Objectives: 1) To increase personal safety awareness and enhance coping skills among middle school students; 2) To implement and evaluate a program to reduce childrenfs anxiety and traumatic symptoms elicited by crises.
Middle school students in California have been exposed to violent and frightening news. Separate focus groups were held with 6th graders, teachers, school officials, and parents in order to identify concerns. First aid safety, avoiding stranger abduction, and coping with bereavement were identified as priorities. The developed program included lectures by community experts, group discussions, and role-playing. Two classes were assigned to the experimental group, and the remaining four served as the comparison group (N=168, mean age=11.7).
All students completed self-administered pre- and post-tests including the following measures; eHow Afraidf scale, Self-efficacy, Safety skills knowledge test, The Impact of Events Scale (IES), and State-Trait Anxiety Inventory for Children (STAIC). There were no significant differences between groups on the eHow Afraidf scores, self-efficacy level, or STAIC. On the knowledge test, the experimental group had a higher mean score than the comparison group after the program (p<0.000). Although the total and two subscale scores of IES significantly decreased in both groups (p<0.01), the intrusion subscale score in the comparison group decreased more than the experimental group at post-test (p<0.1).
In conclusion, middle school children benefited from the school-based program designed to promote personal safety without increasing anxiety or traumatic symptoms. The program implementation in a non-crisis situation familiarizes students with the content and may enable more rapid recovery during crises.
Learning Objectives: 1. Recognize needs of a safety program for middle school aged children; 2. Identify the effectiveness and emotional impacts among children in a program; 3. Develop a personal safety program for the target population
Keywords: School-Based Programs, Child/Adolescent
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
Organization/institution whose products or services will be discussed: None
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.