Skills training and social influences for violence prevention in middle schools: A curriculum evaluation

This pilot study evaluated the effect of skills training and of social influences on self-reported aggressive behavior in a sample of 239 sixth-grade students. The effect of two intervention groups and one control group were compared. In the first intervention group, a 15-session, violence-prevention curriculum was taught by the teacher. In the second intervention group, the same curriculum was taught by the teacher with the assistance of peer leaders trained to modify social norms about violence. The control group was evaluated but did not receive any training. The design included four schools. In two schools, three classes were assigned to one of the two interventions or to the control group. In the other two schools, two classes were assigned to either intervention (teacher only) or control. Students were evaluated before and after the implementation of the curriculum using a standardized questionnaire.^ The primary outcome was the effect of the curriculum and peer leaders on self-reported aggressive behaviors. The secondary outcome was their impact on intervening variables: knowledge about violence, conflict-resolution skills, self-efficacy, and attitudes.^ The intervention had a moderate effect on reducing self-reported aggressive behaviors among boys in two of the six classes that received the curriculum. Both classes with peer leaders reduced their aggressive behavior, but this reduction was significant in only one. A peer leader selection problem could probably explain this lack of effect.^ In three of the four schools, both interventions had an overall significant effect on increasing knowledge about violence and skills to reduce violence. Students also developed a more negative attitude toward violence after the intervention. As hypothesized, attitude change was stronger among students from the teacher plus peer leader group. No intervention effect was observed on self-efficacy nor on attitudes toward skills to reduce violence. Limitations of the study and implications for violence prevention in schools are discussed. ^

Design and evaluation of the parent education component of a comprehensive violence prevention project in middle schools

Low parental monitoring is related to youth risk behaviors such as delinquency and aggression. The purpose of this dissertation was to describe the development and evaluation of a parent education intervention to increase parental monitoring in Hispanic parents of middle school children.^ The first study described the process of intervention mapping as used to develop Padres Trabajando por la Paz, a newsletter intervention for parents. Using theory, empirical literature, and information from the target population, performance objectives and determinants for monitoring were defined. Learning objectives were specified and a staged social-cognitive approach was used to develop methods and strategies delivered through newsletters.^ The second study examined the outcomes of a randomized trial of the newsletter intervention. Outcome measures consisted of a general measure of monitoring, parent and child reports of monitoring behaviors targeted by the intervention, and psychosocial determinants of monitoring (self-efficacy, norms, outcome expectancies, knowledge, and beliefs). Seventy-seven parents completed the randomized trial, half of which received four newsletters over an eight-week period. Results revealed a significant interaction effect for baseline and treatment for parent's reports of norms for monitoring (p =.009). Parents in the experimental condition who scored low at baseline reported increased norms for monitoring at follow-up. A significant interaction effect for child reports of parental monitoring behaviors (p =.04) reflected an small increase across baseline levels in the experimental condition and decreases for the control condition at higher baseline scores. Both groups of parents reported increased levels of monitoring at follow-up. No other outcome measures varied significantly by condition.^ The third study examined the relationship between the psychosocial determinants of parental monitoring and parental monitoring behaviors in the study population. Weak evidence for a relationship between outcome expectancies and parental monitoring behaviors suggests further research in the area utilizing stronger empirical models such as longitudinal design and structural equation modeling.^ The low-cost, minimal newsletter intervention showed promise for changing norms among Hispanic parents for parental monitoring. In light of the importance of parental monitoring as a protective factor for youth health risk behaviors, more research needs to be done to develop and evaluate interventions to increase parental monitoring. ^

The Need for School-Based Teen Dating Violence Prevention

Schools have several competing demands, and often suffer from inefficient access to needed resources. Thus, the addition of any program into an already overtaxed school system must be met with convincing evidence that 1) a need or problem exists and is relevant to the education of students, 2) the problem is amenable to change, and 3) addressing the problem is in the best interest of educators and students. The purpose of the present paper is to present a case for inclusion of teen dating violence prevention programs in middle and high schools. We also discuss a recent survey of 219 employees of a suburban school district in southeast Texas. Specifically, we examined their perceived need for and appropriateness of a school-based dating violence prevention program. The anonymous internet-based survey revealed that a majority of participants believed that teen dating violence was a problem, 19% reported having observed an instance of teen dating violence, and 82% believed school to be an appropriate outlet for the implementation of a dating violence prevention program.

Building an Evidence-Based Approach to Address Dating Violence Prevention

Purpose: To discuss the approach and recommendations related to the adoption of school based curriculum for violence prevention. Findings: Preliminary assessments suggest that middle and high school youth experience a variety of forms of violence in social and dating relationships. Such experiences have negative academic, behavioral and emotional consequences. Conclusions: The authors have clearly illuminated the need for addressing the phenomenon of dating violence. The field could benefit from more robust evidenced-based investigations that substantiate that interventions have an impact beyond attitudinal changes toward the behavior. Such academic endeavors will provide a platform to validate the inclusion of such information in a school based curriculum as act as a call for action for broad based interventions.

Toxic Stress and Child Hunger Over the Life Course: Three Case Studies

The causes and contexts of food insecurity among children in the U.S. are poorly understood because the prevalence of food insecurity at the child level is low compared to the prevalence of household food insecurity. In addition, caregivers may be reluctant to admit their children may not be getting enough food due to shame or fear they might lose custody of their children. Based on our ongoing qualitative research with mothers of young children, we suggest that food security among children is related to adverse childhood experiences of caregivers. This translates into poor mental and physical health in adolescence and adulthood, which can lead to inability to secure and maintain meaningful employment that pays a living wage. In this paper we propose that researchers shift the framework for understanding food insecurity in the United States to adopt a life course approach. This demands we pay greater attention to the lifelong consequences of exposure to trauma or toxic stress—exposure to violence, rape, abuse and neglect, and housing, food, and other forms of deprivation—during childhood. We then describe three case studies of women from our ongoing study to describe a variety of toxic stress exposures and how they have an impact on a woman’s earning potential, her mental health, and attitudes toward raising children. Each woman describes her exposure to violence and deprivation as a child and adolescent, describes experiences with child hunger, and explains how her experiences have shaped her ability to nourish her children. We describe ways in which we can shift the nature of research investigations on food insecurity, and provide recommendations for policy-oriented solutions regarding income support programs, early intervention programs, child and adult mental health services, and violence prevention programs.

Is dating violence associated with substance use and sexual risk behaviors among urban, minority, middle school youth

Background. One in 4 adolescents reports some form of dating violence each year. Dating violence among high school adolescents has been linked with several morbidity issues. However, the association between dating violence and sexual risk and/or substance use among young adolescents has rarely been studied.^ Methods. Research hypotheses were tested using a secondary data analysis from a HIV, STI, pregnancy prevention intervention study for urban middle school students.^ Results. At baseline, 21% of youth reported experiencing physical ADV victimization, 48.2% reported non-physical victimization, and 52.6% report any victimization. After adjusting for race/ethnicity, gender, and age ever having sex, alcohol use, and illicit drug use were significantly associated with several forms of ADV.^ Conclusions. Dating violence appears to be associated with early initiation of sexual behavior, as well as alcohol and drug use. Few interventions address ADV among middle school youth. Early interventions that prevent dating violence are needed. ^

Associations between exposure to violence and depression in 5th grade students: Results from the Healthy Passages study

Purpose. To describe the prevalence of violence exposure and depression and their association among 5th grade students. ^ Methods.. Students (n=5,147) attending 5th grade (mean age 11.12) from three major metropolitan areas in the United States were surveyed on various health-related measures including experience with being a victim of violence (adapted from YRBS and Traumatic Events Screening Inventory) and depressive symptoms (from the DISC Predictive Scale). Prevalence was calculated for rates of violence exposure as well as depression defined as having five or more depressive symptoms. Logistic regression was used to examine the association between exposure to violence and depression. ^ Results. This study found that over 35% of students were exposed to some form of violence such as being threatened, hit, punched, kicked, beaten up, or threatened/injured with a gun or knife. Male students had a higher prevalence than female students on almost all exposure types. Over 7% of students also reported having 5 or more depressive symptoms. All forms of violence were significantly associated with depression. Students who had been a victim of violence were between 2.5 and 6.5 more likely to have five or more depression symptoms. Conslusion. The results of this study underscore the urgent need of collaborative prevention and treatment efforts for children exposed to violence. By preventing such exposure, serious effects including physical injury, mental health problems, and other detrimental outcomes may be mitigated.^