School Violence Exposure as an Adverse Childhood Experience: Protocol for a Nationwide Study of Secondary Public Schools.
Sonali Rajan, Navjot Buttar, Zahra Ladhani...
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39196631Actively Recruiting
Age: 11Years - 65Years
All Genders
Healthy Volunteers
ID06153316
School Violence Exposure as an Adverse Childhood Experience: a Nationwide Study of K-12 School Responses to Violence and Their Impact on Youth Mental Health and Educational Outcomes
Led by Teachers College, Columbia University · Updated on 2025-09-16
2500
Participants Needed
1
Research Sites
N/A
Total Duration
On this page
Sponsors
T
Teachers College, Columbia University
Lead Sponsor
C
Columbia University
Collaborating Sponsor
AI-Summary
What this Trial Is About
Researchers are investigating how school safety strategies affect mental health, perceived safety, and academic engagement among students and staff in U.S. K-12 public schools. This observational case-control study compares experiences between schools that have faced a gun shooting incident and those that have not, focusing on mental health outcomes, adverse childhood experiences, and school safety perceptions. The study involves students, teachers, and principals from 12 nationally representative schools, examining the impact of school violence exposure and safety interventions. Data collection involves separate surveys for students, teachers, and principals. Students complete a 25-minute survey assessing mental health, well-being, adverse childhood experiences, and perceptions of safety using validated tools like the Patient Health Questionnaire, Child and Adolescent Trauma Screen, WHO-5 Well-Being Index, and Student Engagement Instrument. Teachers and principals complete shorter surveys online or during school days. Researchers also review school safety plans and gather data on various security measures and school discipline indicators. Participants provide self-reported data on demographics, mental health, school safety, and educational outcomes. The study includes detailed statistical analyses to compare mental health and safety perceptions between schools with recent or past shooting incidents and those without. Data confidentiality is maintained through coded identifiers. The research team monitors survey responses and uses multiple imputation methods to address missing data. The total participation involves survey completion over approximately six months.
CONDITIONS
Brief Title
School Violence Exposure as an Adverse Childhood Experience
Who Can Participate
Age: 11Years - 65Years
All Genders
Healthy Volunteers
Eligibility Criteria
You may qualify if you...
- The school must consent to participate in the study.
- Exposure schools must have experienced a gun shooting incident between 1/1/2015 and 12/31/2022.
- Non-exposure schools must not have experienced a gun shooting incident between 1/1/2011 and 12/31/2022.
- Schools must have students in grades 6 through 12.
- For exposure schools, at least one grade affected by the shooting must still be studying at the school.
- Non-exposure schools must match exposure schools in grade levels and have no history of gun shooting incidents.
- Schools must be public.
- Principals must be current principals at participating schools.
- Teachers must be current teachers at participating schools.
- Students must be current students in grades 6-12 at participating schools.
You will not qualify if you...
- Private, charter, parochial, or non-public schools are excluded.
- Schools outside the middle through grade 12 range, such as daycares, preschools, elementary-only schools, and universities, are excluded.
- Schools without consent to participate are excluded.
- Schools without the required student population or grade levels are excluded.
AI-Screening
AI-Powered Screening
Complete this quick 3-step screening to check your eligibility
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Your Study Journey
Screening
Duration - 2 to 4 weeks
Participants are screened for eligibility to participate in the trial.
1 visit (in-person or online as applicable)
Survey Completion
Duration - Approximately 1 day
Participants complete surveys to provide information on mental health, well-being, adverse childhood experiences, perceptions of school safety, educational outcomes, and school environment.
1 visit (in-person for students and teachers; online for principals)
Data Analysis and Monitoring
Duration - Up to 6 months
Researchers analyze collected survey data and school safety plans to study associations between school violence exposure, safety interventions, and participant outcomes.
No additional visits required for participants
Trial Site Locations
Total: 1 location
1
Teachers College, Columbia University
New York, New York, United States, 10027
Actively Recruiting
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Research Team
S
Sonali Rajan
C
Charles Branas
How is the study designed?
Study Type
OBSERVATIONAL
Masking
N/A
Allocation
N/A
Model
N/A
Primary Purpose
N/A
Number of Arms
2
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