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New tool may reveal risk of teen violence and aggression
By Staff Writer
 Researchers at the Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center recently created a questionnaire that can measure the likelihood of aggression and violent behavior for teens who are in psychiatric units. The tool is called the Brief Rating of the Child and Adolescent Aggression (BRACHA). In order to test the tool's accuracy, researchers used it to analyze 418 children before they were hospitalized at the medical center's psychiatric unit. This initial evaluation revealed that 14 out of the 16 items on the survey were significantly strong predictors of future aggression and violence in the teens. Researchers hope they can further test the validity of these 14 items during a larger test of 1,000 to 1,400 patients. The medical center's researchers believe that this questionnaire could help prevent teen violence and aggression in schools, hospitals and other locations throughout the community. Teens who suffer from aggression or violence issues may benefit from enrolling in schools for troubled youths. Staff members at these facilities may be qualified to treat similar problems while giving students extra academic support.
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