School psychology and crisis intervention: A survey of school psychologists' involvement and training.

摘要

This study explored school psychologists' training in crisis intervention and their level of involvement in providing crisis intervention in the school setting. Five hundred school psychologist practitioners who were members of the National Association of School Psychologists were randomly selected to complete and return a questionnaire titled Crisis Intervention: A National Survey of the Role of School Psychologists. The instrument, which collected data on demographics, crisis intervention training, crisis team involvement, and crisis response, was developed by the author for the purpose of this study. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, Pearson r correlation coefficient, and binary logistic regression. With a 58% return rate, the results of the study revealed that 94% of respondents reported having some training in crisis intervention. The most common forms of training were conferences/workshops and in-services. The percentage of respondents who indicated that crisis intervention was covered in a university/college course was higher than in previous investigations. Seventy-four percent of the respondents reported they were members of school crisis response teams, which was also a slight improvement from previous studies. Significant correlations were found between school psychologists' training in crisis intervention and the likelihood that they provide this service in the school setting or are members of crisis response teams. Results also indicated that geographic region and grade level(s) served were significant predictors in determining school psychologists' involvement in crisis intervention. Fifty-four percent of participants reported they responded to at least one crisis during the 2003-04 school year or the fall/winter 2004-05 school year. School psychologists engaged in a variety of crisis intervention activities despite facing obstacles such as time constraints and the service being provided by other school personnel. Participants indicated the need for additional specialized crisis response training and extra time in order to function more effectively in crisis intervention. Crisis-related topics and types of instruction for future training were also suggested.