Week Eleven School Violence and

Mental Health

Alan Leschied, PhD, C.Psych.

Inclusion Part I School Violence: Being Part of the Solution

“How am I suppose to get an education here when my friend is getting stabbed in the cafeteria.”

• Helen S. - Grade 10 student in the Thames Valley School Board following a stabbing incident in her school, The London Free Press

Situating the Extent of Current Youth Violence

• 22% of all teen-aged students have been in a fight in the past year

• 34% - male; 11% female• 15 % reported the presence of gangs at their

school• 24% reported fearing attack at school• 13% of students consciously avoid certain

areas of the school for fear of attack

Situating the Current Extent of Youth Violence (cont’d)

• 35% of students were involved in bullying problems more than once a semester

• 20% had been victims; 15% as bully• 75% of bullies were boys

Gender Differences in Youth Violence

• Adolescent girls the fastest growing group accounting for increase in youth violence• (StatsCanada, 2004)

• Important to be aware of the gender differences in the etiology of youth violence

Gender Differences in Youth Violence

Direct Physical Aggressionpredominantly boys

consists of shoving, throwing objects, taking things, choking, punching, kicking, beatings and stabbings

Indirect Aggressionpredominantly girls

more subtle and likely to be verbaltaunting, rumoursarguing with otherssocial isolation

Relevance of Gender

• Similarity of victim impact regardless of the nature of the violence - physical or relational

Nature of Victim Impact

• Victimization results in :• further social isolation• loss of self esteem, self efficacy•promotion of emotional distress

(anxiety, depression) • loss of interest in academic, athletic

and social achievement

But the Cost of Violence is High for Perpetrators as Well….

• Lessening aggressor’s ability to learn how to adapt effectively

• Limiting academic opportunities• Establishes a sequence of escalating

punishments that restrict positive social development

Commonly Cited Factors Linked to Youth Violence

• Lack of appropriate role models• Existence of real or perceived racism and

sexism• Influence of violence in the entertainment

industry• Lack of appropriate school placement for

special needs students• Lack of parental discipline

Potential Warning Signs• Serious drug or alcohol abuse• Gang membership• Threatening others regularly• Low self regulation (unable to contain anger)• Feelings of rejection • Having been victimized through bullying• Poor school performance• Failure to acknowledge the feelings or rights of

others

Imminent Warning Signs

• Escalating loss of temper on a daily basis• Increasing use of alcohol or drugs• Increasing risk-taking behaviour• Detailing plans to commit acts of violence• Announcing threats to harm others• Reporting feeling disrespected

So What Can School’s Do?The Characteristics of Safe Schools

• Focus on academic achievement• students who do not receive the support they need

are less likely to behave in socially desirable ways

• Develop links to the community• includes close partnerships with families, support

services, community police and the community at large

• Involve families in meaningful ways• families are supported yin expressing concerns and

obtaining help they need to address problem

• Treat students with equal respect• communicate to students that all are valued and

address issues of bias and unfair treatment

• Discuss safety issues openly• address issues of risk with weapons, teach children

about alternatives to violence

• Emphasize positive relationships among students and staff

• emphasize cooperative learning and reduce social isolation

• Offer extended day programs for youth in need

• can include tutoring, mentoring, cultural arts and citizenship programs

• Referral process for children who report abuse or neglect

• Help children feel safe expressing feelings• Create ways for students to share concerns

• students who voice concerns about safety must be protected

What Principals Can Do...

• Establish a zero tolerance toward violence• Establish a safe school’s committee that

includes teachers, parents and students• Offer anger management training, stress

relief to teachers an staff• Make schools a parent friendly place• Facilitate cooperation with community

groups

What Teachers Can Do...

• Know your students• Know your student’s parents• Recognize warning signs that may be related

to violence• Incorporate discussions on violence in the

classroom• Teach conflict resolution

What Students Can Do...

• Embrace a zero tolerance towards violence• Manage your own anger• Help others settle conflict peacefully• Mentor a younger student• Become a peer counsellor• Welcome new students to the school and

help them feel at home

What Parents Can Do...

• Take an active role in your child’s school• Act as role models• Listen and talk to your children regularly• Set clear limits for your children in advance• Communicate clearly on violence issues• Monitor your child’s intake of violence from

the media• Insist on knowing your child’s friends

Current Major Thrusts in Ontario School Violence Prevention

• Promote programs that influence school culture • Support students to own the problem • Establish codes of conduct • Change legislation (i.e. Ontario’s Safe School’s

Act)• Create and integrate media literacy • Integrate curriculum to promote values

education • Teach relationships

Inclusion Part II: Promoting Student’s Social and Emotional

Well-Being

Inclusion Part II: Promoting Student’s Social and

Emotional Well-Being

So What does Child and Adolescent Mental Health Refer to?

More commonly – mental health relates to such intrinsic factors as:

• Emotional Security • Self esteem• Self efficacy • Social competence • Autonomy • Capacity for problem solving • Developing sense of purpose • Planful competence • Humour

Leading Sources of Stress that hold the Potential to Detract from Social and Emotional

Well-Being

THE SCOPE

• “No other illnesses affect so many children in such a serious and widespread manner.”

(British Columbia Ministry of Children and Family Development)

So What do We Know?

• Rates of mental health disorders increase from childhood through adolescence

• They peak in young adulthood• With rates of mental disorders between ages

15-24 being higher than with any other age group

• The most common disorders are anxiety and depression

What is the State of Child and Adolescent Mental

Health in Canada? • 15-21 % of Ontario’s children and adolescents have at least

one mental health disorder • This translates into approximately 467,000 to 654,000

children and youth in Ontario• Consequences include

– poor academic achievement– failure to complete high school – substance abuse– conflict with the law – an inability to live independently or hold a job – health problems and suicide

• Suicide is the second leading cause of death among adolescents age 15-19

Let’s Focus on Depression

• It is likely the most common mental health disorder in a student you are likely to connect with?

• What is it? • How is it different from having a “Blue

Monday” ?• How is it typically treated? • And what can I do?

Depression is a Syndrome Not Simply a Symptom

• It is constituted by factors that include changes in: – How we think – Cognitive Domain – How we feel - Affective domain– What we do – Behavioural Domain – And how we react physiologically – Physiological

Domain • And the length of time during which the

symptoms are in evidence

Affective Behavioural Cognitive

Frequent sadness or cryingFeelings of hopelessness and guilt

Loss of in interest of things that previously held joyPersistent boredom or low energySocial isolation or difficulty with relationshipsIncreased irritability, anger or hostilityFrequent physical illnesses, such as headaches and stomachachesFrequent absences from school or poor performance in school Poor concentrationA major change in eating or sleeping patterns Running away from home

Loss of self esteemExtreme sensitivity to rejection Thoughts or expressions of suicide or self-destructive behaviourExpression that things are not going to improve

How Is It Likely To Be Treated?

Medically Use of Anti-depressants SSRI’s

(i.e. Prozac, Celexa) Produce chemicals in the brain

that increase the production of serotonin

Not totally understood Does not work equally well

with all persons Can create increased risk of

suicide in some adolescents

Psychologically Psychotherapy (i.e. Cognitive

Behavioural Therapy) Break the chain of negative

thought patterns Interrupt the cycle of

‘catastrophic’ thinking

So why is this important? And why should it fall to teachers?

• First – school is the one place where all children and adolescents are-

• Second - schools are among the primary socializing agents in our culture

• Third - research tells us there are direct links between social and emotional well-being and student achievement

School factors that place student’s emotional and social well-being at risk

(Graham, 2007)

School Related Factors Influencing StudentMental Health Rating (1-5)

1

2

3

4

5

Bullying Peer

Rejection

Behaviour

Problems

Deviant

Peers

School

Failure

Where are the Efforts Going in “Taking Mental Health to School”?

Lastly..Mental Health is More than the Absence of Disorder

• Mental health also includes the gradual development of social, emotional, cognitive and other competencies

• It is reflected in a young person’s sense of self mastery, self esteem, social inclusion and capacity to cope with adversity

Healthy Milestones and Factors That Encourage Them(National Research Council, 2009)

Individual Family School and Community Self regulation Communication and learning Making friends and getting along with people Healthy physical development and habitsIntellectual development Psychological and emotional competence (self esteem, mastery, morality, values, social development

Healthy and safe physical environmentExtended family support and positive parenting Age – appropriate structure and limits Opportunities to belongOpportunities for skill building Positive social normsBalance of autonomy and relatedness Self sufficiency and identity exploration

School environment that supports positive development (i.e. high teacher / academic expectations, effective classroom management; partnerships between school and familyPositive social normsOpportunities for exploration in work and schoolConnectedness to adults outside of the family