Three researchers at Georgia State University will explore ways to prevent bullying and its effects on schoolchildren, thanks to funding from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Regents Professor Joel Meyers and Associate Professor Kristen Varjas, of the Department of Counseling and Psychological Services in the College of Education, and Christopher Henrich, associate professor of psychology in the College of Arts and Sciences, will receive $799,639 over five years for two interconnected studies in a metro Atlanta school system.
"It's a pervasive social and societal problem with many negative effects on social and emotional development," said Meyers, who is also director of the Center for Research on School Safety, School Climate and Classroom Management in the College of Education. "It causes not only injury, but also impacts how children perform in school. If a school environment is filled with physical and interpersonal violence of various kinds, it's less likely that children will be focused on the school work."
The Georgia State research is part of a larger five-year, $5 million grant awarded to the Emory Center for Injury Control at Emory University as part of a CDC Injury Control Research Center designation. The five-year funding is devoted toward research on a wide variety of injuries, and their prevention and treatment.
"Injury can be physical and psychological," said Meyers, who is the primary investigator in the Georgia State studies. "We're delighted that the CDC and Emory are both interested in schools as a place where injuries can be controlled and prevented."
The Center for Research on School Safety, School Climate and Classroom Management is an interdisciplinary center which supports efforts to better understand factors and preventative interventions affecting school safety, school climate and classroom management.
To access the full story about this research, click
here.
