%0 Journal Article %J J Adolesc Health %D 2013 %T The impact of a middle school program to reduce aggression, victimization, and sexual violence. %A Espelage, Dorothy L %A Low, Sabina %A Polanin, Joshua R %A Brown, Eric C %K Adolescent %K Aggression %K Anger %K Bullying %K Child %K Crime Victims %K Female %K Humans %K Internal-External Control %K Longitudinal Studies %K Male %K Midwestern United States %K Peer Group %K Problem Solving %K Program Evaluation %K School Health Services %K Sex Offenses %K Substance-Related Disorders %X

PURPOSE: To evaluate the impact of the Second Step: Student Success Through Prevention (SS-SSTP) Middle School Program on reducing youth violence including peer aggression, peer victimization, homophobic name calling, and sexual violence perpetration and victimization among middle school sixth-grade students.

METHODS: The study design was a nested cohort (sixth graders) longitudinal study. We randomly assigned 18 matched pairs of 36 middle schools to the SS-SSTP or control condition. Teachers implemented 15 weekly lessons of the sixth-grade curriculum that focused on social emotional learning skills, including empathy, communication, bully prevention, and problem-solving skills. All sixth graders (n = 3,616) in intervention and control conditions completed self-report measures assessing verbal/relational bullying, physical aggression, homophobic name calling, and sexual violence victimization and perpetration before and after the implementation of the sixth-grade curriculum.

RESULTS: Multilevel analyses revealed significant intervention effects with regard to physical aggression. The adjusted odds ratio indicated that the intervention effect was substantial; individuals in intervention schools were 42% less likely to self-report physical aggression than students in control schools. We found no significant intervention effects for verbal/relational bully perpetration, peer victimization, homophobic teasing, and sexual violence.

CONCLUSIONS: Within a 1-year period, we noted significant reductions in self-reported physical aggression in the intervention schools. Results suggest that SS-SSTP holds promise as an efficacious prevention program to reduce physical aggression in adolescent youth.

%B J Adolesc Health %V 53 %P 180-6 %8 2013 Aug %G eng %N 2 %R 10.1016/j.jadohealth.2013.02.021