Strategies To Prevent Adolescent Violence And Bullying Presented By Experts
July 19, 2006During a web-based CME conference on July 13th, two of the nation's leading
experts on adolescent violence and bullying examined the prevalence of
adolescent violence - including bullying - in the United States, identifying
risk and resiliency factors for violence, as well as common characteristics
shared by victims and aggressors, and offered effective prevention strategies
health professionals can use to combat the problem. The conference was
co-sponsored by the American College of Preventive Medicine and Medscape/WebMD.
A free archive of the session is now available online at http://www.medscape.com/viewprogram/5652.
In his opening remarks as moderator of the session, Dr. George Lundberg,
Editor-in-Chief of Medscape General Medicine, said, "Despite a growing
understanding of the psychological and physiological effects of violence and the
need for preventive measures, the Office of the Surgeon General reports that
rates of violent activity have not decreased since the mid 1990s." He
continued, "Many schools still lack effective violence prevention and
treatment programs; however, there are methods that health professionals can use
to both identify and prevent youth violence."
Dr. Howard Spivak, discussing whether violent tendencies are a product of nature
or nurture, stated that, "the fact that the rates [of adolescent violence]
are relatively low in the rest of the world as compared to this country gives
the positive message that this is, in fact, preventable and that this phenomenon
in the United States reflects either something we are doing that is promoting
violence or violent behavior, or something we're not doing." Dr. Susan
Limber, Associate Director of Clemson University's Institute on Family and
Neighborhood Life and one of the nation's foremost bullying experts, stressed
that health care professionals should be "vigilant" when evaluating
their patients, looking for possible signs of bullying victimization and
routinely asking about peer relations.
The conference provided critical information for practicing physicians, public
health officials, and other front-line health providers who provide primary care
to adolescents, as well as to those who are concerned with the health and social
implications of adolescent violence and bullying.
To view an archive of the web-based conference visit http://www.medscape.com/viewprogram/5652
and register and log-in as a free Medscape user. You will be able to see and
hear the program online. There is no cost to view the program or to obtain CME
credit.
The American College of Preventive Medicine is the national professional society
for physicians whose expertise and interest lie in disease prevention and health
promotion (http://www.acpm.org/).
ACPM's more than 2,000 members are engaged in preventive medicine practice,
teaching and research. Medscape from WebMD is the leading provider of online
information and educational services for physicians and health care
professionals (http://www.medscape.com/).
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The American College of Preventive Medicine (ACPM) is accredited by the
Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education to provide continuing
medical education for physicians. ACPM designates this educational activity for
a maximum of 1.5 category 1 credits towards the AMA Physician's Recognition
Award. Each physician should claim only those credits that he/she actually spent
in the activity.
Contact: Jenn Rogers
American College of Preventive
Medicine