CSPV
School Violence Fact Sheets
Evaluations
of School-Based Violence Prevention Programs
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- There are four major stages of the school years:
early childhood (ages 2-5), middle childhood (ages
6-11), early adolescence (ages 12-14), and middle
adolescence (ages 15-18). The phases correspond to
preschool, elementary school, junior high/middle school,
and senior high school. In each of these stages there
are key violence-related tasks.
- School-based preventive interventions are strategically
beneficial. In each stage in the school years, there
are key developmental tasks to be mastered. School
provides an important environment for overall developmental
success.
- Early childhood is increasingly recognized as a
key stage in the development of aggressive violent
behaviors.
- The development of self-regulation appears to be
important during the preschool years. It is also causally
linked to other processes that lead to aggressive-violent
behavior.
- Caregiver to child ratios and the quality of these
adult/child interactions are key environmental influences
in the development of self-regulation.
- During middle childhood, the key tasks include the
development of children's normative beliefs about
aggression and the development of children's interpersonal
negotiation skills.
- School contextual factors that can influence development
at the middle childhood stage are: interpersonal relations
with peers and classmates, teachers' perceptions of
children's aggression, and the probability of exposure
to antisocial youth.
- A key task of early adolescence is the development
of a stable peer group. Whether that peer group is
primarily prosocial or antisocial in orientation significantly
affects the probability of aggressive and violent
behavior.
- Important school-based organizational influences
for middle adolescence include the practice of changing
classes with their homeroom class and being instructed
in a smaller, more personalized classroom.
- A key task of middle adolescence is the formation
and consolidation of an identity, including a personal
identity and racial ethnic identity.
- Early childhood interventions employing an ecological
violence prevention approach may help reduce violence
by promoting overall social competence and providing
hope for improving children's competencies in other
developmental areas.
- There is evidence of the potential for early childhood
violence prevention programs to function as primary
prevention initiatives for later delinquent/antisocial
behavior; particularly when these programs begin early
and involve parents in the preventive intervention.
- Improvements in family functioning and parenting
behavior are linked to lasting and positive effects
on child behavior.
- Evaluation research indicates that school-based
violence prevention efforts may serve as primary prevention
for children, particularly when the intervention targets
several key stages of development.
- School-based violence prevention programs are not
enough to change the tide of violence on school grounds.
Changes in school policies and the way schools deal
with the growing number of violent incidents are also
necessary.
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