Educators Given Tips to Deal with Electronic Aggression

TUESDAY, Aug. 26 (HealthDay News) -- The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has published a handbook for educators and caregivers on how to tackle electronic aggression, including cyber-bullying and harassment, toward young people in their care.

The publication, Electronic Media and Youth Violence: A CDC Issue Brief for Educators and Caregivers, written by Marci Feldman Hertz and Corinne David-Ferdon, Ph.D., reviews the most current research, gives pointers on recognizing electronic aggression, and spells out prevention strategies for parents, educators and policy-makers. The CDC's National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, the National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, and the Adolescent Health Goal Team jointly developed the guidelines.

Rather than blocking access to electronic media, educators and caregivers are encouraged to talk to teens about electronic aggression and schools are encouraged to extend policies on in-person bullying to include harassment and other forms of aggression via electronic media.

"Educators, teens and caregivers are far ahead of researchers in identifying trends in electronic aggression and bring attention to potential causes and solutions," the authors write. "Adolescents, their families and the school community have known for several years that electronic aggression is a problem, but researchers have only recently begun to examine this issue. Creating a stronger partnership between schools, caregivers and researchers would strengthen the activities of all invested persons."

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