Building Healthy Teen Relationships: An Evaluation of a Dating Violence Prevention Program With Middle School Students

• NCJ Number: 250525
• Date Published: July 2016
• Length: 1 page
• Grant Number(s): 2010-MU-MU-0012
• Agencies: NIJ
• Publication Type: Research (Applied/Empirical); Program/Project Evaluation
• Award: The Fourth R: A Randomized Trial of a Violence-Reduction Program in Bronx, New York

Annotation

This evaluation was conducted to determine whether a program already shown to decrease dating violence among Canadian high school students would also have the same effect with U.S. middle school students, since dating violence has been shown to begin in middle school.

Abstract

The reported evaluation found that an adaptation of the program that was effective with high school students did not reduce dating violence generally among middle school students; however, the program was beneficial for high-risk students, particularly those already involved in dating violence; and it reduced other types of negative behaviors, such as bullying, especially in schools where it was well implemented. The study concludes that additional research is needed to understand how to prevent dating violence among middle school students. The program evaluated is the "Fourth R: Strategies for Healthy Youth Relationships." It uses classes that focus on building healthy relationships and personal empowerment in attempting to decrease dating violence, bullying, sexual activity, and substance use.