SAC Risk Assessment & Management 3 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A student reports that a friend confided plans to bring a weapon to school next week. Under threat assessment protocols, what is the counselor's FIRST priority?
- Speak privately with the friend to verify the claim
- Notify school administration and follow the threat assessment protocol (Correct answer)
- Reassure the reporting student and take no immediate action
- Contact the friend's parents without informing administration
Correct answer: Notify school administration and follow the threat assessment protocol
Threats of violence require immediate notification to administration so that a formal threat assessment team can convene and determine safety measures.
Question 2: Which model is most widely adopted by U.S. schools for structured threat assessment of potentially violent students?
- Safe Messaging Guidelines Model
- Virginia Student Threat Assessment Guidelines (VSTAG) (Correct answer)
- Trauma-Informed Care Framework
- Multi-Tiered System of Support (MTSS)
Correct answer: Virginia Student Threat Assessment Guidelines (VSTAG)
The Virginia Student Threat Assessment Guidelines (VSTAG), developed by Dewey Cornell, is the most empirically supported and widely adopted school-based threat assessment model in the U.S.
Question 3: Under the Virginia Threat Assessment Guidelines, a 'transient threat' is best described as:
- A threat made by a student who has previously acted violently
- An expression of frustration without genuine intent to harm (Correct answer)
- A threat accompanied by a weapon or specific target
- A threat requiring immediate law enforcement involvement
Correct answer: An expression of frustration without genuine intent to harm
Transient threats are expressions of anger or frustration that, upon brief inquiry, are not accompanied by genuine intent to harm and can be resolved quickly.
Question 4: What is the primary purpose of a safety plan developed with a student at risk of self-harm?
- To legally protect the school from liability
- To provide the student with structured coping steps during a crisis (Correct answer)
- To document that the student has been warned of consequences
- To inform classroom teachers of the student's mental health status
Correct answer: To provide the student with structured coping steps during a crisis
A safety plan equips the student with personalized, sequential coping strategies and trusted contacts to use when distress escalates before professional help is reached.
Question 5: A no-harm contract (also called a 'no-suicide contract') is considered by current research to be:
- The gold standard for preventing adolescent suicide
- Insufficient alone and not a replacement for a comprehensive safety plan (Correct answer)
- Legally binding and sufficient documentation of counselor due diligence
- Effective only when co-signed by a parent or guardian
Correct answer: Insufficient alone and not a replacement for a comprehensive safety plan
Research has consistently found no-harm contracts ineffective at reducing suicidal behavior and they should not substitute for a comprehensive safety plan and clinical intervention.
Question 6: Which of the following is a protective factor that DECREASES suicide risk in adolescents?
- Social isolation and withdrawal from activities
- Strong sense of connectedness to family and school (Correct answer)
- History of previous self-injurious behavior
- Access to lethal means in the household
Correct answer: Strong sense of connectedness to family and school
Connectedness to family, school, and community is consistently identified as a strong protective factor that buffers against suicidal ideation and behavior.
Question 7: A student discloses ongoing physical abuse at home. Beyond reporting to child protective services, what risk assessment step is most important?
- Administer an academic achievement test to assess stress impact
- Screen for co-occurring suicidal ideation or self-harm (Correct answer)
- Inform the student's teacher to watch for behavioral changes
- Schedule a parent-teacher conference to discuss the disclosure
Correct answer: Screen for co-occurring suicidal ideation or self-harm
Abuse victims have elevated rates of co-occurring suicidal ideation and self-harm, making a simultaneous risk screen a critical clinical step after mandated reporting.
SAC Risk Assessment & Management 3
A student reports that a friend confided plans to bring a weapon to school next week.
Under threat assessment protocols, what is the counselor's FIRST priority?