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Participants’ Perceptions of a Violence Prevention Curriculum for Middle School Students: Was It Relevant and Useful?

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Abstract

School-based youth violence prevention programs, particularly those focused on middle school students, have generally had limited effects that are often not sustained over time. Although many interventions focus on teaching social–cognitive skills, few studies have explored the extent to which students master these skills, actually use them, and find them effective in dealing with problem situations. This study examined these issues based on interviews with 141 students attending one county and two urban middle schools in classrooms where the Second Step violence prevention program had been implemented. We coded interviews to assess participants’ general reactions to the interventions, use of skills, and effectiveness of skills. We also asked participants to describe outcomes they experienced when they used specific skills taught in the intervention in response to problem situations. Participants had generally positive reactions to the intervention. Their suggestions for improving the intervention primarily concerned improving its relevance. Participants described changes they had made based on the intervention, particularly controlling anger and improving relations with others. Their responses indicated that they sometimes misunderstood or misused specific intervention skills, especially problem solving and empathy. Students’ descriptions of the outcomes they experienced when using intervention skills were not uniformly positive. This was especially true for situations involving peers such as peer pressure and bullying. These results underscore the need for more intensive efforts to ensure that students master intervention skills and are able to use them correctly. In addition, interventions should address the broader social context (e.g., peers, school) to maximize the effectiveness of skills.

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Acknowledgments

This study was funded by the National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, CDC Cooperative Agreements 5U49CE000730 and 5U01CE001956. The findings and conclusions in this report are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official position of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The authors express their appreciation to the following individuals who participated in the coding of transcripts: Allie Baylor, Amie Bettencourt, Emily Butt, Jessica Garcia, Alison Kramer-Kuhn, Shanaye La Beaud, Kalyn Salinsky, Denicia Titchner, and Kelly Zbojovksy.

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

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  1. Sally Mays

    Present address: , Baltimore, MD, USA

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, Virginia Commonwealth University, P.O. Box 842018, Richmond, VA, 23284-2018, USA

    Albert D. Farrell, Krista Mehari, Sally Mays, Terri N. Sullivan & Anh-Thuy Le

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  1. Albert D. Farrell
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Correspondence to Albert D. Farrell.

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Farrell, A.D., Mehari, K., Mays, S. et al. Participants’ Perceptions of a Violence Prevention Curriculum for Middle School Students: Was It Relevant and Useful?. J Primary Prevent 36, 227–246 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10935-015-0391-6

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