This study evaluated the longitudinal psychometric properties of the Authoritative School Climate Survey (ASCS) using a statewide sample of middle and high schools across 8 years. Multilevel confirmatory factor analyses were conducted to test the longitudinal measurement invariance of three scales on the ASCS: disciplinary structure, teacher…

This study evaluated the construct and structural equivalence of the English and Spanish versions of the authoritative school climate survey (ASCS). Measurement invariance was evaluated through increasingly restrictive tests on a sample of N = 6976 high school students, with focus on the three core ASCS scales: Students' Willingness to Seek Help,…

Objective: This study aimed to identify correlates of service utilization and perceived need for care among college students with suicidal ideation. Participants: Respondents were recruited from introductory psychology courses at an undergraduate college during the Fall 2014 semester. Methods: Independent correlates of (1) mental health service…

This study explored the perceptions of disability from the perspectives of Ethiopian immigrant parents who have children with disabilities. The study was guided by the research question: How do Ethiopian immigrant parents from the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area, who have children between the ages of 7-17 identified with disabilities and…

Background: Low community college completion rates are an area of concern for policymakers and practitioners. Although many students require developmental education upon entry, research suggests that even students who are deemed "college-ready" by virtue of their placement test scores or completion of developmental coursework may not…

Nationwide, almost a third of 1st-year college students do not return to begin their sophomore year, and the 5-year graduation rate for undergraduates is only around 40%. It is important for universities to implement interventions, such as freshman transition courses, to help new students adjust to college life and succeed, and it is critical that…

The Virginia Student Threat Assessment Guidelines were developed to help multidisciplinary school-based teams use a decision tree to evaluate student threats and take appropriate preventive action. A main goal of this approach is to allow school-based teams to recognize and respond to the developmental complexities of children and adolescents…

For healthcare agencies and other professionals to most efficiently provide aid following large scale community tragedies, agencies and professionals must understand the determinants that lead individuals to require and seek various forms of help. This study examined Andersen's Behavioral Model of Healthcare Use and its utility in predicting…

Most research on school climate focuses on student well-being, with less attention on the safety of school faculty. The current study examined the relationship between an authoritative school climate (characterized by high levels of student support and disciplinary structure) and both teacher reports of victimization and school records of threats…

The purpose of this study was to gather validity evidence for the University Mattering Scale. Theoretically based factor structures were tested, resulting in the four-factor conceptualization of mattering being championed. As predicted, university mattering related positively to academic motivational and relatedness constructs and negatively to…

Threat assessment has been widely recommended as a violence prevention approach for schools, but there are few empirical studies of its use. This nonexperimental study of 280 Virginia public high schools compared 95 high schools using the Virginia threat assessment guidelines (Cornell & Sheras, 2006), 131 following other (i.e., locally…

The School Climate Bullying Survey (Cornell & Sheras, 2003) is a self-report survey used to measure attitudes and behaviors associated with school bullying. Two studies were conducted to examine the valid use of its three school climate scales: (a) Prevalence of Teasing and Bullying, (b) Aggressive Attitudes, and (c) Willingness to Seek Help.…

Very little research has examined the experiences of Black and White rural battered women. In this exploratory study of 88 participants, 30 rural battered women who sought assistance from domestic violence shelters in southwest Virginia were interviewed. Black and White rural women's experiences in the shelters, helpseeking, and perceived social…

A study was undertaken to identify and describe some of the obstacles, especially sociolinguistic, that stand between Hispanic communities in rural Nelson County, Virginia and appropriate health care, so the barriers can be minimized through provision of culturally sensitive outreach services and health-literacy programming. The target population…