decrease in referrals for aggression.

At the middle school level, 70% of the respondents reported an increase in the number of referrals for aggressive student behavior over the past 10 years. A total of 30% reported no discernible fluctuation.

At the high school level, 76% of the respondents observed an increase in the number of referrals for aggressive behavior. A total of 22% reported no discernible fluctuation, with the remaining 2% accounting for observed decreases.

Referrals for Aggression as a Percentage For their district as a whole, respondents were asked to estimate what percentage

of referrals for all behavior problems identified aggression as the principal concern. The items asked:

For all schools in your district, please estimate the percentage of all behavior referrals (e.g., aggression, anxiety, depression, truancy) for which aggression is the principal concern. Do not include referrals for which learning (e.g., G/T, underachievement) is the principal concern. Approximately half of the respondents (49Vo) estimated that referrals principally

due to aggression made up 10% or less of their behavioral referral caseload. Twenty- two percent estimated that such referrals constituted about a quarter of their referrals, while 29% estimated they made up a third or more.

Comparison to Other Referral Types The respondents were asked to rank from least common to most common the

behavioral referrals in their district. Attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder had the highest percentage of the “most common” behavioral referral ranking, with 50% of the respondents. Nonaggressive student conduct problems followed, ranked most common by 23% of the respondents. Aggressive student behavior was estimated to be the most common behavioral referral by 7% of the school psychologists.

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St@ Assaults and Weapons in School The survey respondents were asked to estimate the change in the number of student-

on-staff assaults in the past 10 years. Seventy-three percent of the respondents estimated that there had been no discernible difference in that rate over the decade. A total of 25% estimated some measure of increase in the frequency of assaults.

Respondents were asked to estimate the change in the frequency of school weapons violations (gun or knife). Sixty-eight percent of psychologists estimated no discernible fluctuation in the rate of violations over the time period. A total of 30% reported an increase.

School Interventions In Section 111, school psychologists were asked to provide data regarding interven-

tion with aggressive student behavior. Data in this section were analyzed for the entire responding sample of school psychologists serving districts of fewer than 10,OOO pupils (N= 189), since the 10-year job experience was a less critical variable. The survey item asked the respondents to rank-order a series of school-based responses to “individual acts of repeated or chronic aggressive student behavior” as they are commonly im- plemented in the school district. The most common school reaction reported by the com- bined sample was a behavioral conference with the administrator, rated first by 57% of the respondents. Administrative suspension was reported as the most frequent response by 20%. Less than 5% of the respondents reported counseling as the most common school response.

In contrast to these data, when the respondents were asked how they envisioned their role with aggressive students if they were to be provided with supportive relief from some other duties, %% of the sample affirmed some combination of primary, secondary, and/or tertiary intervention roles. In addition, 63% reported that they had received specific training in intervention procedures with aggressive students, and 95% affirmed preservice and inservice needs in such intervention procedures.

DISCUSSION A number of methodological challenges inherent within this survey design deserve

mention. First, and most important, the data provided by the respondents are subjec- tive recollections and thus subject to the biases associated with such a data collection procedure. Assignment changes, biasing influences of current referral rates, varying base rates, and other potential sources of judgmental influence must be taken into account. Caution should be exercised when generalizing the results of this survey to other popula- tions, because this sample was drawn exclusively from school psychologists practicing in the state of Wisconsin. Bias inherent in the respondent sample should be considered, since those who took the time to complete the survey may have had a particular interest in the issue of school aggression. In addition, the recent attention to societal and school violence by the popular media may have had a possible influence on the respondents.

The results of this survey indicate that referrals for aggressive student behavior have been perceived by school psychologists to have increased over the past 10 years. This perception was found to be true at the elementary, middle, and secondary level. While the problems of the nation’s urban centers have been well documented regarding the issue of escalating school violence, this study adds strength to the argument that smaller districts have not remained immune.

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The school psychologists in this heavily rural sample were clear in their observa- tions that student aggression is a phenomenon of increasing concern at all grade levels. It is noted, however, that actual referrals for aggressive behavior constitute only a small percentage of the total for most of the respondents. A possible reason for this may be, as the survey suggested, that a very high percentage of those students who are chronically aggressive in the school are seen by administrators or others for a “conference” as an intervention of first choice. Additionally, 20% reported that school suspension was the most common response. It is possible that a significant population of problematic students is maintained outside of the professional purview of the school psychologist, their difficulties handled “administratively.” Conceivably, in contrast to such concerns as anxiety or attention deficit, student aggression is construed by teachers and administrators as “misbehavior” deserving of a punitive reprimand. If, as the data suggest, aggressive behavior is increasingly prevalent in school, and if school psychologists are not typically considered as intervention resources, this is cause for concern.

Unlike anxiety or attention deficit, aggression is very stable over time (Olweus, 1979) and, in children, predictive of later substance abuse, delinquency, and mental health difficulties (Lochman et al., 1989; Parker & Asher, 1987; Roff & Wirt, 1984). Aggressive children are more likely than their nonaggressive peers to experience social rejection (Coie & Dodge, 1983). Aggressive student behavior diverts teachers from classroom in- struction and causes them to spend an inordinate amount of classroom time providing disciplinary measures (Lochman, Lampron, Gemmer, & Harris, 1987). As Hughes (1988) noted, repeatedly aggressive students are very likely to be placed in classrooms for emo- tionally disturbed children. Too often this placement is seen by the school as an inter- vention, in spite of the possibility that the teacher may have had no specific training in the needs of aggressive children (Grosenick, 1986).

The school psychologists in this sample considered themselves trained (63%) and willing (96%) to provide services to children who are chronically aggressive, if provided the time to do so. “The time to do so” is, of course, the operative phrase. It is argued here that finding the time to address the needs of this demonstrably increasing popula- tion of students is in the mutual best interests of the student and the profession. The aggressive patterns of later childhood are typically manifested in preschool children (Loeber, 1982; Olweus, 1979; Reid & Patterson, 1991). School psychologists are in a unique position to provide early identification services and follow-up treatment. A number of training models for use with parents of noncompliant or aggressive children are available (e.g., Forehand & McMahon, 1981; Patterson, Reid, Jones, & Conger, 1975; Webster-Stratton, 1987). Opportunities can be made to establish collaborative rela- tionships with teachers utilizing available primary prevention programs (e.g., Hammond & Yung, 1991; Prothrow-Stith, 1987). Finally, school psychologists have the appropriate background and training to establish the kinds of school-based, cognitive-behavioral group intervention programs aimed at modifying anger and aggression described in the recent literature (e.g., Coie et al., 1991; Larson, in press; Lochman et al., 1987).

The National Education Association has recently proposed a 2-year project with associated federal legislation aimed at reducing violent behavior in the schools (W. R. Martin, personal communication, 1993). The present study suggests that school psychologists share the teachers’ concern. The challenge to individual practitioners will be to transform that concern into the implementation of theoretically sound, logistically viable, and time-efficient programs and procedures.

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