This book provides key empirical findings from a study measuring the degree of perceived victimization and/or actual attack experienced by a sample of minority adolescents in an urban setting. The project uses a systematic sociological approach to examine the effects of violence on these adolescents by including measures of adjustment outcomes resulting from the stress experienced in these harsh environments. Central to the analysis is the discovery of the linkages between risk factors relating to peer-, community-, and school-level victimization and patterns of coping among youth. To further develop the study, the project determines the perceived level of fear and exposure to violence among urban youth, followed by investigations of variations in adjustment outcomes (i.e., delinquency, anxiety, depression, academic achievement, self-esteem) as they relate to dimensions of violence. Finally, the study focuses on the extent to which coping strategies moderate risk factors among minority adolescents across levels of adjustment outcomes. While the significance of this work is the determination of the relationships between victimization, adjustment outcomes, and coping strategies in urba, minority adolescents in environments at higher risk for violence, the greatest implication of this research is to provide an understanding of the role of particular risk factors and coping strategies used to explain differences in delinquent and anti-social behavior among socially vulnerable youth, many of whom are victimized, and influenced, by delinquent peers. These understandings will provide an empirical basis on which to dismantle structural inequality, develop mental health interventions, reinforce societal- and community-level change, and promote coping behaviors to offset the detrimental impact of violence on the lives of marginalized youth in many communities. Youth victimization and violence are not solely public health problems, but remain severe health disparities, as many neighborhoods and families plagued with elevated violence and systemic poverty need further support to help youth flourish.

"Am I safe here?" LGBTQ students ask this question every day within the school system. In this book, Donn Short treats students as the experts, asking them to shine a light on the marginalization and bullying faced by LGBTQ youth. They insightfully identify that safety comes from a culture that values equity and social justice, not just security cameras, and they envision a future in which LGBTQ youth are an expected, respected, and celebrated part of school life. Am I Safe Here? offers a path to creating equitable and inclusive schools, drawing on the spontaneous and timely words of LGBTQ students to show that nothing less than a total culture change is needed.

Graham Ramsden's insightful new book helps understand why people, particularly children, bully others. It utilises research from a wide variety of psychological and sociological sources to explore the context of bullying from both a historical viewpoint as well as from a social perspective. It delves into the psychology of those people who choose to bully and helps the reader to understand why some people bully others and why some do not. The closing chapters use this understanding to explore a variety of ways schools and other education settings can use their existing systems and structures to address this endemic issue.

Rape Culture on Campus explores how existing responses to sexual violence on college and university campuses fail to address religious and cultural dynamics that make rape appear normal, dynamics imbedded in social expectations around race, class, gender, sexuality, and disability. Rather than dealing with these complex dynamics, responses to sexual violence on college campuses focus on implementing changes in one-time workshops. As an alternative to quick solutions, this book argues that long-term classroom interventions are necessary in order to understand religious and cultural complexities and effectively respond to this crisis. Written for educators, administrators, activists, and students, Rape Culture on Campus provides an accessible cultural studies approach to rape culture that complements existing social science approaches, an intersectional and interdisciplinary analysis of rape culture, and offers practical, classroom-based interventions.

This book was written as a guide to practitioners, with input and strategies from police authorities, mental health professional and educators. School safety is an issue for school communities across the country. Collaboration with all stakeholders provide comprehensive strategies that can be applied to all schools and districts.