title: High school students in a health career promotion program report fewer acts of aggression and violence.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  This study examined the effects of two school-based programs on the perpetration of nonphysical aggression, physical violence, and intimate partner violence among high-risk secondary school students in an economically disadvantaged and predominantly Latino school district. The intervention program was El Joven Noble, and the control program was the Teen Medical Academy.
  
  
  METHODS
  The study used a repeated-measures quasi-experimental intervention/control design. The participants self-reported the previous 30 days' acts of nonphysical aggression, physical violence, and intimate partner violence at baseline and at 3 and 9 months after enrollment. Program- and grade-level effects at 3 and 9 months were examined using three-factor analyses of covariance models with one factor for repeated measures. The covariate in each of the models was the baseline measure of the dependent outcomes.
  
  
  RESULTS
  No significant baseline differences were found between the participants in the intervention (n = 96) and control (n = 127) programs. At 9 months after enrollment in the study, high school students who participated in the Teen Medical Academy reported fewer acts of nonphysical aggression (p < .001) and physical violence (p = .002) than high school students who participated in El Joven Noble. Students who participated in the Teen Medical Academy also reported fewer acts of intimate partner violence (p = .02) than students who participated in El Joven Noble.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  High school students who participated in a health career promotion program reported fewer acts of aggression and violence as compared with high school students who participated in a culturally tailored character development program.
authors.affiliation: Department of Family and Community Medicine, School of Medicine, the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, TX 78229, USA. oscos@uthscsa.edu
authors.forename: Manuel Ángel
authors.initials: MÁ
authors.lastname: Oscós-Sánchez
authors.forename: Janna
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Lesser
authors.forename: L Dolores
authors.initials: LD
authors.lastname: Oscós-Flores
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000294:Adolescent Behavior; D000374:Aggression / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006293:Health Promotion / Q000379:methods*; D006630:Hispanic or Latino; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D015397:Program Evaluation; D012572:School Health Services; D012574:Schools; D013179:Spouse Abuse / Q000517:prevention & control / Q000523:psychology*; D013334:Students / Q000523:psychology*; D014754:Violence / Q000517:prevention & control / Q000523:psychology*