{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,12]],"date-time":"2026-10-12T17:06:57Z","timestamp":1791824817539,"version":"4.3.4"},"reference-count":35,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"12","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2024,12,11]],"date-time":"2024-12-11T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1733875200000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"American Psychological Association"},{"name":"DePaul University (Susan D. McMahon)"},{"name":"University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (Dorothy L. Espelage)"},{"name":"University of California, Berkeley (Frank C. Worrell)"},{"name":"Rutgers University, The State University of New Jersey (Linda A. Reddy)"},{"name":"Center for Justice Innovation (Andrew Martinez)"},{"name":"University of California, Los Angeles (Ron A. Astor)"},{"name":"The Ohio State University (Eric M. Anderman)"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Behavioral Sciences"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Violence against teachers has received increasing attention worldwide, with high rates of verbal, threatening, physical, and property violence in schools. Teacher-directed violence contributes to poor mental and physical health, high rates of turnover, and diminished student achievement. Despite these findings, there is a dearth of research on violence experienced by paraprofessionals who play key roles in supporting students with the greatest learning and behavioral needs in schools. Using a sample of 1993 paraprofessionals, this study is one of the first to investigate paraprofessionals\u2019 experiences of violence in school settings. We found that the rate of student violence against paraprofessionals was 37% for property offenses, 49.5% for physical violence, and 54% for verbal and threatening violence. Further, we employed a socio-ecological model of individual, classroom, school, and community factors to predict paraprofessional experiences of violence from students in schools. Negative binomial regression results revealed that student-staff relationship problems and student behavioral concerns were positively related to verbal and threatening, physical, and property violence against paraprofessionals. Paraprofessionals working in elementary schools were more likely to report physical violence compared to those working in middle or high school settings. Implications for research and educational practice are also presented.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/bs14121181","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2024,12,11]],"date-time":"2024-12-11T03:14:58Z","timestamp":1733886898000},"page":"1181","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":8,"title":["Student Violence Against Paraprofessionals in Schools: A Social-Ecological Analysis of Safety and Well-Being"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"14","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-8314-2810","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Linda A.","family":"Reddy","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Graduate School of Applied and Professional Psychology, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ 08901, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-4680-0789","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Andrew H.","family":"Perry","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Educational Studies, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Andrew","family":"Martinez","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"New York Center for Justice Innovation, New York, NY 10018, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-3710-8811","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Susan D.","family":"McMahon","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Psychology, DePaul University, Chicago, IL 60614, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Kailyn","family":"Bare","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Psychology, DePaul University, Chicago, IL 60614, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-1808-0654","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Taylor","family":"Swenski","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Psychology, DePaul University, Chicago, IL 60614, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-8338-4489","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Christopher M.","family":"Dudek","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Graduate School of Applied and Professional Psychology, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ 08901, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Eric M.","family":"Anderman","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Educational Studies, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Ron Avi","family":"Astor","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Social Welfare and Education, University of California-Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-0658-2067","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Dorothy L.","family":"Espelage","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Education, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Frank C.","family":"Worrell","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Berkeley School of Education, University of California-Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2024,12,11]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"596","DOI":"10.1037\/vio0000202","article-title":"Prevalence of student violence against teachers: A meta-analysis","volume":"9","author":"Longobardi","year":"2019","journal-title":"Psychol. Violence"},{"key":"ref_2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"9","DOI":"10.1016\/j.avb.2018.06.006","article-title":"Addressing violence against educators through measurement and research","volume":"42","author":"Reddy","year":"2018","journal-title":"Aggress. Violent Behav."},{"key":"ref_3","unstructured":"National Center for Education Statistics (2024, November 15). Discipline Problems Reported by Public Schools. Condition of Education. U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences, Available online: https:\/\/nces.ed.gov\/programs\/coe\/indicator\/a07\/discipline-problems?tid=4."},{"key":"ref_4","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"903","DOI":"10.1037\/amp0001348","article-title":"Violence and aggression against educators and school personnel, retention, stress, and training needs: National survey results","volume":"79","author":"McMahon","year":"2024","journal-title":"Am. Psychol."},{"key":"ref_5","first-page":"510","article-title":"Violence directed against teachers during the COVID-19 pandemic: A social\u2013ecological analysis of safety and well-being","volume":"39","author":"Reddy","year":"2024","journal-title":"Sch. Psychol."},{"key":"ref_6","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"767","DOI":"10.1007\/s11218-022-09706-6","article-title":"Rates and types of student aggression against teachers: A comparative analysis of U.S. elementary, middle, and high schools","volume":"25","author":"McMahon","year":"2022","journal-title":"Soc. Psychol. Educ."},{"key":"ref_7","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"993","DOI":"10.1080\/00131911.2021.1940103","article-title":"A conceptual framework of teacher turnover: A systematic review of the empirical international literature and insights from the employee turnover literature","volume":"75","author":"Nguyen","year":"2021","journal-title":"Educ. Rev."},{"key":"ref_8","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"325","DOI":"10.1016\/j.annepidem.2014.02.006","article-title":"Case-control study of student-perpetrated physical violence against educators","volume":"24","author":"Gerberich","year":"2014","journal-title":"Ann. Epidemiology"},{"key":"ref_9","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"65","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jsr.2012.09.006","article-title":"Workplace violence among Pennsylvania education workers: Differences among occupations","volume":"44","author":"Tiesman","year":"2012","journal-title":"J. Saf. Res."},{"key":"ref_10","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"362","DOI":"10.1177\/0741932511413472","article-title":"Constructively responding to requests for paraprofessionals","volume":"33","author":"Giangreco","year":"2011","journal-title":"Remedial Spe\u0301c. Educ."},{"key":"ref_11","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"227","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jsp.2022.04.002","article-title":"A randomized trial examining the effects of paraprofessional behavior support coaching for elementary students with disruptive behavior disorders: Paraprofessional and student outcomes","volume":"92","author":"Reddy","year":"2022","journal-title":"J. Sch. Psychol."},{"key":"ref_12","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"742","DOI":"10.1002\/pits.22381","article-title":"A critical review of the professional development literature for paraprofessionals supporting students with externalizing behavior disorders","volume":"58","author":"Reddy","year":"2020","journal-title":"Psychol. Sch."},{"key":"ref_13","unstructured":"Snyder, T.D., de Brey, C., and Dillow, S.A. (2017). Digest of Education Statistics 2017, National Center for Education Statistics, Institute of Education Sciences."},{"key":"ref_14","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"53","DOI":"10.1080\/09540253.2022.2142532","article-title":"Student violence towards teaching assistants in UK schools: A case of gender-based violence","volume":"35","author":"Holt","year":"2022","journal-title":"Gend. Educ."},{"key":"ref_15","unstructured":"(2024, November 15). School Support Staff Facing High Levels of Violence and Abuse, Says Unison. Available online: https:\/\/www.unison.org.uk\/news\/press-release\/2016\/06\/school-support-staff-facing-high-levels-of-violence-and-abuse-says-unison\/."},{"key":"ref_16","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"787","DOI":"10.1080\/03054985.2021.1895097","article-title":"The impact of working conditions on the UK\u2019s teaching assistants","volume":"47","author":"Ravalier","year":"2021","journal-title":"Oxf. Rev. Educ."},{"key":"ref_17","unstructured":"Astor, R.A., and Benbenishty, R. (2019). Bullying, School Violence, and Climate in Evolving Contexts: Culture, Organization, and Time, Oxford University Press."},{"key":"ref_18","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"357","DOI":"10.3102\/0034654313483907","article-title":"A review of school climate research","volume":"83","author":"Thapa","year":"2013","journal-title":"Rev. Educ. Res."},{"key":"ref_19","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Perry, A.H., Reddy, L.A., Martinez, A., McMahon, S.D., Anderman, E.M., Astor, R.A., Espelage, D.L., Worrell, F.C., Swenski, T., and Bare, K. (2024). Administrator turnover: The roles of district support, safety, anxiety, and violence from students. Behav. Sci., 14.","DOI":"10.3390\/bs14111089"},{"key":"ref_20","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"915","DOI":"10.1007\/s10984-023-09460-2","article-title":"Understanding parent aggression directed against teachers: A school climate framework","volume":"26","author":"McMahon","year":"2023","journal-title":"Learn. Environ. Res."},{"key":"ref_21","unstructured":"Turanovic, J.J., Pratt, T.C., Kulig, T.C., and Cullen, F.T. (2024, November 15). Individual, Institutional, and Community Sources of School Violence: A Meta-Analysis. United States Department of Justice, Available online: https:\/\/www.ojp.gov\/pdffiles1\/nij\/grants\/254633.pdf."},{"key":"ref_22","first-page":"488","article-title":"Addressing violence against educators: What do teachers say works?","volume":"39","author":"Perry","year":"2023","journal-title":"Sch. Psychol."},{"key":"ref_23","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"513","DOI":"10.1037\/0003-066X.32.7.513","article-title":"Toward an experimental ecology of human development","volume":"32","author":"Bronfenbrenner","year":"1977","journal-title":"Am. Psychol."},{"key":"ref_24","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"75","DOI":"10.1037\/a0031307","article-title":"Understanding and preventing violence directed against teachers: Recommendations for a national research, practice, and policy agenda","volume":"68","author":"Espelage","year":"2013","journal-title":"Am. Psychol."},{"key":"ref_25","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"107","DOI":"10.1080\/15388220.2018.1532298","article-title":"Advancing a Conceptual and Empirical Model of School Climate for School Staff in California","volume":"19","author":"Capp","year":"2018","journal-title":"J. Sch. Violence"},{"key":"ref_26","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"415","DOI":"10.1086\/710974","article-title":"School staff members in california: How perceptions of school climate are related to perceptions of student risk and well-being","volume":"11","author":"Capp","year":"2020","journal-title":"J. Soc. Soc. Work. Res."},{"key":"ref_27","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1","DOI":"10.1080\/10705519909540118","article-title":"Cutoff criteria for fit indexes in covariance structure analysis: Conventional criteria versus new alternatives","volume":"6","author":"Hu","year":"1999","journal-title":"Struct. Equ. Model. Multidiscip. J."},{"key":"ref_28","unstructured":"Zarembka, P. (1974). Conditional Logit Analysis of Qualitative Choice Behavior, Academic Press."},{"key":"ref_29","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"711","DOI":"10.1007\/s10802-011-9510-x","article-title":"Effects of exposure to community violence on internalizing symptoms: Does desensitization to violence occur in african american youth?","volume":"39","author":"Cunningham","year":"2011","journal-title":"J. Abnorm. Child Psychol."},{"key":"ref_30","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"387","DOI":"10.1080\/15388220.2015.1056879","article-title":"Teachers\u2019 Experiences with multiple victimization: Identifying demographic, cognitive, and contextual correlates","volume":"15","author":"Martinez","year":"2015","journal-title":"J. Sch. Violence"},{"key":"ref_31","unstructured":"National Center for Education Statistics (2024, November 15). Teachers Threatened with Injury or Physically Attacked by Students. Condition of Education. U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences, Available online: https:\/\/nces.ed.gov\/programs\/coe\/indicator\/a05."},{"key":"ref_32","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"101486","DOI":"10.1016\/j.avb.2020.101486","article-title":"Worldwide school-based psychosocial interventions and their effect on aggression among elementary school children: A systematic review 2010\u20132019","volume":"55","author":"Healy","year":"2020","journal-title":"Aggress. Violent Behav."},{"key":"ref_33","first-page":"101945","article-title":"Free lunch for all?","volume":"74","author":"Altindag","year":"2019","journal-title":"The impact of universal school lunch on student misbehavior."},{"key":"ref_34","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"435","DOI":"10.1007\/s40688-018-0180-3","article-title":"Teacher-directed violence and stress: The role of school setting","volume":"22","author":"Bounds","year":"2018","journal-title":"Contemp. Sch. Psychol."},{"key":"ref_35","unstructured":"SAMHSA\u2019s Trauma and Justice Strategic Initiative (2014). SAMHSA\u2019s Concept of Trauma and Guidance for a Trauma-Informed Approach."}],"container-title":["Behavioral Sciences"],"original-title":[],"language":"en","link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/www.mdpi.com\/2076-328X\/14\/12\/1181\/pdf","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2025,10,10]],"date-time":"2025-10-10T16:51:59Z","timestamp":1760115119000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/www.mdpi.com\/2076-328X\/14\/12\/1181"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2024,12,11]]},"references-count":35,"journal-issue":{"issue":"12","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2024,12]]}},"alternative-id":["bs14121181"],"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/bs14121181","relation":{},"ISSN":["2076-328X"],"issn-type":[{"value":"2076-328X","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2024,12,11]]}}}