School violence: prevalence and intervention strategies for at-risk adolescents.
This study investigated the effects of social-cognitive group intervention on violence avoidance beliefs among at-risk adolescents. Fifty high school students were randomly assigned to an experimental or a control group. The experimental group participated in ten, 2-hour weekly sessions of a social-cognitive intervention. Both groups were administered a questionnaire before, immediately following, and 3 months after the intervention. Findings showed that the social-cognitive intervention did not result in significant differences between the groups on violence avoidance beliefs at posttest or follow-up. In addition, drug/alcohol users and nonusers, fighters and nonfighters, and students threatened at school and those not threatened were compared. Students who used drugs/alcohol and fought in school had significantly lower scores (i.e., a greater belief in using violence as a coping technique) than did students who did not engage in those behaviors.
Cirillo
K J
KJ
Department of Health and Kinesiology, Texas A&M University, College Station 77845, USA.
Pruitt
B E
BE
Colwell
B
B
Kingery
P M
PM
Hurley
R S
RS
Ballard
D
D
D000293:Adolescent; D000428:Alcohol Drinking / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000517:prevention & control; D015928:Cognitive Behavioral Therapy; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011615:Psychotherapy, Group; D012307:Risk Factors; D012919:Social Behavior; D019966:Substance-Related Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000517:prevention & control; D013781:Texas / Q000453:epidemiology; D014754:Violence / Q000517:prevention & control* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data