Nursing Research Explores School Violence

NEWS RELEASE

Contact: Mary Pattock, School of Nursing, 612-624-0939, patto017@umn.edu

U Nursing Research Explores School Violence
Study examines links between stigma, gender, and risky behaviors

MINNEAPOLIS / ST. PAUL (February 25, 2004) - Research at the University of Minnesota School of Nursing may help schools become safer environments for adolescents.

In a five-year project funded by the National Institutes of Health, Elizabeth Saewyc, PhD, RN, PHN, will study how some students are stigmatized, are targeted for violence at school and engage in risky behaviors such as drug use. She will look at health surveys of schools in three countries - the US, New Zealand and Canada - to see how cultural differences might play a role in who is targeted, how violence is used and how the students are at risk. She will focus on students from three similar ethnic groups, indigenous, Asian, or European heritage, in each country.

There is a variety of students who can be targeted by stigma, she notes: teens with visible disabilities, students who are unusually tall or short or obese, and students with more hidden stigma, such as gay, lesbian and bisexual teens, or youth who have suffered mental health problems or sexual assault. The kinds of violence they endure ranges from constant teasing and insults to assaults with weapons.

"Students forced to bear an unfavorable label feel rejected, and discriminated against," Saewyc says. "We know this affects their physical and psychological health from previous studies that tell us they are more likely to drink, use drugs, feel unsafe and skip school, and even attempt suicide or some other violent response. We want to find out how schools and students can change this cycle of violence and risky behavior."

As part of the study, Saewyc plans to bring the research results back to students, asking them to help think of ways to change the patterns in schools.

The study is funded by a $650,000 grant from the National Institute of Drug Abuse, an agency of the National Institutes of Health, as part of a group of studies examining the health consequences of stigma. The center advances health in the US and abroad through international scientific cooperation and fosters research partnerships between U.S. scientists and foreign counterparts through grants, fellowships, exchange awards and international agreements.

Saewyc is an Assistant Professor in the School of Nursing's Center for Adolescent Nursing, and a faculty member of the School of Nursing.

-end-