The 130th Annual Meeting of APHA

4296.0: Tuesday, November 12, 2002 - 4:30 PM

Abstract #45510

Whole school violence prevention: What works for whom?

James P. Griffin, PhD1, Katrina Love, MPH2, Casina Washington, MA2, and Kelvin Walston3. (1) Community Health and Preventive Medicine, Morehouse School of Medicine, 720 Westview Drive, S.W., Atlanta, GA 30310, (2) Comunity Health and Preventive Medicine, Morehouse School of Medicine, 777 Cleveland Ave., Atlanta, GA 30315, (404) 752-1022, griffij@msm.edu, (3) Prevention Research Center, Morehouse School of Medicine, 777 Cleveland Avenue, Atlanta, GA 30315

A school-based violence prevention study involved the comparison of a whole school approach with individualized, student-centered training within an intervention site. Another school served as a comparison venu. Two-hundred seventy-eight African-American student volunteers participated in the evaluation. One intervention component consisted of a curriculum-based training using the Second Step curriculum, behavioral reinforcement, and cultural enrichment training. The remaining students at the intervention site were involved in the whole-school intervention which consisted of a safety assessment of environmental characteristics, behavioral intervention, staff development, and comprehensive planning and coordination among school administrators, faculty, counselors, and other support staff. Student volunteers at the intervention site were randomly assigned to intervention and control groups. A linked analysis of the quasi-experimental data (Time 1-Time 4) comparing randomly assigned groups against the comparison school sample showed one statistically significant difference between groups over time using self-report measures of violence. A gender specific analysis of motivation to fight, common perpetration, and common victimization showed statistically significant (p < .05) differences on these measures for females but not males. Participants in the Second Step component of the study showed either a reduction in self-reported violence measures or no increase in mean values compared to their peers. Second Step plus cultural enrichment yielded noteworthy mean changes among females in this study.

Learning Objectives:

  • By the end of the learning activity, participants will

    Keywords: Adolescent Health, Evaluation

    Presenting author's disclosure statement:
    Organization/institution whose products or services will be discussed: Morehouse School of Medicine
    Disclosure not received
    Relationship: Not Received.

    Innovative Approaches to Addressing Youth Violence

    The 130th Annual Meeting of APHA