What Does It Take to Be a Trusted Adult?
Format
Individual Presentation
First Presenter's Institution
Georgia Southern University
First Presenter’s Email Address
ericlanders@georgiasouthern.edu
First Presenter's Brief Biography
Eric Landers is an associate professor in Elementary and Special Education and the chair of the Southeast Conference on School Climate. His research expertise is Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports, Bullying, and MTSS.
Second Presenter's Institution
Augusta University
Second Presenter’s Email Address
mrausch@augusta.edu
Second Presenter's Brief Biography
Meredith Rausch is an associate professor in Counselor Education. Her research focuses on advocacy and prevention for marginalized communities.
Third Presenter's Institution
Georgia Southern University
Third Presenter's Brief Biography
Kristen Dickens, Ph.D., LPC, NCC, ACS is an Associate Professor in the Counselor Education Program at Georgia Southern University. Her research interests include leadership preparation, specifically in counselor education and preparation, multicultural competence, and issues in counselor education.
Fourth Presenter's Institution
Georgia Southern University
Fourth Presenter's Brief Biography
Angela Landers is the Assistant Director of Outreach & Community Engagement at Georgia Southern University’s Counseling Center. She is a Licensed Professional Counselor, Certified Professional Counselor Supervisor, and a Registered Yoga Teacher (200).
Location
Session Two
Strand #1
Health: Mental & Physical Health
Strand #2
Hands: Safety & Violence Prevention
Relevance
This presentation describes an alternative support for supporting students mental health
Brief Program Description
The presentation discusses how a school can implement a school-wide Trusted Adult Program to support students who are victims of bullying. Factors associated with establishing and managing a trusted adult program will be discussed, as well as dispositions and skills that staff acting as trusted adults will need to be effective.
Summary
Nearly 20% of students report being bullied in schools in the past 12 months. Bullying behavior can negatively impact students in a variety of ways, including attendance (e.g., Berthold & Hoover, 2000), adverse physical health (e.g., Bogart et al., 2014), and increased depression (Cook et al., 2010). In addition to the negative impact of bullying on students, instances of bullying take time to investigate and can even produce a monetary cost to schools (Baams et al., 2017). Addressing this system-wide problem in an effective, efficient manner cannot only protect students from further harm but also save school personnel time and money. This presentation discusses the development and implementation of a school-wide Trusted Adult Program to support victims of bullying in schools. Having a trusted adult in school is protective of physical, psychological and behavioral health, underscoring the importance developing a program to strengthen these ties among youth universally (Weitzman et al., 2021). Efforts should focus on connecting adolescents with trusted adults and training adults who hold positions of authority or experiential knowledge to offer both direct and indirect support (Campus-Castillo et al., 2021). Trusted adults can model and exhibit empathy by taking the concerns of an adolescent seriously, validating their concerns, and recognizing their emotions (Choaibi & Lomas, 2021; Rose et al., 2015). Using the taxonomy laid out by Pringle and colleagues (2019) this presentation discusses five aspects of an effective Trusted Adult Program including, 1) describing the context where the support occurs (formal vs. informal and structured vs. naturally occurring), 2) the nature of support offered by the trusted adult (e.g., materials, instructional and emotional), 3) effective qualities of a trusted adult (e.g., nonjudgmental), 4) skills necessary for offering support (e.g., conversational, active listening), and 5) the actions of functions of the trusted adult (e.g., availability, documentation, reporting). Participants will leave this presentation with a framework for implementing the program.
Evidence
The presentation discusses how a school can implement a school-wide Trusted Adult Program to support students who are victims of bullying. Factors associated with establishing and managing a trusted adult program will be discussed, as well as dispositions and skills that staff acting as trusted adults will need to be effective.
Learning Objective 1
Participants will be able to identify a framework for an effective Trusted Adult Program.
Learning Objective 2
Participants will be able to identify effective qualities and skills of a trusted adult.
Learning Objective 3
Participants will be able to detail the essential functions that ensure a safe and effective Trusted Adult Program.
Presentation Year
2024
Start Date
3-4-2024 11:30 AM
End Date
3-4-2024 1:00 PM
Recommended Citation
Landers, Eric; Rausch, Meredith; Dickens, Kristen; and Landers, Angela, "What Does It Take to Be a Trusted Adult?" (2024). National Youth Advocacy and Resilience Conference. 16.
https://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/nyar_savannah/2024/2024/16
What Does It Take to Be a Trusted Adult?
Session Two
The presentation discusses how a school can implement a school-wide Trusted Adult Program to support students who are victims of bullying. Factors associated with establishing and managing a trusted adult program will be discussed, as well as dispositions and skills that staff acting as trusted adults will need to be effective.
