TY - JOUR
T1 - The North Carolina Youth violence prevention center
T2 - Using a multifaceted, ecological approach to reduce youth violence in impoverished, Rural areas
AU - Smokowski, Paul R.
AU - Bacallao, Martica
AU - Evans, Caroline Bill Robertson
AU - Rose, Rodderick A.
AU - Stalker, Katie
AU - Guo, Shenyang
AU - Wu, Qi
AU - Barbee, James
AU - Bower, Meredith
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2018 by the Society for Social Work and Research. All rights reserved.
PY - 2018/12/1
Y1 - 2018/12/1
N2 - Objective: Youth violence is best tackled through a multifaceted approach targeting risk and protective factors at multiple ecological levels. The North Carolina Youth Violence Prevention Center (NC-YVPC) is an example of such an approach. This article provides a comprehensive synthesis of NC-YVPC design, implementation, and results. Method: NC-YVPC packaged and implemented 3 evidence-based programs to decrease youth violence in a rural North Carolina community where violence was prevalent. Positive Action, a universal school-based program, was administered in 13 middle schools for 3 years. Parenting Wisely, an online program to improve parenting skills, was provided to 300 parents. Teen Court, a community-based restorative justice alternative to the traditional juvenile-justice system, was provided to 400 adolescents. In addition, county-level data were collected to examine if and how the NC-YVPC programs changed county levels of youth violence. Results: Positive Action participation was associated with increased self-esteem and decreased school hassles; Parenting Wisely participants were more confident and had less conflict with their children; Teen Court participants reported improved mental and behavioral health. Some county-level indicators of violence decreased. Conclusions: This summary of NC-YVPC findings highlights the utility of implementing a multifaceted approach to decrease and prevent youth violence and the importance of fostering a strong partnership between academic institutions and the community.
AB - Objective: Youth violence is best tackled through a multifaceted approach targeting risk and protective factors at multiple ecological levels. The North Carolina Youth Violence Prevention Center (NC-YVPC) is an example of such an approach. This article provides a comprehensive synthesis of NC-YVPC design, implementation, and results. Method: NC-YVPC packaged and implemented 3 evidence-based programs to decrease youth violence in a rural North Carolina community where violence was prevalent. Positive Action, a universal school-based program, was administered in 13 middle schools for 3 years. Parenting Wisely, an online program to improve parenting skills, was provided to 300 parents. Teen Court, a community-based restorative justice alternative to the traditional juvenile-justice system, was provided to 400 adolescents. In addition, county-level data were collected to examine if and how the NC-YVPC programs changed county levels of youth violence. Results: Positive Action participation was associated with increased self-esteem and decreased school hassles; Parenting Wisely participants were more confident and had less conflict with their children; Teen Court participants reported improved mental and behavioral health. Some county-level indicators of violence decreased. Conclusions: This summary of NC-YVPC findings highlights the utility of implementing a multifaceted approach to decrease and prevent youth violence and the importance of fostering a strong partnership between academic institutions and the community.
KW - Adolescents
KW - Intervention research
KW - Rural
KW - Youth violence
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U2 - 10.1086/700257
DO - 10.1086/700257
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85056576496
SN - 2334-2315
VL - 9
SP - 575
EP - 597
JO - Journal of the Society for Social Work and Research
JF - Journal of the Society for Social Work and Research
IS - 4
ER -