UCLA Luskin Social Welfare Professor Ron Avi Astor has received the Division E Distinguished Research Award in Human Development from the American Educational Research Association (AERA).

Astor and three co-authors were recognized for their article “The Contribution of School Victimization to Sadness, Hopelessness, and Suicidal Ideation Among Bias-Based and Non-Bias-Based Victims and the Moderating Role of School Climate.”

Published last year in the journal Educational Researcher, the article examined the impact of students’ victimization, including how a positive school climate could affect mental health outcomes. The research was based on a study of more than 1 million middle and high school students in California.

Astor, an international scholar of school climate and violence, has a dual appointment with the UCLA School of Education and Information Studies. The award will be presented at AERA’s annual conference in Los Angeles this week.

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