We Need More Rigorous Research for School-based Violence Prevention Programs

The Trauma, Violence & Abuse journal recently published a sobering analysis of numerous violence prevention programs aimed at young people. The research found “small effects on violence reduction and victimization” in the vast majority of the program reviews. The authors of the analysis concluded, “Three decades of evaluation have generated little evidence identifying which curricula are most effective in reducing campus-based violence.”

A large part of the problem, they report, is that most program reviews do not use a standard set of measures for evaluation. Few of them, for example, use standardized behavior outcome measures to determine if participants actually change their behavior. Existing research tends to measure changes in attitudes and beliefs rather than actual behavior. Those few studies that do measure behavior found that changes tend to fade after a relatively short time.

Unfortunately, youth-serving organizations are under pressure to do something to try to prevent bullying, date rape, and other problems. We can’t wait for the evidence-based research community to get its act together. This report does have a glimmer of hope, in that it recommends comprehensive (i.e., all-school) programs that encourage positive relationships. Adult and peer mentoring programs would seem to be ways of incorporating these principles. The authors also recommend that any programs be “activity-based (e.g., include peer theater play, poster contest) with a skill-building component (for instance, problem-solving, dealing with pressure, healthy relationship building).” In other words, just lecturing kids about appropriate attitudes won’t solve the problem. We need to help them develop and practice the skills that can create healthy relationships that in turn can help prevent victimization.