Lori Post - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

Papers by Lori Post

International Journal of Interdisciplinary Social Sciences, 2007

Research focusing on a technology based approach to health communication has primarily been limit... more Research focusing on a technology based approach to health communication has primarily been limited to the
study of individuals rather than communities even in the midst of a booming technology industry and subsequent research.
The Information Communication Technology (ICT) which assists management of health or government agencies has rarely
been discussed in the context of health communication at the organizational-societal level. This paper focuses on how ICT
implemented at the state level impacts public health effectiveness and efficiency. Michigan is one of seven states that received
funding from the United States Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services
(CMS) to participate in the legislatively mandated background check pilot program intended to prevent abuse. Participation
in this initiative will influence future United States federal policy designed to provide optimum services and support for the
nation's most vulnerable citizens. Michigan’s Workforce Background Check (MWBC) system will serve as a model for
other states that must implement a standardized, multiple- system process of background checks to prevent unfit persons
from gaining access to vulnerable populations. The MWBC project is examined as a case study that illustrates how ICT is
essential for public health management by enhancing organizational level communication practices. The contribution of
the MWBC project can be summarized in the following dimensions: (1) improving communication among organizations,
(2) serving as an interactive decision support system, and (3) providing a better tool for public health practices.

Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 2003

This study describes the risk factors associated with experiencing and committing sexual aggressi... more This study describes the risk factors associated with experiencing and committing sexual aggression among a sample of male and female adolescents. High school students completed a questionnaire containing a revised form of the Sexual Experiences Survey to assess sexual victimization and offending experiences. Ordinal regression equations were estimated separately for male and female students, regressing background characteristics, dating behaviors, and attitudinal scales on sexual victimization (for females) or offending (for males). Nearly half (48%) of the females report experiencing sexual aggression, and one-third (34%) of males admit committing this type of offending. Regression analyses show that the likelihood of reporting victimization/offending increases among females who report dating more frequently during the past month, among both males and females who report dating more different people during the past 6 months, and among older males. Females who report their religious affiliation as Protestants compared to those with no religious affiliation, and those planning to attend college are less likely to report victimization. Among the males, rejecting rape stereotypes and having more accurate legal knowledge regarding rape are related to reduced likelihoods of reporting sexual offending. Implications for improving sexual assault educational programs for adolescents are discussed.

Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 2010

This study tests the impact of coordinated community response (CCR) on reducing intimate partner ... more This study tests the impact of coordinated community response (CCR) on reducing intimate partner violence (IPV) and on modifying knowledge and attitudes. The authors conduct hierarchical linear modeling of data from a stratified random-digit dial telephone survey (n = 12,039) in 10 test and 10 control sites, which include 23 counties from different regions in the United States, to establish the impact of a CCR on community members' attitudes toward IPV, knowledge and use of available IPV services, and prevalence of IPV. Findings indicate that CCRs do not affect knowledge, beliefs, or attitudes of IPV, knowledge and use of available IPV services, nor risk of exposure to IPV after controlling for age, gender, ethnicity, income, and education. Women in communities with 6-year CCRs (as opposed to 3-year CCRs) are less likely to report any aggression against them in the past year. These results are discussed within the context of evaluation challenges of CCRs (e.g., IPV activities in comparison communities, variability across interventions, time lag for expected impact, and appropriateness of outcome indicators) and in light of the evidence of the impact of other community-based collaborations.

Public health reports (Washington, D.C. : 1974)

We determined which children should be tested for elevated blood lead levels (BLLs) in the face o... more We determined which children should be tested for elevated blood lead levels (BLLs) in the face of financial and practical barriers to universal screening efforts and within 2009 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommendations allowing health departments to develop BLL screening strategies. We used the Michigan database of BLL tests from 1998 through 2005, which contains address, Medicaid eligibility, and race data. Linking addresses to U.S. Census 2000 data by block group provided neighborhood sociodemographic and housing characteristics. To derive an equation predicting BLL, we treated BLL as a continuous variable and used Hierarchical Linear Modeling to estimate the prediction equation. Census block groups explained more variance in BLL than tracts and much more than dichotomized zip code risk (which is current pediatric practice). Housing built before 1940, socioeconomic status and racial/ethnic characteristics of the block group, child characteristics, and empirical ...

Journal of Immigrant and Minority Health, 2015

Immigrant/refugee children sometimes have substantially higher blood lead levels (BLLs) than US-b... more Immigrant/refugee children sometimes have substantially higher blood lead levels (BLLs) than US-born children in similar environments. We try to understand why, by exploring the relationship between immigration status of mother and the BLLs of US-born children. We compared BLLs of children born in Michigan to immigrant and non-immigrant parents, using the Michigan database of BLL tests for 2002-2005, which includes the child's race, Medicaid eligibility and address. We added census data on sociodemographic/housing characteristics of the child's block group, and information about parents. Low parental education, single parent households, mothers' smoking and drinking, all increase the child's BLL. However, immigrant parents had fewer characteristics associated with high BLL than US born parents, and their children had lower BLLs than children of US-born

Public health reports (Washington, D.C. : 1974)

We derived a clinical decision rule for determining which young children need testing for lead po... more We derived a clinical decision rule for determining which young children need testing for lead poisoning. We developed an equation that combines lead exposure self-report questions with the child's census-block housing and socioeconomic characteristics, personal demographic characteristics, and Medicaid status. This equation better predicts elevated blood lead level (EBLL) than one using ZIP code and Medicaid status. A survey regarding potential lead exposure was administered from October 2001 to January 2003 to Michigan parents at pediatric clinics (n=3,396). These self-report survey data were linked to a statewide clinical registry of blood lead level (BLL) tests. Sensitivity and specificity were calculated and then used to estimate the cost-effectiveness of the equation. The census-block group prediction equation explained 18.1% of the variance in BLLs. Replacing block group characteristics with the self-report questions and dichotomized ZIP code risk explained only 12.6% of ...

eGEMs (Generating Evidence & Methods to improve patient outcomes), 2015

Context: Current information-rich electronic health record (EHR) interfaces require large, high-r... more Context: Current information-rich electronic health record (EHR) interfaces require large, high-resolution screens running on desktop computers. This interface compromises the provider's already limited time at the bedside by physically separating the patient from the doctor. The case study presented here describes a patient-centered clinical decision support (CDS) design process that aims to bring the physician back to the bedside by integrating a patient decision aid with CDS for shared use by the patient and provider on a touchscreen tablet computer for deciding whether or not to obtain a CT scan for minor head injury in the emergency department, a clinical scenario that could benefit from CDS but has failed previous implementation attempts.

Archives of Gerontology and Geriatrics, 2015

Few empirical investigations of elder abuse in nursing homes address the frequency and determinan... more Few empirical investigations of elder abuse in nursing homes address the frequency and determinants of resident-on-resident abuse (RRA). A random sample of 452 adults with an older adult relative, ≥65 years of age, in a nursing home completed a telephone survey regarding elder abuse experienced by that elder family member. Using a Linear Structural Relations (LISREL) modeling design, the study examined the association of nursing home resident demographic characteristics (e.g., age, gender), health and behavioral characteristics (e.g., diagnosis of Alzheimer's Disease, Activities of Daily Living (ADLs), Instrumental Activities of Daily Living (IADLs), types of staff abuse (e.g., physical, emotional), and factors beyond the immediate nursing home setting (e.g., emotional closeness of resident with family members) with RRA. Mplus statistical software was used for structural equation modeling. Main findings indicated that resident-on-resident mistreatment of elderly nursing home residents is associated with the age of the nursing home resident, all forms of staff abuse, all ADLs and IADLs, and emotional closeness of the older adult to the family.

The search for engines to power rural economic growth has gone beyond the traditional boundaries ... more The search for engines to power rural economic growth has gone beyond the traditional boundaries of the food and fiber sector to industries such as tourism and to schemes such as attracting metropolitan workers to commuter communities with rural amenities. A group that has been somewhat overlooked is retirees, who may wish to trade in urban or suburban lifestyles for a more peaceful rural retirement. An industry that has been neglected is the health care industry, which is the most rapidly growing industry nationally and of particular interest to retirees and aging populations. This paper examines the importance of rural health care services in attracting migrants age 65+ to rural counties in Michigan. Results indicate that the number of health care workers has a positive effect on net in-migration, and that this effect is large and statistically significant for the 70+ age group. Implications for rural development strategies are discussed.

Public health reports (Washington, D.C. : 1974)

Articles describing the epidemiology of intimate partner homicide (IPH) have often been positione... more Articles describing the epidemiology of intimate partner homicide (IPH) have often been positioned as one-time research projects utilizing a single data source for case identification. However, researchers without access to centralized repositories for data pertinent to IPH can ascertain cases by using multiple extant data sources. The authors describe a surveillance system that can serve as a model for state health departments and others seeking to quantify and characterize violent deaths related to intimate partner relationships on an ongoing basis. Retrospective surveillance was conducted to identify and characterize deaths related to intimate partnerships by linking the following data sources: death certificates, newspaper articles, law enforcement reports, and medical examiners' records. The authors identified at least 34% more IPHs using multiple data sources than would have been recognized solely using Supplementary Homicide Reports--the most frequently cited data source ...

Lecture Notes in Computer Science, 2011

The Michigan Workforce Background Check system demonstrates how an iterative user-centered design... more The Michigan Workforce Background Check system demonstrates how an iterative user-centered design (UCD) process enhances organizationallevel communication practices and efficiency. Well-designed information communication technology is an essential component of effective public health management. Usability and accessibility testing informed subsequent design and development. The iterative improvement in the background check application demonstrates that UCD should be a component of public health management projects in particular, and online project development in general.

Applied Demography in the 21st Century, 2008

2005 Annual meeting, …, 2005

Research on Aging, 2010

The authors investigated types and patterns of elder abuse by paid caregivers in long-term care a... more The authors investigated types and patterns of elder abuse by paid caregivers in long-term care and assessed the role of several risk factors for different abuses and for multiple abuse types. The results are based on a 2005 random-digit-dial survey of relatives of persons in long-term care. We computed occurrence rates and conditional occurrence rates for each of six abuse types: physical, caretaking, verbal, emotional, neglect, and material. Among older adults who have experienced at least one type of abuse, more than half (51.4%) have experienced another type of abuse. Physical functioning problems, activities of daily living limitations, and behavioral problems are significant risk factors for at least three types of abuse and are significant for multiple abuse types. The findings have implications for those monitoring the well-being of older adults in long-term care as well as those responsible for developing public health interventions.

Immigrant/refugee children sometimes have substantially higher blood lead levels (BLLs) than US-b... more Immigrant/refugee children sometimes have substantially higher blood lead levels (BLLs) than US-born children in similar environments. We try to understand why, by exploring the relationship between immigration status of mother and the BLLs of US-born children. We compared BLLs of children born in Michigan to immigrant and non-immigrant parents, using the Michigan database of BLL tests for 2002-2005, which includes the child's race, Medicaid eligibility and address. We added census data on sociodemographic/housing characteristics of the child's block group, and information about parents. Low parental education, single parent households, mothers' smoking and drinking, all increase the child's BLL. However, immigrant parents had fewer characteristics associated with high BLL than US born parents, and their children had lower BLLs than children of US-born

Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly, 2007

This article describes media coverage of elder abuse from 2003 to 2005. Guided by media typificat... more This article describes media coverage of elder abuse from 2003 to 2005. Guided by media typification and framing literatures, eight newspapers' elder abuse coverage was content analyzed. The newspapers' coverage usually typified and framed elder abuse in a criminal justice context. The stories covered most often featured episodic frames, 57.170, while a majority, 65.20/0, of the coverage framed elder abuse as an individual-as opposed to a societal-level problem. Most elder abuse occurs in domestic settings, yet the newspapers' coverage most often focused on elder abuse in long-term care settings. NEWSPAPERS'FRAMING OF ELDER ABUSE

Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 2009

This paper uses an ecological perspective to explore the risk factors associated with bullying be... more This paper uses an ecological perspective to explore the risk factors associated with bullying behaviors among a representative sample of adolescents aged 11-14 (n ¼ 9816; X ¼ 12.88; s ¼ .9814): Data derived from the Health Behavior in School Children: WHO Cross-National Survey were used to model the relationship between bullying and media effects, peer and family support systems, selfefficacy, and school environment. Overall, the results of this study suggest that bullying increases among children who watch television frequently, lack teacher support, have themselves been bullied, attend schools with unfavorable environments, have emotional support from their peers, and have teachers and parents who do not place high expectations on their school performance. In addition, we found an inverse relationship between being Asian or African American, feeling left out of school activities and bullying. Our results lend support to the contention that bullying arises out of deficits in social climate, but that social support systems mediate bullying behavior irrespective of the student's racial/ethnic characteristics, parental income levels or media influences. Because the number of friends and the ability to talk to these friends increases the likelihood of bullying, we suggest that bullying is not simply an individual response to a particular environment but is a peer-group behavior. We conclude that limiting television viewing hours, improving student's abilities to access family support systems and improving school atmospheres are potentially useful interventions to limit bullying behavior.

International Journal of Interdisciplinary Social Sciences, 2007

Research focusing on a technology based approach to health communication has primarily been limit... more Research focusing on a technology based approach to health communication has primarily been limited to the
study of individuals rather than communities even in the midst of a booming technology industry and subsequent research.
The Information Communication Technology (ICT) which assists management of health or government agencies has rarely
been discussed in the context of health communication at the organizational-societal level. This paper focuses on how ICT
implemented at the state level impacts public health effectiveness and efficiency. Michigan is one of seven states that received
funding from the United States Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services
(CMS) to participate in the legislatively mandated background check pilot program intended to prevent abuse. Participation
in this initiative will influence future United States federal policy designed to provide optimum services and support for the
nation's most vulnerable citizens. Michigan’s Workforce Background Check (MWBC) system will serve as a model for
other states that must implement a standardized, multiple- system process of background checks to prevent unfit persons
from gaining access to vulnerable populations. The MWBC project is examined as a case study that illustrates how ICT is
essential for public health management by enhancing organizational level communication practices. The contribution of
the MWBC project can be summarized in the following dimensions: (1) improving communication among organizations,
(2) serving as an interactive decision support system, and (3) providing a better tool for public health practices.

Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 2003

This study describes the risk factors associated with experiencing and committing sexual aggressi... more This study describes the risk factors associated with experiencing and committing sexual aggression among a sample of male and female adolescents. High school students completed a questionnaire containing a revised form of the Sexual Experiences Survey to assess sexual victimization and offending experiences. Ordinal regression equations were estimated separately for male and female students, regressing background characteristics, dating behaviors, and attitudinal scales on sexual victimization (for females) or offending (for males). Nearly half (48%) of the females report experiencing sexual aggression, and one-third (34%) of males admit committing this type of offending. Regression analyses show that the likelihood of reporting victimization/offending increases among females who report dating more frequently during the past month, among both males and females who report dating more different people during the past 6 months, and among older males. Females who report their religious affiliation as Protestants compared to those with no religious affiliation, and those planning to attend college are less likely to report victimization. Among the males, rejecting rape stereotypes and having more accurate legal knowledge regarding rape are related to reduced likelihoods of reporting sexual offending. Implications for improving sexual assault educational programs for adolescents are discussed.

Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 2010

This study tests the impact of coordinated community response (CCR) on reducing intimate partner ... more This study tests the impact of coordinated community response (CCR) on reducing intimate partner violence (IPV) and on modifying knowledge and attitudes. The authors conduct hierarchical linear modeling of data from a stratified random-digit dial telephone survey (n = 12,039) in 10 test and 10 control sites, which include 23 counties from different regions in the United States, to establish the impact of a CCR on community members' attitudes toward IPV, knowledge and use of available IPV services, and prevalence of IPV. Findings indicate that CCRs do not affect knowledge, beliefs, or attitudes of IPV, knowledge and use of available IPV services, nor risk of exposure to IPV after controlling for age, gender, ethnicity, income, and education. Women in communities with 6-year CCRs (as opposed to 3-year CCRs) are less likely to report any aggression against them in the past year. These results are discussed within the context of evaluation challenges of CCRs (e.g., IPV activities in comparison communities, variability across interventions, time lag for expected impact, and appropriateness of outcome indicators) and in light of the evidence of the impact of other community-based collaborations.

Public health reports (Washington, D.C. : 1974)

We determined which children should be tested for elevated blood lead levels (BLLs) in the face o... more We determined which children should be tested for elevated blood lead levels (BLLs) in the face of financial and practical barriers to universal screening efforts and within 2009 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommendations allowing health departments to develop BLL screening strategies. We used the Michigan database of BLL tests from 1998 through 2005, which contains address, Medicaid eligibility, and race data. Linking addresses to U.S. Census 2000 data by block group provided neighborhood sociodemographic and housing characteristics. To derive an equation predicting BLL, we treated BLL as a continuous variable and used Hierarchical Linear Modeling to estimate the prediction equation. Census block groups explained more variance in BLL than tracts and much more than dichotomized zip code risk (which is current pediatric practice). Housing built before 1940, socioeconomic status and racial/ethnic characteristics of the block group, child characteristics, and empirical ...

Journal of Immigrant and Minority Health, 2015

Immigrant/refugee children sometimes have substantially higher blood lead levels (BLLs) than US-b... more Immigrant/refugee children sometimes have substantially higher blood lead levels (BLLs) than US-born children in similar environments. We try to understand why, by exploring the relationship between immigration status of mother and the BLLs of US-born children. We compared BLLs of children born in Michigan to immigrant and non-immigrant parents, using the Michigan database of BLL tests for 2002-2005, which includes the child's race, Medicaid eligibility and address. We added census data on sociodemographic/housing characteristics of the child's block group, and information about parents. Low parental education, single parent households, mothers' smoking and drinking, all increase the child's BLL. However, immigrant parents had fewer characteristics associated with high BLL than US born parents, and their children had lower BLLs than children of US-born

Public health reports (Washington, D.C. : 1974)

We derived a clinical decision rule for determining which young children need testing for lead po... more We derived a clinical decision rule for determining which young children need testing for lead poisoning. We developed an equation that combines lead exposure self-report questions with the child's census-block housing and socioeconomic characteristics, personal demographic characteristics, and Medicaid status. This equation better predicts elevated blood lead level (EBLL) than one using ZIP code and Medicaid status. A survey regarding potential lead exposure was administered from October 2001 to January 2003 to Michigan parents at pediatric clinics (n=3,396). These self-report survey data were linked to a statewide clinical registry of blood lead level (BLL) tests. Sensitivity and specificity were calculated and then used to estimate the cost-effectiveness of the equation. The census-block group prediction equation explained 18.1% of the variance in BLLs. Replacing block group characteristics with the self-report questions and dichotomized ZIP code risk explained only 12.6% of ...

eGEMs (Generating Evidence & Methods to improve patient outcomes), 2015

Context: Current information-rich electronic health record (EHR) interfaces require large, high-r... more Context: Current information-rich electronic health record (EHR) interfaces require large, high-resolution screens running on desktop computers. This interface compromises the provider's already limited time at the bedside by physically separating the patient from the doctor. The case study presented here describes a patient-centered clinical decision support (CDS) design process that aims to bring the physician back to the bedside by integrating a patient decision aid with CDS for shared use by the patient and provider on a touchscreen tablet computer for deciding whether or not to obtain a CT scan for minor head injury in the emergency department, a clinical scenario that could benefit from CDS but has failed previous implementation attempts.

Archives of Gerontology and Geriatrics, 2015

Few empirical investigations of elder abuse in nursing homes address the frequency and determinan... more Few empirical investigations of elder abuse in nursing homes address the frequency and determinants of resident-on-resident abuse (RRA). A random sample of 452 adults with an older adult relative, ≥65 years of age, in a nursing home completed a telephone survey regarding elder abuse experienced by that elder family member. Using a Linear Structural Relations (LISREL) modeling design, the study examined the association of nursing home resident demographic characteristics (e.g., age, gender), health and behavioral characteristics (e.g., diagnosis of Alzheimer's Disease, Activities of Daily Living (ADLs), Instrumental Activities of Daily Living (IADLs), types of staff abuse (e.g., physical, emotional), and factors beyond the immediate nursing home setting (e.g., emotional closeness of resident with family members) with RRA. Mplus statistical software was used for structural equation modeling. Main findings indicated that resident-on-resident mistreatment of elderly nursing home residents is associated with the age of the nursing home resident, all forms of staff abuse, all ADLs and IADLs, and emotional closeness of the older adult to the family.

The search for engines to power rural economic growth has gone beyond the traditional boundaries ... more The search for engines to power rural economic growth has gone beyond the traditional boundaries of the food and fiber sector to industries such as tourism and to schemes such as attracting metropolitan workers to commuter communities with rural amenities. A group that has been somewhat overlooked is retirees, who may wish to trade in urban or suburban lifestyles for a more peaceful rural retirement. An industry that has been neglected is the health care industry, which is the most rapidly growing industry nationally and of particular interest to retirees and aging populations. This paper examines the importance of rural health care services in attracting migrants age 65+ to rural counties in Michigan. Results indicate that the number of health care workers has a positive effect on net in-migration, and that this effect is large and statistically significant for the 70+ age group. Implications for rural development strategies are discussed.

Public health reports (Washington, D.C. : 1974)

Articles describing the epidemiology of intimate partner homicide (IPH) have often been positione... more Articles describing the epidemiology of intimate partner homicide (IPH) have often been positioned as one-time research projects utilizing a single data source for case identification. However, researchers without access to centralized repositories for data pertinent to IPH can ascertain cases by using multiple extant data sources. The authors describe a surveillance system that can serve as a model for state health departments and others seeking to quantify and characterize violent deaths related to intimate partner relationships on an ongoing basis. Retrospective surveillance was conducted to identify and characterize deaths related to intimate partnerships by linking the following data sources: death certificates, newspaper articles, law enforcement reports, and medical examiners' records. The authors identified at least 34% more IPHs using multiple data sources than would have been recognized solely using Supplementary Homicide Reports--the most frequently cited data source ...

Lecture Notes in Computer Science, 2011

The Michigan Workforce Background Check system demonstrates how an iterative user-centered design... more The Michigan Workforce Background Check system demonstrates how an iterative user-centered design (UCD) process enhances organizationallevel communication practices and efficiency. Well-designed information communication technology is an essential component of effective public health management. Usability and accessibility testing informed subsequent design and development. The iterative improvement in the background check application demonstrates that UCD should be a component of public health management projects in particular, and online project development in general.

Applied Demography in the 21st Century, 2008

2005 Annual meeting, …, 2005

Research on Aging, 2010

The authors investigated types and patterns of elder abuse by paid caregivers in long-term care a... more The authors investigated types and patterns of elder abuse by paid caregivers in long-term care and assessed the role of several risk factors for different abuses and for multiple abuse types. The results are based on a 2005 random-digit-dial survey of relatives of persons in long-term care. We computed occurrence rates and conditional occurrence rates for each of six abuse types: physical, caretaking, verbal, emotional, neglect, and material. Among older adults who have experienced at least one type of abuse, more than half (51.4%) have experienced another type of abuse. Physical functioning problems, activities of daily living limitations, and behavioral problems are significant risk factors for at least three types of abuse and are significant for multiple abuse types. The findings have implications for those monitoring the well-being of older adults in long-term care as well as those responsible for developing public health interventions.

Immigrant/refugee children sometimes have substantially higher blood lead levels (BLLs) than US-b... more Immigrant/refugee children sometimes have substantially higher blood lead levels (BLLs) than US-born children in similar environments. We try to understand why, by exploring the relationship between immigration status of mother and the BLLs of US-born children. We compared BLLs of children born in Michigan to immigrant and non-immigrant parents, using the Michigan database of BLL tests for 2002-2005, which includes the child's race, Medicaid eligibility and address. We added census data on sociodemographic/housing characteristics of the child's block group, and information about parents. Low parental education, single parent households, mothers' smoking and drinking, all increase the child's BLL. However, immigrant parents had fewer characteristics associated with high BLL than US born parents, and their children had lower BLLs than children of US-born

Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly, 2007

This article describes media coverage of elder abuse from 2003 to 2005. Guided by media typificat... more This article describes media coverage of elder abuse from 2003 to 2005. Guided by media typification and framing literatures, eight newspapers' elder abuse coverage was content analyzed. The newspapers' coverage usually typified and framed elder abuse in a criminal justice context. The stories covered most often featured episodic frames, 57.170, while a majority, 65.20/0, of the coverage framed elder abuse as an individual-as opposed to a societal-level problem. Most elder abuse occurs in domestic settings, yet the newspapers' coverage most often focused on elder abuse in long-term care settings. NEWSPAPERS'FRAMING OF ELDER ABUSE

Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 2009

This paper uses an ecological perspective to explore the risk factors associated with bullying be... more This paper uses an ecological perspective to explore the risk factors associated with bullying behaviors among a representative sample of adolescents aged 11-14 (n ¼ 9816; X ¼ 12.88; s ¼ .9814): Data derived from the Health Behavior in School Children: WHO Cross-National Survey were used to model the relationship between bullying and media effects, peer and family support systems, selfefficacy, and school environment. Overall, the results of this study suggest that bullying increases among children who watch television frequently, lack teacher support, have themselves been bullied, attend schools with unfavorable environments, have emotional support from their peers, and have teachers and parents who do not place high expectations on their school performance. In addition, we found an inverse relationship between being Asian or African American, feeling left out of school activities and bullying. Our results lend support to the contention that bullying arises out of deficits in social climate, but that social support systems mediate bullying behavior irrespective of the student's racial/ethnic characteristics, parental income levels or media influences. Because the number of friends and the ability to talk to these friends increases the likelihood of bullying, we suggest that bullying is not simply an individual response to a particular environment but is a peer-group behavior. We conclude that limiting television viewing hours, improving student's abilities to access family support systems and improving school atmospheres are potentially useful interventions to limit bullying behavior.