The ecological effects of universal and selective violence prevention programs for middle school students: A randomized trial.

Abstract

This study reports the findings of a multisite randomized trial evaluating the separate and combined effects of 2 school-based approaches to reduce violence among early adolescents. A total of 37 schools at 4 sites were randomized to 4 conditions: (1) a universal intervention that involved implementing a student curriculum and teacher training with 6th-grade students and teachers, (2) a selective intervention in which a family intervention was implemented with a subset of 6th-grade students exhibiting high levels of aggression and social influence, (3) a combined intervention condition, and (4) a no-intervention control condition. Analyses of multiple waves of data from 2 cohorts of students at each school (N = 5,581) within the grade targeted by the interventions revealed a complex pattern. There was some evidence to suggest that the universal intervention was associated with increases in aggression and reductions in victimization; however, these effects were moderated by preintervention risk. In contrast, the selective intervention was associated with decreases in aggression but no changes in victimization. These findings have important implications for efforts to develop effective violence prevention programs. Keywordsaggression; violence prevention; middle school; adolescent problem behavior Although important progress has been made toward identifying promising approaches to youth violence prevention (e.g., U.S. Department of Health and Human Services [HHS], 2001;Wilson, Lipsey, & Derzon, 2003), further work is needed to identify the most effective strategies for use in specific settings (Farrell & Camou, 2006). Schools are frequently the setting in which violence prevention programs are implemented because they have several NIH-PA Author ManuscriptNIH-PA Author Manuscript NIH-PA Author Manuscript characteristics that make them a particularly appropriate focus for such efforts (Farrell, Meyer, Kung, & Sullivan, 2001;Gottfredson, 2001). Schools are among the primary contexts for social development and are frequently the setting in which interpersonal conflicts occur (Carlo, Fabes, Laible, & Kupanoff, 1999). Schools also provide an efficient way to reach a large number of youths, and because they represent stable institutions they have great potential for continuity.A critical question facing developers of school-based programs concerns the most effective focus of prevention resources. Most school-based violence prevention programs take one of two forms: universal interventions that include all students or selective interventions that focus on a subset of high-risk students. Universal interventions can play an important role in reducing aggression by teaching students emotional and cognitive skills that support nonviolent behavior and reducing peer influences that support violence (Multisite Violence Prevention Project [MVPP], 2004b). Furthermore, schoolwide prevention programs that involve teachers and school administrators may lead to increased reinforcement of program goals and modeling of appropri...

Cross-Gender Social Normative Effects for Violence in Middle School: Do Girls Carry a Social Multiplier Effect for At-Risk Boys?

“…A first focus should be on boys and girls who are already exhibiting higher levels of violence (which has indeed been attempted and supported with findings of violence reduction; see, e.g., NRC & IOM, 2009; Matjasko et al 2013; Multisite Violence Prevention Project 2008, 2009, 2012), but a second focus should incorporate the novel approach of utilizing girls in their positive effect on boys. Importantly, these strategies must be timely, given evidence that the most extreme boys and girls are unreachable by social influence by Grade 8.…”

The Role of Sociability Self-Concept in the Relationship between Exposure to and Concern about Aggression in Middle School

“…The current study examined sociability self-concept as a factor that can be targeted through school-based interventions to reduce the risk of concern about aggression in suburban middle schools. Many types of violence prevention programs currently exist for middle grades students (Farrell, 2009). However, implementing supportive programs that include sociability self-concept could eliminate the need for school personnel to identify or potentially stigmatize young adolescents with high levels of exposure to school aggression.…”

Prevenção da violência escolar: uma revisão da literatura

“…Na revisão de literatura, percebeu-se que quatorze artigos privilegiavam a avaliação de programas de prevenção e enfrentamento da violência no espaço escolar (GOTTFREDSON, 1986;BRENER et al, 1997;NJAINE;MINAYO, 2003;VAZSONYI et al, 2004;EISNER;RIBEAUD, 2005;ANDREOU et al, 2007;SLEE;MOHYLA, 2007;SIMON et al, 2009;OZER et al, 2010;ALLEN, 2010;WONG et al, 2011;MENDES, 2011;TORRES, 2011;WURF, 2012;PÉREZ et al, 2013;FRANÇA et al, 2013;MACEDO et al, 2014). Os objetivos desses estudos consistiram em investigar a efetividade e eficácia dos programas realizados em escolas, a partir dos objetivos de cada programa de prevenção e enfrentamento da violência.…”

“…As ações desenvolvidas por esses programas podem ser divididas em dois grandes grupos: 1) ações que visam realizar alterações no ambiente escolar, como, por exemplo, alteração do clima organizacional escolar, implantação de ações de forma a promover uma cultura de paz na escola, inclusão de atividades curriculares para sensibilização e autorreflexão sobre as situações de conflito e abertura das escolas aos finais de semana (GOTTFREDSON, 1986;VAZSONYI et al, 2004;ANDREOU et al, 2007;FRANÇA et al, 2013); 2) ações que visam realizar intervenções individuais, como, por exemplo, o desenvolvimento de um programa de orientação profissional com os estudantes, estímulo a reflexões filosóficas e vivências de valores nas escolas, realização de treino em competências sociais e emocionais, registro da frequência de visita à enfermaria da escola, promoção de atividades para redução do comportamento de bullying e promoção de regras de convivência, habilidades sociais e intervenções individualizadas com alunos (GOTTFREDSON, 1986;BRENER et al, 1997;NJAINE;MINAYO, 2003;EISNER;RIBEAUD, 2005;SLEE;MOHYLA, 2007;SIMON et al, 2009;ALLEN, 2010;OZER et al, 2010;WONG et al, 2011, TORRES, 2011MENDES, 2011;WURF, 2012;PÉREZ, COLS, 2013;MACEDO et al, 2014).…”