title: Case-control study of student-perpetrated physical violence against educators.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Although prior research focused primarily on student-on-student school violence, educators are also at risk. This study was designed to identify risk factors for assaults against educators.
  
  
  METHODS
  Kindergarten-grade 12 educators (n = 26,000), randomly selected from a state license database, were screened for eligibility (6,469, eligible) by mailed questionnaire. Phase 1 (12-month recall) identified eligible assault cases (n = 372) and controls (n = 1,116), June 2004 to December 2005; phase 2 (case-control study; response, 78%) enabled identification of exposures through 1-month recall before student-perpetrated assaults (cases) and randomly selected months (controls). Directed acyclic graphs enabled confounder selection for multivariable logistic regression analyses; reweighting adjusted for potential biases.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Risks (odds ratios, 95% confidence intervals) increased for working in: Special Education (5.84; 4.07-8.39) and School Social Work (7.18; 2.72-18.91); kindergarten to second grade (1.81; 1.18-2.77); urban (1.95; 1.38-2.76) schools; schools with less than 50 (8.40; 3.12-22.63), 50-200 (3.67; 1.84-7.34), 201-500 (2.09; 1.32-3.29), and 501-1000 (1.94; 1.25-3.01) students versus more than 1000; schools with inadequate resources always/frequently (1.62; 1.05-2.48) versus infrequently/never; inadequate building safety always/frequently (4.48; 2.54-7.90) versus infrequently/never; and environments with physical barriers (1.50; 1.07-2.10). Risks decreased with routine locker searches (0.49; 0.29-0.85) and accessible exits (0.36; 0.17-0.74).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Identification of assault risk factors provides a basis for further investigation and interventions.
authors.affiliation: Midwest Center for Occupational Health and Safety Education and Research Center, Regional Injury Prevention Research Center and Center for Violence Prevention and Control, Division of Environmental Health Sciences, School of Public Health, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis. Electronic address: gerbe001@umn.edu.
authors.forename: Susan G
authors.initials: SG
authors.lastname: Gerberich
authors.affiliation: Midwest Center for Occupational Health and Safety Education and Research Center, Regional Injury Prevention Research Center and Center for Violence Prevention and Control, Division of Environmental Health Sciences, School of Public Health, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis.
authors.forename: Nancy M
authors.initials: NM
authors.lastname: Nachreiner
authors.affiliation: Midwest Center for Occupational Health and Safety Education and Research Center, Regional Injury Prevention Research Center and Center for Violence Prevention and Control, Division of Environmental Health Sciences, School of Public Health, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis.
authors.forename: Andrew D
authors.initials: AD
authors.lastname: Ryan
authors.affiliation: Midwest Center for Occupational Health and Safety Education and Research Center, Regional Injury Prevention Research Center and Center for Violence Prevention and Control, Division of Environmental Health Sciences, School of Public Health, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis.
authors.forename: Timothy R
authors.initials: TR
authors.lastname: Church
authors.affiliation: Midwest Center for Occupational Health and Safety Education and Research Center, Regional Injury Prevention Research Center and Center for Violence Prevention and Control, Division of Environmental Health Sciences, School of Public Health, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis.
authors.forename: Patricia M
authors.initials: PM
authors.lastname: McGovern
authors.affiliation: Midwest Center for Occupational Health and Safety Education and Research Center, Regional Injury Prevention Research Center and Center for Violence Prevention and Control, Division of Environmental Health Sciences, School of Public Health, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis.
authors.forename: Mindy S
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Geisser
authors.affiliation: Midwest Center for Occupational Health and Safety Education and Research Center, Regional Injury Prevention Research Center and Center for Violence Prevention and Control, Division of Environmental Health Sciences, School of Public Health, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis.
authors.forename: Steven J
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Mongin
authors.affiliation: Midwest Center for Occupational Health and Safety Education and Research Center, Regional Injury Prevention Research Center and Center for Violence Prevention and Control, Division of Environmental Health Sciences, School of Public Health, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis.
authors.forename: Gavin D
authors.initials: GD
authors.lastname: Watt
authors.affiliation: Midwest Center for Occupational Health and Safety Education and Research Center, Regional Injury Prevention Research Center and Center for Violence Prevention and Control, Division of Environmental Health Sciences, School of Public Health, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis.
authors.forename: Denise M
authors.initials: DM
authors.lastname: Feda
authors.affiliation: Midwest Center for Occupational Health and Safety Education and Research Center, Regional Injury Prevention Research Center and Center for Violence Prevention and Control, Division of Environmental Health Sciences, School of Public Health, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis.
authors.forename: Starr K
authors.initials: SK
authors.lastname: Sage
authors.affiliation: Midwest Center for Occupational Health and Safety Education and Research Center, Regional Injury Prevention Research Center and Center for Violence Prevention and Control, Division of Environmental Health Sciences, School of Public Health, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis.
authors.forename: Evette D
authors.initials: ED
authors.lastname: Pinder
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D019548:Crime Victims / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005178:Faculty / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D016272:Occupational Health / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D012307:Risk Factors; D012574:Schools / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D013334:Students / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D014481:United States; D064450:Workplace Violence / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*
keywords: Assault risk factors; Occupational violence; School violence; Student perpetrators; Violence against educators/teachers; Work-related