Introduction to the Special Issue of Behavioral Disorders : Serving the Needs of Youth with Disabilities through School-Based Violence Prevention Efforts

Abstract

Youth with disabilities may be at increased risk of involvement in peer victimization and, in some cases, peer-based aggression. This special issue of Behavioral Disorders aims to gain a better understanding of peer-based victimization and aggression among youth with disabilities by exploring variation in the type of violence involvement by disability category. We also seek to identify risk and protective processes for victimization and aggression across individual, peer, family, and school domains, as well as explore the role of situational dynamics. Lastly, we examine the impact of existing youth violence prevention programs on academic outcomes for youth with disabilities. Collectively, the five original articles and two commentaries in the special issue inform our understanding of the ways in which various risk and protective processes and situational factors influence peer-based victimization and aggression among youth with disabilities. Implications of this work are discussed regarding the development, implementation, and/or evaluation of school-based youth violence prevention programs in an effort to better serve the needs of youth with disabilities.