Violence Against Teachers in Minnesota: The Minnesota Educators' Study

Susan G. Gerberich, PhD, Mayo Professor (at right); Nancy M. Nachreiner, PhD, Assistant Professor; Andrew D. Ryan, MS, Research Fellow; Steven J. Mongin, MS, Senior Research Fellow; Timothy R. Church, PhD, Professor; Patricia M. McGovern, PhD, Professor; Mindy S. Geisser, MS, Senior Research Fellow; Denise M. Feda, PhD Candidate;  Starr K. Sage, PhD Candidate; Evette D. Pinder, PhD Candidate;  Gavin D. Watt, BA, Information Technology Supervisor (Center for Violence Prevention and Control, Division of Environmental Health Sciences, School of Public Health, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55455)

Violence is identified as the intentional use of physical force against another person or against oneself, which either results in or has a high likelihood of resulting in injury or death. While physical consequences are the overt signs of violence, the more covert consequences include emotional abuse, arising from inequities in power in interpersonal relationships. Within the realm of violence, work-related violence has recently been recognized as a major public health problem; this violence is defined as violent acts, including physical assaults and threats of assault, directed toward persons at work or on duty.

Within the school environment, we have been made aware of numerous tragic events both at the national level as well as in the state of Minnesota. These events have affected not only students but, also, teachers and other staff. Whilethere is some information relevant to work-related homicides, data regarding non-fatal work-related violence against educators is extremely deficient and the available national data seriously underestimate the extent of the problem.

Research Brief is a monthly update of the latest research from School of Public Health faculty. Subscribe Unsubscribe

The purpose of this two-phase study was to identify the magnitude and consequences of both physical and non-physical (threats, sexual harassment, verbal abuse, and bullying) interpersonal violence against Minnesota elementary and secondary school licensed educators and to identify specific risk and protective factors that will serve as a basis for development of prevention and control efforts. From 26,000 randomly selected licensed educators, 6,469 were identified as eligible, by having worked in a Minnesota school in the previous year. Specially designed questionnaires, with cover letters explaining the study, and postage-paid, return envelopes, were mailed to those eligible to participate for both phases of the study. As many as four follow-ups were conducted to optimize response rates and validation substudies were conducted on the reporting of injury and school-related exposures.

In the first study phase, information was collected on personal demographics of the educators (e.g., age, gender, level of education, length of time working as an educator, grade level(s) taught, and topic(s) taught), school and environmental characteristics (e.g., school size, location), student demographics, and specific information on violent events (both physical and non-physical) and resulting consequences that occurred during the previous 12 months. All educators (n = 372) who had been physically assaulted at least once, and 1,116 educators who had not been assaulted, were included in the second phase of the study (case-control study). In the second phase, information was collected for one-month periods of time on various exposures in the school environment, for the periods just prior to the months in which educators had been assaulted and for randomly selected months for those who had not been assaulted. This exposure information included: work activities; others in the environment; school infrastructure and administration; assault deterrents; violence policies; and community socioeconomic status. Comparison between exposures for those who had been assaulted, versus those who had not, enabled identification of risk and protective factors. An advisory team of educators who represented various geographic areas and levels and types of teaching were also integral to the study development and interpretation of study findings.

The response rate for each of the study phases was 84%. The violence rate for physical assault was a minimum of 8 per 100 educators per year; for non-physical violence, the minimum overall rate was 38 per 100 educators per year. Specific categories of non-physical violence included the following rates per 100 educators per year: verbal abuse, 33; threat, 21; bullying, 12; and sexual harassment, 5. Some educators reported specific individual events, while others reported ongoing physical and non-physical violence; therefore, the rates reported here are considered to be very conservative estimates. Consequences were much greater for the non-physical events (threats, sexual harassment, verbal abuse, and bullying) than for the physical events, with regard to post-trauma symptoms and change in work status.

Based on several results from the second phase of the study, risks for physical assault increased for working in: public magnet versus non-magnet schools; schools with less than 200 students; environments with soft, versus bright lighting or barriers physically blocking vision; working with children less than 10 years of age; working as social workers or as special education versus classroom teachers; and having fair or poor versus excellent parent/family/guardian involvement.

In summary, this is one of the first comprehensive studies to identify the magnitude and consequences of work-related violence in a large population of educators. Approximately two in five Minnesota educators experienced work-related violence in the previous year, with resulting consequences that included adverse symptoms and changes in their work status. In addition, specific risk factors were identified that will be used as a basis for development of relevant prevention and control efforts in order to reduce the risk of violence against educators. In turn, such interventions are expected to also reduce the risk to others within the school environment, including students and staff.

---

Support for this effort is provided, in part, by the: National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Department of Health and Human Services (R01 OH007816); Center for Violence Prevention and Control, University of Minnesota; and the Regional Injury Prevention Research Center, University of Minnesota. The investigators are most grateful for the contributions of the Educators' Advisory Consulting Team.