title: An initial evaluation of a culturally adapted social problem-solving and relational aggression prevention program for urban African-American relationally aggressive girls.
abstract: Recent research demonstrating that relational aggression is associated with peer relationship difficulties, internalizing and externalizing behaviors, social processing deficits, and possibly later mental health disorders among girls has emphasized the need to address the unique expression of aggression among females. Despite these findings, almost all aggression interventions have been directed toward physically aggressive boys. In the current article, the authors describe the acceptability and initial effectiveness of a culturally adapted social problem-solving/social skills intervention for inner-city 3rd- to 5th-grade urban, African American, relationally aggressive girls called the Friend to Friend Program. The authors partnered with youth, teachers, parents, and playground supervisors to design the program, and the current study presents preliminary data suggesting that the intervention is viewed as highly acceptable by participating girls and teachers. Further, the intervention appears to have promise for decreasing at-risk girls' levels of relationally and physically aggressive behaviors, hostile attributions, and loneliness.
authors.affiliation: The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia and The University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA. leff@email.chop.edu
authors.forename: Stephen S
authors.initials: SS
authors.lastname: Leff
authors.forename: Rebecca Lakin
authors.initials: RL
authors.lastname: Gullan
authors.forename: Brooke S
authors.initials: BS
authors.lastname: Paskewich
authors.forename: Saburah
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Abdul-Kabir
authors.forename: Abbas F
authors.initials: AF
authors.lastname: Jawad
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Grossman
authors.forename: Melissa A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Munro
authors.forename: Thomas J
authors.initials: TJ
authors.lastname: Power
mesh_terms: D001741:Black or African American / Q000523:psychology*; D000374:Aggression; D001900:Boston; D002648:Child; D003256:Community Participation / Q000379:methods; D003258:Consumer Behavior; D054521:Cultural Competency; D003479:Curriculum; D005260:Female; D006630:Hispanic or Latino / Q000523:psychology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008605:Mental Health Services / Q000458:organization & administration; D012574:Schools / Q000458:organization & administration; D014505:Urban Population; D014754:Violence / Q000208:ethnology* / Q000517:prevention & control* / Q000523:psychology