Transcript Document

OCCUPATIONAL VIOLENCE IN THE SCHOOLS:
A CASE-CONTROL STUDY OF PHYSICAL ASSAULT AGAINST EDUCATORS
RESEARCH TEAM
Susan Goodwin Gerberich, PhD
Nancy M. Nachreiner, PhD
Andrew D. Ryan, MS
Timothy R. Church, PhD
Steven J. Mongin, MS
Patricia M. McGovern, PhD
Mindy S. Geisser, MS
Gavin D. Watt, BA
Denise M. Feda, MS, PhD
Starr Kelly Sage, MPH, PhD
Evette Pinder, MPH, PhD Candidate
Midwest Center for Occupational Health and Safety
Center for Violence Prevention and Control
Regional Injury Prevention Research Center
University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota USA
MINNESOTA EDUCATORS’ STUDY
ABSTRACT
Prior research has primarily focused on student-on-student school violence; yet, school educators
are also at risk nationally and internationally. A two-phase study was designed to identify risk
factors for assaults against educators (kindergarten-grade 12). Educators (n=26,000) were randomly
selected from the Minnesota license database and screened for eligibility (6,180, eligible) by mailed
questionnaire. Phase-1 (12-month recall) identified eligible cases (n=290) and controls (n=867) and
violent event characteristics; Phase-2 (case-control - one-month recall prior to assault and
randomly selected month, respectively) enabled identification of numerous exposures.
Confounders were selected for multiple logistic regression analyses using directed acyclic graphs;
reweighting adjusted for response and eligibility biases. For each study phase, response was 84%.
Assault perpetrators were primarily students (95%). Risks (ORs; 95% CIs) increased for educators
working in: Special Education (3.66, 2.46-5.44) and Speech Pathology (2.34, 1.08-5.10); urban
(versus suburban) schools (1.96, 1.39-2.77); schools with <50 (4.33, 1.69-11.06) and 50-100 (1.89,
1.01-3.54) versus 500-1000 students; schools with inadequate resources (always/frequently versus
sometimes: 1.89, 1.22-2.95), inadequate building safety (always and frequently versus sometimes:
6.34, 2.01-20.02 and 2.29, 1.14-4.61, respectively), soft light versus bright as daylight (1.40, 0.962.04), and with physical barriers (1.54, 1.10-2.15). Decreased risks were identified for having: routine
locker searches (0.50, 0.29-0.86); school sizes 1000+ versus 500-1000 students (0.52, 0.33-0.80) and
easily accessible exits (0.33, 0.16-0.67); and never (versus sometimes) having inadequate building
safety (0.59, 0.37-0.94). Results suggest opportunities for targeted interventions and further
research to decrease assault risk to educators with benefits to others in school environments.
MINNESOTA EDUCATORS’ STUDY
CONCEPTUAL MODEL FOR WORK-RELATED VIOLENCE
EDUCATORS
OTHERS
ENVIRONMENT
Personal Characteristics
Co-Workers
Facility
• Demographics (gender;
age; race; marital status;
socioeconomic status)
• Body Mass
• Stress
• Education, including
specialty training
• Illness/injury history,
including assaults
• Violence
management/conflict
resolution training
Work-Related
Characteristics
• Work experience
• Job type
• Workload; hours
worked/week
• Student contact/week
(hours; numbers)
• Demographics (age;
gender; race)
• Number/types of staff
• Interaction/support
Students
• Demographics (age;
gender; race)
• Number/types
• Mental
status/impairment
• History of assaultive
behavior
• Other relevant
behaviors/activities
• Type/Level/Size of School
• Area socioeconomic
status
• Location
• Physical design/attributes
(openness; visibility;
crowding; lighting;
barriers; room
configurations)
• Security (systems;
personnel; access
controls; parking;
responsiveness)
Administration/
Management
• Administration attitude
• Tolerance of violence
• Support for employees
• Employee
assistance/resources
• Support/resources for
students
• Policies/protocols
PHYSICAL ASSAULT
MINNESOTA EDUCATORS’ STUDY
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Support for this effort is provided, in part, by the: National Institute for
Occupational Safety and Health, Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention, Department of Health and Human Services (R01
OH007816); Midwest Center for Occupational Health and Safety,
Center for Violence Prevention and Control, and Regional Injury
Prevention Research Center, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis,
Minnesota USA; Zayas Graphics
The authors also wish to acknowledge the support of our Educator
Advisory Team members who were integral to this effort: Willarene
Beasley; Charles Goodwin; Donald Hilts; Laura R. Langhoff; and
Joseph P. Miller.
WEBSITES
University of Minnesota
Minneapolis, Minnesota USA
• Center for Violence Prevention and Control
http://www1.umn.edu/cvpc/research.html
• Regional Injury Prevention Research Center
http://enhs.umn.edu/riprc/riprc.html
• Midwest Center for Occupational Health and Safety
http://www.mcohs.umn.edu
• Occupational Injury Prevention Research Training Program
http://www.mcohs.umn.edu/academics/oiprt/introduction.ht
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