Sandy Hook anniversary a time to reinforce ‘comprehensive prevention,’ UB anti-bullying expert says

BUFFALO, N.Y. – The one-year anniversary of the Sandy Hook school shootings is an opportunity to reaffirm the need for comprehensive prevention that goes beyond physical security, Amanda B. Nickerson, PhD, director of the University at Buffalo’s Alberti Center for Bullying Abuse Prevention, said today.

Nickerson, who has led the university’s anti-bullying center since it began in 2011, is a developer of the National Association of School Psychologists’ PREPaRE School Crisis Prevention and Intervention Training Curriculum. She says while it’s important to remember and mourn the tragedy, it’s equally important to remember “school shootings are extremely rare events.”

“Events like this underscore the need for comprehensive prevention and intervention efforts,” says Nickerson, “efforts not focused solely on physical security, such as locking doors and installing metal detectors, but also mental health services, prevention, threat assessment training and coordinated, collaborative efforts among schools, parents and communities.”

Nickerson has been quoted widely on Sandy Hook and other similar shootings with connections to bullying behavior – including a recent appearance on NPR’s “On Point.”

“Other societal issues that contribute to these shootings are also important,” Nickerson says, “such as exposure to violent media and the accessibility of firearms.”

Saturday, Dec. 14, marks the one-year anniversary of the mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newton, Conn., in which 26 students and teachers were killed.