Mount Saint Mary College’s Center on Adolescent Research and Development (CARD) recently hosted a virtual talk by Nadine M. Finigan-Carr titled “Community Violence, Adolescent Aggression and Academic Achievement.”
Hailing from the University of Maryland, Finigan-Carr is a research associate professor in the School of Social Work and an associate professor in the School of Medicine, as well as director of the Prevention of Adolescent Risks Initiative.
In her talk, Finigan-Carr said that many youths in urban environments arrive at school “having experienced the effects of complex trauma from their homes and communities, only to find that their trauma goes unrecognized.”
These traumas may be inadvertently exacerbated in school environments. As a result, the student may manifest externalizing behaviors, including aggressive behaviors, which lead to unique academic challenges in school contexts.
Schools must be cognizant about the potential of retraumatizing students, said Finigan-Carr, and make it their goal to become trauma responsive institutions.
“It is imperative that trauma-specific approaches to educational practices be developed for all schools, so that they can meet the needs of children who have been exposed to trauma,” she explained.
Finigan-Carr noted six elements of trauma-responsive schools:
- Training educators and school staff about trauma
- Creating clinical support systems for schools
- Reexamining school polices (are there policies that don’t allow leeway for students experiencing trauma?)
- Adapting school curricula to be trauma responsive
- Developing procedures for early identification and services
- Funding trauma responsive collaboration
Finigan-Carr is focused on the application of behavioral and social science perspectives to research contemporary health problems, especially those that disproportionately affect people of color. Her scholarship is grounded in theories and methods found primarily in the field of health behavior change among individuals and the environments that support or impede chronic disease prevention or management, injury, and violence.
In addition to her other appointments at the University of Maryland, she is also the principal investigator of research projects, at both the state and federal levels, designed to intervene with system-involved youths – those in foster care or the juvenile justice system. Finigan-Carr is also the author of Linking Health and Education for African American Students’ Success (Routledge Press).