UC Davis experts: School violence, crisis response, troubled youth

The University of California, Davis, has campus experts available to discuss research and provide commentary related to guns, school violence, mental health and troubled youth.

• Gun access
• Asian Americans and mental health services
• Disasters and mental health
• Children's fears
• Juvenile violence
• Bullying and race relations
• Ballistics

Gun access

Dr. Garen Wintemute, director of the Violence Prevention Research Program at the UC Davis Medical Center, is a national expert on gun violence and public attitudes about guns. Wintemute, a professor of emergency medicine, has conducted numerous studies about gun accessibility, connections between gun ownership and violence, etc. Contact: Dr. Garen Wintemute, Emergency Medicine, (916) 734-3083, gjwintemute@ucdavis.edu. The center can also provide relevant data at (916) 734-3539.

Asian Americans and mental health services

Shame and stigma about seeking help for mental problems are chief reasons Asian Americans, overall, tend not to use mental-health services, according to Stanley Sue, professor of psychology, psychiatry and Asian American studies. Sue is founding director of the National Research Center on Asian American Mental Health at UC Davis. Sue argues that the nation needs more bilingual/bicultural therapists and better community education to make psychological help more acceptable to Asian Americans, especially to first-generation families. Contacts: Stanley Sue, Psychology, (530) 754-6173, ssue@ucdavis.edu; Claudia Morain, UC Davis News Service, (530) 752-9841, cmmorain@ucdavis.edu.

Disasters and mental health

Dr. Peter Yellowlees, a professor of psychiatry, has undertaken a large number of forensic psychiatric examinations and been involved in creating curricula for disaster preparedness and responses, and in teaching about post-traumatic stress disorders. Yellowlees has developed a "Disaster Mental Health Series" of continuing medical education courses that address anxiety disorders after a disaster, coping among survivors, and delivering bad news to families and survivors. Contact: David Ong, UC Davis Health System Medical Science Public Affairs, (916) 734-9049, david.ong@ucdmc.ucdavis.edu.

Children's fears

In the wake of violence like the Virginia Tech shootings, it is important to reassure elementary school students about their safety without misleading them, says Anna Kato of the UC Davis School of Education. A lecturer and supervisor of student teachers, Kato served on the commission on school violence of the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing. "Violent things happen. ... Acknowledge children's experiences and fears," said Kato, who teaches on classroom management as part of a course on effective teaching. The former elementary school teacher said teachers should create an environment for learning that is safe -- both physically and emotionally. Kato holds a doctorate in education with an emphasis in counseling. Contact: Anna Kato, School of Education, (530) 752-3401, atkato@ucdavis.edu.

Juvenile violence

Dr. Charles Scott, a professor of forensic psychiatry, is a national expert on juvenile violence, school violence and preventive efforts to stop school violence. Contact: David Ong, UC Davis Health System Medical Science Public Affairs, (916) 734-9049, david.ong@ucdmc.ucdavis.edu.

Bullying and school relations

Adrienne Nishina, an assistant professor of human development at UC Davis, focuses on peer relations from sixth grade through high school. The clinical psychologist studies short-term and long-term effects of victimization, coping strategies, psychological and physical health issues and academic adjustments. Nishina also can talk about how the balance of ethnicities affects students' feelings of school safety. She is involved in an ongoing UCLA study in the Los Angeles school district following the paths of students as they transition from middle school to high school and beyond, hoping to find the keys to success for low-income, ethnically diverse school populations. Contact: Adrienne Nishina, Human and Community Development, (530) 752-7003, anishina@ucdavis.edu.

Ballistics

Fred Tulleners is an expert on identification and matching of bullets and firearms. He spent more than three decades working in criminalistics and law enforcement before joining UC Davis as administrative director of the forensic science program within UC Davis Extension. Most recently, he was director of the California Department of Justice laboratory in Sacramento, as well as director of the California Criminalistics Institute and the Sacramento and Santa Rosa county criminalistics laboratories. Contact: Fred Tulleners, Forensic Science, (530) 757-8699 (Tuesday through Thursday), (916) 956-0080 (cell), ftulleners@ucdavis.edu.

Media contacts:

• David Ong, UC Davis Health System Medical Science Public Affairs, (916) 734-9049, david.ong@ucdmc.ucdavis.edu
• Claudia Morain, UC Davis News Service, (530) 752-9841, cmmorain@ucdavis.edu

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