Evaluation of a School-Based Violence Prevention Program among Middle School Students in Southeast Los Angeles

Background: Violence and aggressive behaviors among youth have become serious public health issues in California and across the nation. Findings from the 2009 National Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance Survey estimate that approximately 1 in 3 high school youth had been involved in a physical fight during the past year and 1 in 6 reported carrying a weapon to school in the previous month. Methods: We implemented a quasi-experimental study design to evaluate a series of violence prevention workshops among middle school students to evaluate changes in their knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors towards violence and identify factors that would best predict future violent behavior. Results: The student population consisted of 341 students in three Southern California middle schools with predominantly minority students. Students participating in the intervention programs had statistically significant gains in knowledge (p<0.001) and attitudes (p<0.001) toward causes of violence and violence trends. Behavior change was not significantly different between participants and non-participants during the study period. Conclusions: Overall the program was effective in disseminating knowledge about the causes and consequences of violence and stabilizing or decreasing positive endorsements of gangs to at-risk youth. This prevention program continues to collect longitudinal data to evaluate long-term behavioral impact and to better understand factors leading to violent behavior among youth.