Violence in Our Schools: Can It Be Stopped?

Jeremy P. Shapiro, Ph.D.
Clinical Child Psychologist and Adjunct Faculty Member, Case Western Reserve University

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Recent
occurrences in Red Lake, MN, and at home in Cleveland remind us of the
lessons learned after Columbine: our children need to be safe. Most
violence occurs between people who know each other, and children who
are bullied are at particular risk. Our children must learn ways other
than violence to deal with their anger, frustration and hostility. And
teachers, administrators, parents and psychologists all need help in
teaching these skills.

Youth violence is a complex issue, involving many causal factors,
and multi-faceted efforts are needed to prevent violence. There really
are no easy answers, but there are a number of steps society can take
to reduce violence rates and improve interpersonal relationships among
youth. Dr. Shapiro will present an overview of the violence prevention
field, including identification of risk factors and a review of the
outcome research on interventions.

Dr. Jeremy P. Shapiro is a research consultant, psychotherapist and
adjunct faculty member at the Case Western Reserve University
Department of Psychology and the Mandel School of Applied Social
Sciences. He has developed two programs to address youth violence: the
Peacemakers Program, which has decreased school suspension rates by as
much as 67%, and the award-winning violence prevention computer game
"The Coolien Challenge," an interactive computer game involving an
alien who tries to prevent violence in a high school on earth through
cooperative efforts with the students playing the game. His work has
been recognized by the U.S. Department of Education & Substance
Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, Cleveland Foundation,
Children's Software Review and others. Dr. Shapiro has published a
number of research articles on youth violence and its prevention and is
co-author of the recently published textbook "Child and Adolescent
Therapy: Science and Art."

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