Axis
Youth Violence Prevention
Problems addressed
Externalizing behaviors/problems
School violence or bullying

Effectiveness

Promising

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Promising

¿Quieres saber más acerca de esta clasificación? Consulte nuestro manual metodológico.

Description

This type of intervention includes programs aimed at preventing and/or reducing aggressive or violent behavior among school-age children and adolescents. This type of program includes a number of subtypes that can be distinguished by the specific forms and approaches through which the programs are implemented, namely: 1) school violence prevention programs (which can be targeted or universal); 2) programs to support adolescents with aggressive behavior in processing social information (which can also be targeted or universal); 3) classroom management programs; and 4) conflict resolution education programs.
Universal school violence prevention programs can be implemented at all levels (primary and secondary education) and are characterized by being universal in nature, rather than focusing only on a selective group of students. In this case, activities are usually led by a trained teacher (although they can also be carried out by psychosocial experts or assistant teachers), while also focusing on topics such as emotional self-awareness, emotional control, self-esteem, social skills, social problem solving, conflict resolution, and teamwork. Some programs include parents and other members of the school community.
Targeted/selective school violence prevention programs differ from universal programs in that, unlike the latter, they are designed to prevent or reduce aggressive or violent behaviors in students who are already considered as being at risk or who have already demonstrated those behaviors or antisocial behaviors.
In the case of social information processing programs, the focus is on how children and adolescents interpret and process social situations. These programs are designed to improve social behavior and reduce violent behavior, which are considered as reflecting cognitive deficits in social information processing. These programs can be universal in nature or work specifically with children and teenagers who have already exhibited violent behavior or who are at an increased risk of engaging in violent behavior.
Classroom management programs are universal in nature and usually focus on establishing a positive and supportive classroom environment to facilitate social and emotional learning and encourage appropriate student behavior, with the goal of reducing or preventing inappropriate or aggressive behavior.
Finally, conflict resolution education programs focus on teaching students to understand the nature of conflict and offer alternatives on how to manage and respond to it, so as to reduce conflict in the school environment and encourage long-term pro-social behavior.

Country of application
  • United States
Evidence

The Crime Solutions platform rates universal school violence prevention programs as effective to reduce violent, aggressive and/or disruptive behaviors among students. One of the systematic reviews analyzed by Crime Solutions examined 77 studies and found that the programs led to a 25% reduction in aggressive/disruptive behavior among students [1]. However, the second systematic review analyzed by Crime Solutions, which included seven Randomized Controlled Trials (RCTs), only found statistically non-significant effects for this outcome indicator [2].
Targeted/selective school violence prevention programs are also rated as effective by the Crime Solutions platform. In this case, one review, which included 19 Randomized Controlled Trials, found no statistically significant impact on the aggression and violence measures [2]. However, another review (which included seven RCTs) noted a statistically significant effect (magnitude 0.4) for aggression after a 12-month follow-up period [3].
The Crime Solutions platform also evaluated universal social information processing support programs, rating them as promising. This rating is based on a systematic review by the Campbell Collaboration which, after compiling the results of 73 studies, found that these interventions produced a statistically significant – albeit modest – effect in terms of reducing aggressive behavior among youth [4].
In the case of targeted/selective social information processing support programs, the Crime Solutions platform built on another Camplbell Collaboration systematic review (with 47 studies) and rated these interventions as effective to reduce violent behavior among school-aged children and adolescents [5].
A third systematic review by the Campbell Collaboration synthesized the results of 12 impact evaluations of classroom management programs and found that the students included in the treatment group showed significantly less disruptive, inappropriate, and aggressive behavior than the students included in the control group. Based on this review, the Crime Solutions platform classified this type of intervention as effective to reduce these problematic and/or risky behaviors among children and adolescents [6].
Finally, conflict resolution education programs were also evaluated by the Crime Solutions Platform. In this case, the program was classified as promising for problematic and/or risky behavior among children and adolescents. To arrive at this rating, the platform relied on a systematic review that examined the results of 36 individual studies and found that the students in the treatment group displayed significantly less antisocial behaviors than those who participated in the control group. In addition, the proportion of students who got involved in fights fell by around a third as a result of the effects produced by the program [7].

Bibliography

[1] Wilson, S. J. y Lipsey, M. W. (2007). School-based interventions for aggressive and disruptive behavior: Update of a meta-analysis. American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 33(Suppl 2), S130-43. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.amepre.2007.04.011

[2] Park-Higgerson, H.‑K., Perumean-Chaney, S. E., Bartolucci, A. A., Grimley, D. M. y Singh, K. P. (2008). The evaluation of school-based violence prevention programs: A meta-analysis. The Journal of School Health, 78(9), 465-79; quiz 518-20. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1746-1561.2008.00332.x

[3] Mytton, J., DiGuiseppi, C., Gough, D., Taylor, R. y Logan, S. (2006). School-based secondary prevention programmes for preventing violence. The Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews(3), CD004606. https://doi.org/10.1002/14651858.CD004606.pub2

[4] Wilson, S. J. y Lipsey, M. W. (2006a). The Effects of School-Based Social Information Processing Interventions on Aggressive Behavior, Part I: Universal Programs. Campbell Systematic Reviews, 2(1), 1–42. https://doi.org/10.4073/csr.2006.5

[5] Wilson, S. J. y Lipsey, M. W. (2006b). The Effects of School-Based Social Information Processing Interventions on Aggressive Behavior, Part II: Selected/indicated Pull-Out Programs. Campbell Systematic Reviews, 2(1), 1–37. https://doi.org/10.4073/csr.2006.6

[6] Oliver, R. M., Wehby, J. H. y Reschly, D. J. (2011). Teacher classroom management practices: Effects on disruptive or aggressive student behavior. Campbell Systematic Reviews, 7(1), 1–55. https://doi.org/10.4073/csr.2011.4

[7] Garrard, W. M. y Lipsey, M. W. (2007). Conflict resolution education and antisocial behavior in U.S. Schools: A meta-analysis. Conflict Resolution Quarterly, 25(1), 9–38. https://doi.org/10.1002/crq.188

Information Source

Evaluated cases

Responding in Peaceful and Positive Ways (RIPP)

Axis: Youth Violence Prevention
Type: School Violence Prevention
Effectiveness:

Promising

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Promising
Problem type:
Externalizing behaviors/problems, Internalizing behaviors/problems, Drug abuse
Country:
United States
Open

Bully-Proofing Your School

Axis: Youth Violence Prevention
Type: School Violence Prevention
Effectiveness:

Promising

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.

.

.

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Promising
Problem type:
School violence or bullying
Country:
United States
Open

Making peace with colleagues

Axis: Youth Violence Prevention
Type: School Violence Prevention
Effectiveness:

Promising

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.

Promising
Problem type:
Externalizing behaviors/problems, Low educational/academic performance
Country:
United States
Open

Caring School Community

Axis: Youth Violence Prevention
Type: School Violence Prevention
Effectiveness:

Promising

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Promising
Problem type:
Drug abuse, Alcohol abuse, Low social–emotional competences, Juvenile delinquency, Robberies
Country:
United States
Open

Why might the cases evaluated have different levels of effectiveness in relation to their respective type of solution?
Click here to understand why.

Some cases were not included in the evidence bank due to deficiencies detected in the methodology of their impact evaluations.
Click here to see the list

 

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