Richmond youth against violence: A school-based program for urban adolescents

The Richmond Youth Against Violence Project teaches middle-school students in the Richmond Public Schools knowledge, attitudes, and skills for reducing their involvement in violence. These students are primarily African Americans, many of whom come from low-income, single-parent households in neighborhoods with high rates of crime and drug use. The program, ''Responding in Peaceful and Positive Ways,'' employs a developmentally anchored health promotion model. Its goal is to promote peaceful and positive alternatives to interpersonal and situational violence, by creating environments that teach and encourage health-enhancing behaviors and intrapersonal attributes and weakening supports for health-compromising behaviors and intrapersonal attributes. The 16-session school-based program was implemented by prevention specialists with sixth graders during the 1994-1995 school year. Students are taught a seven-step problem-solving model. Program implementation was staggered to allow an intervention group to participate during the fall semester and a control group to participate during the spring semester. Outcome measures include school data and measures completed by students. There were few significant baseline differences between the intervention and control groups. A high percentage of students, particularly boys, reported exposure to community violence; more than 92% had heard gunshots. Many have also engaged in risk behaviors; 70% of the boys and 44% of the girls reported being in a fight in the preceding 30 days. The impact of the curriculum is being examined. The program has provided valuable lessons about conducting community-based research, particularly designing, implementing, and evaluating prevention programs. Medical Subject Headings (MeSH): violence, program evaluation, program development, primary prevention, adolescence, injuries, social problems, health promotion.