title: V.I.K. (Very Important Kids): a school-based program designed to reduce teasing and unhealthy weight-control behaviors.
abstract: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the feasibility and effectiveness of V.I.K. (Very Important Kids), a school-based, multi-component intervention designed to prevent teasing and unhealthy weight-control behaviors among fourth through sixth grade students. The effectiveness of the V.I.K. intervention was evaluated using a pre-post quasi-experimental design with one school assigned to each condition: intervention and assessment-only control. Data were collected at baseline and at 8-month post-test among 63 students at the intervention school and 57 students at the control school. The V.I.K. intervention included an after-school program, a theater program, school environment components and a family component. Process data suggest that the V.I.K. program can feasibly be implemented within a school setting and can effectively engage students, school staff and parents. Analysis of impact data revealed that the percentage of students reporting being teased decreased significantly in the intervention school relative to the control school, after controlling for baseline levels of teasing, body mass index z score and demographic factors (odds ratio = 0.22; 95% confidence interval = 0.06, 0.88; P = 0.03). These findings provide promising evidence that multi-component, school-based interventions may effectively reduce teasing in elementary schools. Future research of interventions aimed at preventing teasing using a larger sample of schools is warranted.
authors.affiliation: Division of Epidemiology and Community Health, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55454, USA. haines@epi.umn.edu
authors.forename: Jess
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Haines
authors.forename: Dianne
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Neumark-Sztainer
authors.forename: Cheryl L
authors.initials: CL
authors.lastname: Perry
authors.forename: Peter J
authors.initials: PJ
authors.lastname: Hannan
authors.forename: Michael P
authors.initials: MP
authors.lastname: Levine
mesh_terms: D000374:Aggression / Q000523:psychology*; D001828:Body Image; D015992:Body Mass Index; D002648:Child; D002652:Child Behavior / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006266:Health Education; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D015397:Program Evaluation; D012572:School Health Services / Q000458:organization & administration*; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D015431:Weight Loss