Dorothy L Espelage

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill | UNC · School of Education

Research consistently shows that victims of bullying are at significant risk of using substances in an attempt to manage the stress associated with victimization. Theories, including the self-medication hypothesis, general strain theory, social control theory, and social disorganization theory elucidate how bullying victimization and substance use...

Citation: Reddy, L.A.; Perry, A.H.; Martinez, A.; McMahon, S.D.; Bare, K.; Swenski, T.; Dudek, C.M.; Anderman, E.M.; Astor, R.A.; Espelage, D.L.; et al. Student Violence Against Paraprofessionals in Schools: A Social-Ecological Analysis of Safety and Well-Being. Abstract: Violence against teachers has received increasing attention worldwide, with h...

Online hate speech (OHS) poses a significant threat to young people's online experiences due to its potential to cause adverse outcomes regarding their mental health and well-being. This brief report provides an overview of recent research investigating OHS, including its prevalence, definitional issues, theoretical frameworks, and correlates and o...

Researchers have examined the importance of school administrative support for teacher safety, victimization, anxiety, and retention; however, studies to date have rarely focused on school administrators’ perceptions of support by their district leaders, and its relation to administrators’ anxiety/stress, safety, and their intentions to transfer or...

Sexual and gender minority (SGM) youth face elevated mental health risks. However, insights from minority stress theory and prevention science suggest that this disparity may result from increased exposure to minority stressors rather than their minoritized identities and that there are protective factors that can mitigate these higher risks. At th...

The current study explores the distal effects of the Disability Anti-Bullying (DIAL) Professional Development on student outcomes. Specifically, this study explored the pre/post reports of bullying involvement among youth with disabilities (i.e., with an Individualized Education Plan [IEP]) and youth identified as gifted and talented (i.e., with an...

The intentional and sustained actions to advance diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) in school psychology science and scholarship, will have reciprocal and dynamic influences on graduate preparation and practice. Herein, the School Psychology Review leadership team provides reflections on several of our intentional efforts, to date, to advocate...

Self-reported measures of school bullying can be divided into two subtypes. Definition-based measures present a bullying definition followed by one question about being bullied and one question about bullying others, while behavior-based measures avoid using terms like “bully” and “bullying,” do not provide an explicit bullying definition, include...

Prevention science has increasingly turned to integrative data analysis (IDA) to combine individual participant-level data from multiple studies of the same topic, allowing us to evaluate overall effect size, test and model heterogeneity, and examine mediation. Studies included in IDA often use different measures for the same construct, leading to...

Objective: This study examined whether the relationship between bullying victimization and low self-esteem of African-American adolescents was buffered by sharing activities with a parent. We also examined whether adolescents’ gender moderated this relationship. Parents play a role in minimizing the negative impact of victimization on low self-este...

Aggression and violence against educators and school personnel have raised public health concerns that require attention from researchers, policymakers, and training providers in U.S. schools. School aggression and violence have negative effects on school personnel health and retention and on student achievement and development. In partnership with...

Weapon violence in schools is a pressing concern with serious consequences. In this study, we propose and evaluate a theoretical framework of school-based weapon violence comprised of contributors, triggers, and motivation leading to weapon behaviors, taking into account weapon type, origin, and availability. This framework provides a foundation to...

The study proposes and tests the pathways from receiving welfare assistance to children's bullying victimization. Specifically, the study examines whether children's difficulty making friends and school disconnection mediate the association between welfare assistance receipt to children's bullying victimization. The 2019 National Survey of Children...

The School Services Sourcebook, third edition is a comprehensive reference guide that provides school social workers, other mental health professionals, and educators essential information on the various approaches to working with students in schools. The book covers a broad range of topics, including mental health services, school safety, trauma i...

The School Services Sourcebook, third edition is a comprehensive reference guide that provides school social workers, other mental health professionals, and educators essential information on the various approaches to working with students in schools. The book covers a broad range of topics, including mental health services, school safety, trauma i...

The aim of the present study was to investigate whether authoritative teaching at the classroom-level was associated with bullying victimisation, and how this association evolved over the course of upper elementary school (i.e. in grades 4 through 6) by estimating whether the association declined with time. Data came from the first three waves of a...

Increasingly, bullying research has focused on identifying protective factors associated with bullying involvement (e.g., victim, perpetrator) and adverse outcomes. In this study, religiosity was examined as a protective factor in the relationship between bullying involvement and friends’ delinquency among a large sample of low-income urban African...

We examined relations of U.S. teachers’ perceptions of mastery and performance goal structures to violence perpetrated against them before and during COVID-19. We hypothesized that perceptions of an instructional emphasis on mastery (i.e. mastery goal structure) would be related to lower levels of victimization, whereas perceptions of an emphasis o...

Dating and sexual violence (DSV) is a common occurrence among school aged youth and has been associated with numerous harmful long-term outcomes. The goal of this article is to better understand the range of outcomes associated with DSV during youth and adolescence. This systematic review consists of 28 school-based studies from 20 journals discuss...

Research indicates that students with disabilities (SWD) are more likely to be involved in bullying; therefore, the development of effective bullying prevention strategies need to consider the experiences of this population. Educators need the knowledge and skills to identify and intervene appropriately in bullying incidents involving SWD. Focus gr...

La violencia interpersonal durante la adolescencia se asocia con una variedad de resultados perjudiciales para la salud física y mental. Se analizaron datos transversales de latinas (n = 1,087) que asistían a 19 preparatorias en Colorado durante el año escolar 2017–2018 para determinar los factores de protección asociados con la victimización por v...

Although the relationship between bullying victimization and suicidal behaviors of LGBTQ students has been well documented in research, few studies have focused on how bullying victimization might be related to suicidal behaviors among youth with intersectional identities. This study examines associations between bullying victimization and suicidal...

Teacher well-being and experiences of violence have become issues of national concern, and teacher shortages have increased since the onset of COVID-19. In this national study, we examined verbal and physical violence against teachers from multiple aggressors and the role of anxiety and stress in predicting intentions to transfer positions or quit...

Research consistently shows that victims of bullying are at an elevated risk of developing health and mental health problems, especially internalizing problems, alcohol use, and suicidal thoughts and behaviors. The current study investigates whether adolescents who reported writing about violence are less at risk of internalizing problems, suicide...

School personnel safety and well-being have received increased attention via national outlets; however, research is limited. The current investigation is the first to examine the reported use and perceived effectiveness of commonly used school-based intervention approaches for addressing school violence, specifically violence against teachers in U....

This article presents an analysis of qualitative data collected from general and special education teachers (n = 36) participating in a four-module professional development training focused on preventing bullying among students with disabilities. Analysis was driven by Braun and Clarke (Qualitative Research in Psychology 3:77–101, 2006) six step pr...

In this study, we examined how school policies and strategies (i.e., positive discipline, hardening strategies, and positive behavioral strategies) affect teacher relational factors and teacher reports of victimization and safety. Specifically, we examined the mediational roles of teacher support of student learning, maltreatment of students by tea...

Universal interventions are key to reducing youth suicide rates, yet no universal intervention has demonstrated reduction in suicide mortality through an RCT. This study pooled three cluster-RCTs of Sources of Strength (n=78 high schools), a universal social network-informed intervention. In each trial, matched pairs of schools were assigned to imm...

Violence against teachers is a public health crisis that has devastating effects on school personnel well-being, health, and retention, as well as students’ educational outcomes. In collaboration with national organizations, the American Psychological Association Task Force on Violence against Educators conducted the first national survey on educat...

Students with disabilities (SWDs) are disproportionately at-risk for bullying victimization and perpetration, yet there is a lack of educator-focused professional development targeting prevention for these students. This project sought to address gaps in training through the creation of four online professional development modules: (1) understandin...

Racial discrimination is a well-known risk factor of racial disparities in health. While progress has been made in identifying multiple levels through which racism and racial discrimination influences health, less is known about social factors that may buffer racism's associations with health. We conducted a systematic review of the literature with...

Among adolescents, engagement in risky sexual behavior is an important public health concern. Research has begun to explore the impact of adolescents’ online experiences with their social and behavioral health as approximately 95% of adolescents have access to a smartphone connected to the internet. However, little research has specifically examine...

Unlabelled: Students with disabilities or at risk for disability identification (SWD) are disproportionately affected by the bullying dynamic; however, professional development and educator-focused training on preventing bullying for this population is lacking. To address this gap, this study presents an analysis of qualitative data collected from...

Schools are ideal locations for youth to receive mental health and social-emotional programming. Despite the well-established need for school-based mental health programs, many schools do not offer these programs, and those that do often face implementation challenges that hinder the effectiveness of the programs. Peer-led programs may be an effect...

Youth bullying is a significant concern in the USA, particularly for youth with disabilities. This pilot study explores outcome data related to the DIsability Anti-BuLlying (DIAL) training program for general and special education teachers to prevent bullying generally with a particular focus on youth with disabilities. Six schools were randomly as...

Teachers experience verbal and physical aggression from a variety of aggressors in schools worldwide. However, most school violence and aggression research is focused on students, with few empirical studies examining teacher aggression from parent offenders. This study investigated the school ecology associated with teachers’ experiences of aggress...

Purpose: Teen dating violence (TDV) must be addressed as a public health issue due to its prevalence and association with negative health outcomes among victims. To prevent TDV, it is essential to examine the risk factors of dating violence perpetration's applicability to younger samples. Using a population health approach, this study explored the...

Purpose: Sibling aggression has received attention as a common form of family violence. However, further research is needed to elucidate several antecedents of sibling aggression perpetration and bullying victimization, such as substance use and depressive symptoms. Additionally, more studies are needed to identify the mediating paths of depressiv...

Sexual violence among adolescents is a major concern. This study examined the impact of the peer-led Sources of Strength program on gender-based violence and attitudes dismissive of sexual harassment. Twenty high schools in Colorado were randomized to intervention (n = 11) or waitlist control (n = 9); students (N = 6461; 9th–11th graders) were surv...

Youth bullying and other associated forms of aggression continue to be public health issues that are associated with deleterious educational and psychosocial outcomes. In this chapter, we briefly provide a discussion of definitions of bullying and prevalence of bullying internationally, and comment on how bullying is a precursor to other forms of a...

This study investigated the relationship between youth violence exposures (i.e., peer and neighborhood) and early sexual initiation. It also explored whether caring relationships with teachers might attenuate this relationship and whether results differed for heterosexual versus non-heterosexual African American youth. The study sample (N = 580) co...

Objective: Teen dating violence (TDV) is a prevalent form of interpersonal violence that profoundly impacts lifelong physical and mental health. To support the prevention of TDV perpetration, the present study examined whether an early occurring form of interpersonal violence, bullying perpetration, was longitudinally associated with later TDV perp...

Unlabelled: Schools and students have faced a variety of challenges during the 2020-2021 academic year as the COVID-19 pandemic continues. These issues have drawn attention to the increased need for robust social-emotional learning skills at the elementary level to address the deficits exacerbated by the pandemic. Sources of Strength is an evidenc...

The associations between the various dimensions of parenting and adolescents’ bullying have been widely studied, but it is unclear whether these associations vary by race/ethnicity and grade. The current study utilized the Health Behavior in School-Aged Children data in the United States for the investigation. The findings show that supportive pare...

Schools are increasingly hiring full-time, unarmed school security professionals (SSPs), who are different from School Resource Officers (SROs), to help facilitate safe and supportive school climates. However, there is a paucity of literature about how they describe and engage with social emotional learning (SEL), particularly equity-focused or tra...

Using family systems theory, this longitudinal study of middle school youth examined the effects of abuse, family conflict, and sibling aggression on sexual harassment perpetration (N = 1563; Mage 11.2, 51% boys; 39% Hispanic, 29% Black, and 19% White). Boys reported more sexual harassment than girls; perpetration increased for both. The associatio...

This paper has two purposes: First, we describe the components of the Student Ownership, Accountability, and Responsibility for School Safety (SOARS) framework in the context of the literature on school safety. Second, we offer outcomes from a pilot study testing the framework's impact on student perceptions of: (a) school belonging, (b) sense of p...

Purpose: A few studies have found that children whose families are economically disadvantaged and financially struggling are at an elevated risk of victimization by their peers. However, extant research is largely descriptive. To address this gap, this study empirically tested the proposed pathways from family financial struggle to children's bull...

Objective: Teen dating violence (TDV) is studied widely; however, less is known about these forms of victimization among adolescent sexual minority (SM) populations. The Conflict in Adolescent Dating Relationships Inventory (CADRI) victimization scale is a widely used multidimensional measure for assessing TDV whose factor structure has recently be...

Background: Sexual education programs in the United States are rooted in inequitable structures and are often inadequate at educating marginalized student groups such as students of color, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer (LGBTQ+), women, and disabled students. Contributions to theory: Current sexual education is irregularly implemente...

Creating effective school-wide safety mechanisms depends on understanding students' previous experiences of reporting, however, students may also be apprehensive to report if it is considered “snitching.” Focus groups were conducted in the 2015–2016, 2016–2017 school years across four U.S. high schools (N = 40). A phenomenological approach was used...

Youth victimization in schools remains a fervent public health issue, despite increased awareness of this issue, and this is especially true for marginalized populations like lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) youth. Youth violence has been studied widely, but less research has sought to understand factors protective of violence...

Mental health is a significant concern among young people, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic. Notably, mental health problems can significantly reduce student performance in school, including both engagement and achievement. Both mental health problems and reduced student performance often arise due to peer victimization, which can include...

The present study aimed to explore whether caregivers' parental frustration mediates the relationship between parental health and children's externalizing behaviors and whether family cohesion potentially moderates this association. Data were derived from the 2016 National Survey of Children's Health (NSCH), and the total sample for the study inclu...

Introduction Peer sexual harassment is associated with adolescent substance use at the global level; however, it is unknown whether substance use occurs proximal in time to the sexual harassment experience. This study used daily reports to examine the proximal relations between sexual harassment victimization and affect and substance use. Based on...

The 2020-2021 academic year brought numerous challenges to teachers across the country as they worked to educate students amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. The current study is a secondary data analysis of qualitative responses collected as part of a teacher survey to evaluate a social emotional learning curriculum implemented during the 2020-2021 acad...

The present study examined the association between adolescents’ extracurricular activities and bullying perpetration and victimization. The sample was drawn from the 2016 National Survey of Children’s Health dataset. Analyses included descriptive statistics and logistic regression for the early adolescent and middle adolescent groups. Among early a...

Adolescent violence, including sexual violence, homophobic name-calling, and teen dating violence, are public health problems that cause harm to many adolescents in the United States. Although research on the perpetration of these forms of adolescent violence has increased in recent years, little is known about perpetration rates across gender, rac...

In the fall of 2020, many students and educators returned to school in person, despite the threat of the COVID-19 virus. Though safety measures such as masks and social distancing were put in place, educators remained concerned for their students’ health, well-being, and academic attainment. The current study examined teacher concern for students’...

Despite the rise in anti-Islamic sentiment, Muslim youth’s experiences of religious discrimination are under researched. The goal of this paper is to better understand the complexities associated with religious discrimination for youth and adolescents and how to mitigate the harm caused by these discriminatory experiences. This mixed methods system...

We present outcomes from a field test of a student-centered and technology-driven school safety framework. We describe the framework components rooted in school violence prevention. Results from our field test indicate moderate student and teacher use of the framework components, improvements in student perceptions of school safety, reductions in s...

The present study investigates whether poverty status might explain the relationship between welfare assistance and children’s involvement in bullying. The study found that welfare assistance was positively associated with children’s involvement in bullying. Additionally, poverty status, regardless of welfare assistance, was significantly related t...

Youth suicide continues to be a significant public health issue, with especially elevated levels of suicide thoughts and behaviors experienced by marginalized students across race/ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, and age demographics. This article highlights the importance of contemporary research informing and advancing professional efforts...

Adolescent sexual violence (SV), which includes non-contact verbal sexual harassment (SH) and forced sexual contact (FSC), is a significant public health problem with long-term impacts on health and well-being. Understanding how sports participation is linked to SV can inform prevention efforts; however, the current literature is unclear about the...

Adolescent bullying continues to be a major focus of scholarship across the globe. This article reviews research from 2010 to 2021 with a particular focus on longitudinal studies of the bully–sexual violence pathway (BSVP), where bullying serves as a precursor for sexual violence (SV) (e.g., sexual harassment, sexual coercion, and sexual assault) a...

Bullying is common among students; however, there are several individual characteristics or identities that make an adolescent more susceptible to victimization. This secondary data analysis of a sample of 20,302 high school students in Wisconsin uses a multilevel model to assess common risk factors such as gender identity, sexual orientation, raci...

The current study, grounded in a social learning theoretical framework, examined attitudes and behaviors associated with verbal and physical teen dating violence (TDV) victimization. Because TDV varies by gender in both frequency and severity, these associations were examined first within the overall sample, and then by gender to further investigat...

As studies have documented, children and adolescents who are identified as bullies, bully victims, or both are at an elevated risk of being involved in other forms of violence, for example, dating violence and sexual violence. Moreover, those who are exposed to violence (e.g., exposure to community violence) have increased odds of being involved in...

Emerging adulthood (EA) is a time of self-exploration as new opportunities for independence and autonomy arise. Yet, for some youth, this may also contribute to instability, uncertainty, and anxiety. Consequently, evidence suggests that rates of exposure to various forms of violence increase in EA. This study examined changes in experiences of bull...

Sexual violence (SV) among adolescents continues to be a major public health concern with numerous consequences. Research, predominantly with male collegiate samples, has suggested an association between sports participation and SV perpetration, and has included other important risk factors such as substance use and attitudes. However, more researc...

Two years later, the COVID-19 pandemic continues to impact children, families, and schools around the world. COVID-19 spread, cases, vaccinations, hospitalizations, and deaths persist. Educational professionals around the world continue to adapt and adjust to the ongoing configurations of in-person, distance/remote, and hybrid instructional context...