Reducing and Preventing Teen Violence

REDUCING & PREVENTING TEEN VIOLENCE:

Recommendations for the Wyman Teen Outreach Program.

600 Kiwanis Drive - Eureka, MO 63025 - P: (636)938-5245 - F: (636)938.5289 - wymancenter.org

CONTENTS

OBJECTIVE TEEN VIOLENCE TODAY WHAT’S BEING DONE THE SOLUTION WYMAN TOP WHY TOP WORKS TOP QUALITIES (TABLE) RECOMMENDATIONS REFERENCES

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OBJECTIVE Juvenile violence incurs $158 billion in direct and indirect costs in the United States each year16.

Not only is it costly but youth violence creates physical and psychological trauma that fosters a “socially toxic” environment. In this type of environment, children’s normal development and their future well-being are negatively impacted18. According to the Children’s Defense Fund, at crucial points in youth development, successful transition to productive adulthood is significantly less likely to occur when youth experience violence3.

Multiple studies have shown that the best ways to prevent and reduce violence among youth is to start early. In concordance with brain development research, it has been found that programs that teach noncognitive skills such as perseverance, motivation, and self confidence are most effective in reducing negative outcomes for youth. A method that has been rigorously researched and proven to possess best-practice methods for effectively reducing violence among youth, The Wyman Teen Outreach Program (TOP), will be outlined as a way to develop positive qualities in adolescents.

As an extremely affordable model with a monetary return for each dollar invested, the Wyman TOP can be replicated across schools and other institutions to help reduce the strain that teen violence creates for individuals, communities, and state governments.

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TEEN VIOLENCE TODAY

The most current research completed on youth violence in the United States is staggering:

• Youth in the U.S. are being killed in record numbers. Teenage boys in all racial and ethnic groups are more likely to die from gunshot wounds than from all natural deaths combined8.

• In 2006, among students ages 12-18, there were about 1.7 million victims of nonfatal crimes at school, including 909,500 thefts and 767,000 violent crimes13.

• In 2007, 36 percent of students in grades 9-12 reported they had been in a fight13.

• Persons under the age of 25 accounted for nearly 50 percent of those arrested for murder and 62 percent of those arrested for robbery in 200510.

• Teen violence costs the United States approximately $158 billion each year in indirect and direct costs16.

The evidence on teen violence is shocking. To reduce the financial strain and negative effects of teen violence, it is imperative to start now to break the cycle with young populations. Work towards reducing teen violence can be accomplished by delivering programs that create positive youth development.

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WHAT’S BEING DONE?

Youth violence prevention programs today seek to identify “risk” factors that increase risk for violence and “protective” factors that moderate that risk6. Many programs are specifically developed to talk directly about youth violence and the do’s and do not’s rather than taking a broader approach and teaching lessons such as core competencies of social skills, asset-building, confidence, and decision-making.

The lack of social skills programming is important as it relates to brain functioning.

Brain research has shown that different stages of the life cycle are sensitive periods for noncognitive skills. Those sensitive periods to learn social skills and core competencies of self-regulation, values, communication skills, and positive identity come early in childhood and then again into adolescence7.

Although many early childhood intiatives are available to develop noncognitive skills, there is a gap between early childhood and the teenage years in the type of noncognitive programming that is offered6. The early childhood programs focus on cultivating necessary skills to make good choices and decisions, develop positive social skills, and nurture development. These programs with young children have been proven to reduce problem behaviors with those at risk. For youth, however, more emphasis is placed upon academics and grades.

Currently, public policy in the U.S. focuses on promoting and measuring cognitive ability through IQ and achievement tests. The accountability standards in the No Child Left Behind Act concentrate attention on achievement test scores and do not evaluate important noncognitive factors that promote success in school and life. Though academics and achievement are important factors in child and youth development, research is showing that more than grades and academic knowledge, social skills, positive values and motivation are vital in preventing problem behavior and delinquency with individuals7.

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THE SOLUTION

The Wyman Teen Outreach Program (TOP) is routinely recommended by national reports as a positive youth development approach worth replicating. In fact, TOP has been chosen as a model program by: • The Brookings Institution’s “Cost-Effective Investments in Children” • The Rand Corporation’s Promising Practices Network – “Programs that Work” • Harvard Family Research Project • National Academy of Science’s Institute of Medicine • The National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy and • The U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Programs – Model Programs Guide (MPG).

Not only has it been selected as a “Model Program” specifically by the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention for its characteristics of effective programming characteristics that reduce or prevent teen violence, rigorous research has shown that the Wyman TOP demonstrated the following positive outcomes1: • 52% lower risk of school suspension • 60% lower risk of course failure

-Significantly higher levels of success for students with a history of school suspension: 50% lower risk of course failure for these students.

-Significantly higher levels of success for females and racial/ethnic minorities.

• 53% lower risk of pregnancy

-Significantly higher levels of success for teen parents: 1/5 the repeat pregnancy risk relative to parenting teens in comparison group.

Wyman TOP is cost effective. The Brookings Institution found that for every $1 spent on Wyman’s TOP, $1.29 is returned back to the community9. This return on investment is related to the reduction of teen pregnancy and factors in the savings by improved school outcomes. With a relatively little expense, schools or community centers can run Wyman TOP with little maintenance and start-up costs.

By taking a broad approach of developing youth, Wyman TOP is suggested as a method to help youth build positive core competencies that will not only decrease and prevent violence, but provide a means to reducing a myriad of other risky behaviors.

(The above outcomes for Wyman TOP were assessed primarily on high school students. The Wyman TOP approach, however, has been used successfully with youth from middle school through high school.)

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WYMAN TOP An Overview

A Best Practice Approach with Adolescents Wyman’s Teen Outreach Program (Wyman TOP) is grounded on rigorous research in adolescent development -- and has a proven track record of getting real results with youth.

Implemented weekly over the course of a school-year, TOP promotes three essential goals: • Healthy Behavior – positive, constructive actions that support success.

• Life Skills – competencies such as effective communication, decision-making, and goal-setting.

• Sense of Purpose – knowledge of one’s own worth and ability to positively impact others through service.

By focusing on the total person, Wyman TOP core “subject matter” includes values clarification, relationships, communication/assertiveness, influence, goal-setting, decision-making, adolescent development, and community service-learning.

What’s remarkable is that research suggests that even a competence-enhancing program such as Wyman TOP that is targeted at broad populations of young people may have its greatest effectiveness with those young people who are at greatest risk for the problems the program seeks to prevent.The program is also more effective for members of racial/ethnic minority groups, who are at greater risk for academic difficulty1.

Wyman TOP provides adolescents with opportunities to establish their autonomy and competence in a context that also allows them to remain engaged and receive encouragement from their schools and communities. Just as additional food provides the greatest gains in growth to children who are below their normal growth trajectory due to malnutrition, Wyman TOP provides the greatest gains toward a normal developmental trajectory for youth who were initially the farthest off from this trajectory.

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WHY TOP WORKS

Wyman TOP achieves positive developmental outcomes through a specific approach to work with adolescents. Key aspects of the Wyman TOP approach linked to youth outcomes include4: • Continuity of the program • Weekly group discussions and activities • Youth-initiated community service work • Connections with a skilled, caring adult in the program At a crucial time in youth development where noncognitive skills are rapidly developing, the curriculum-guided discussions and activities support brain development as youth are engaged in thinking about their ideas, decisions, goals, and behaviors.

The supports and opportunities available through a Wyman TOP club are significant.

The development of supportive relationships with the adult facilitators is a crucial part of the model, as are relationships with other peers in the program. The establishment of a physically and psychologically safe climate in the Wyman TOP club occurs through skilled facilitation. Youth examine and practice decision-making and have opportunities for meaningful involvement through the planning and execution of community service activities.

Positive developmental settings can be identified through the Wyman TOP. Several, such as a sense of psychological and physical safety, supportive relationships, and opportunities to belong, are naturally built into the Wyman TOP approach and structure. Others can be emphasized by each community’s unique approach.

In the ten years that Wyman has been training and supporting sites to offer Wyman TOP, the flexibility of the program in a variety of settings has been one it’s most compelling factors for sustained success in schools and community organizations. While the curriculum is rich in experiential exercises that enhance student knowledge and skill development, the sequence of those lessons may be varied to meet the students and the group where they are. This allows skilled facilitators to gauge the groups’ interests and needs and apply a lesson that is perceived as relevant and timely to the students.

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TOP QUALITIES TABLE 1: The following table reviews characteristics of programs that reduce or prevent teen violence and how the Wyman TOP includes these various components.

Evidence-based Characteristics of Programs that Reduce or Prevent Teen Violence Includes diverse activities, methods, and leadership structures15.

TOP Program Characteristics Wyman TOP can be -Offered as an in-school strategy integrated with core subjects, an elective, after-school voluntary program, and/or designed as an out-of-school enrichment program.

Opportunities for youth voice and leadership development within the program.

Curriculum is designed to be interactive and engaging, and cover a wide variety of developmental topics of interest to teens.

Provides educational interventions that are designed to change young people's knowledge, attitudes, and behavior patterns that can lead to violence2.

Focuses on teaching conflict resolution and communication.

Values: TOP participants receive consistent messages through values underlying the program. Teens explore and challenge their own values, the impact of gender roles on values, the values of their family and friends, and the impact of the larger society on their value formation.

Changes individual behavior by teaching problem solving, assertiveness, conflict resolution, positive communication skills, and empowers youth to participate in leadership activities12.

Decision-Making: Teens examine choices and consequences, practice using decision-making tools, and reflect upon recent decisions they have made.

Goal Setting: Teens practice goal identification, understand short-term versus long-term goals, explore their future options and think about plans for life after high school.

Communication/Assertiveness: Teens discuss and apply concepts such as active listening, assertive communication, and nonverbal communication, how to say "no" and refuse a request, the use of "I" messages, and how to utilize personal and community resources to meet their needs.

Preventative programs must include interventions in the social, individual, and physical environment16.

TOP provides high individual expectations coupled with adult-guidance and support.

Provides social support from adults and peers, rewards for prosocial community involvement, student bonding (attachment to teachers, belief and commitment).

Provides opportunities for prosocial school involvement.

Relationships: Teens examine the dynamics of friendships, family relationships and conflicts, peer pressure, romantic relationships, dating, and violence within relationships. They also practice and master interpersonal skills within the program.

Efforts should be theory-based multicomponent, and multisystem18.

The Wyman TOP is a program based on the principles of positive youth development that is designed to meet the needs of adolescents during the transitional period in which they are growing into adulthood.

Wyman TOP combines curriculum-guided discussion and community service work in a program that supports positive youth development.

Promotes a connection to school peers, teachers, and activities.

Prevention-intervention should begin in middle school and continue into high school with a comprehensive evaluation design18.

Wyman TOP is designed for youth ages 12-17.

The Wyman TOP curriculum, Changing Scenes, is packaged in separate developmentally appropriate modules for four age/developmental levels.

Evaluation: Over more than 20 years, Wyman TOP has been evaluated using rigorous experimental techniques of comparison and control groups, both randomly and non-randomly assigned.

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REFERENCES

[1] Allen, J.P., & Phillber, S. (2001). Who Benefits Most from a Broadly Targeted Prevention Program? Differential Efficacy Across Populations in the Teen Outreach Program. Journal of Community Psychology, 29: 637-655.

[2] Boruch, R. F., Coleman, D., Doria-Ortiz, C., Girouard, S., Goodman, A., & Hudson, L. (1991). Prevention strategies targeted at the general population of minority youth (PHR No. 106, pp. 247-250). Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

[3] Children’s Defense Fund. (2009). Cradle to Prison Pipeline Factsheet: New York. Retrieved from http://www.childrensdefense.org/ child-research-data-publications/data/state-data-repository/cradle-to-prison-pipeline/cradle-prison-pipeline-new-york-2009-fact-sheet. pdf [4] Cornerstone Consulting Group, Inc. (1999). The Replication Challenge: Lessons Learned from the National Replication Project for the Teen Outreach Program. Houston, TX. [5] Gambone, M.A., Klem, A.M., & Connell, J.P. (2002). Finding out What Matters for Youth: Testing Key Links in a Community Action Framework for Youth Development. Philadelphia: Youth Development Strategies, Inc., and Institute for Research and Reform in Education.

[6] Guerra, N. & Williams, K. (2002). Youth Development and Violence Prevention: Core Competencies – Fact Sheet. Southern [7] Heckman, J. (2008). Schools, Skills, and Synapses. NBER Working Paper Series, Vol. w14064. Available at SSRN: http://ssrn.com/ abstract=1142236 [8] Illinois Center for Violence and Prevention (2009). Illinois Center for Violence and Prevention Fact Sheet: Youth Violence. Retrieved from http://www.icvp.org/fs_youth.asp [9] Isaacs, J. B. (2007). Cost-Effective Investments in Children. The Brookings Institution: Budgeting for National Priorities.

[10] Josephson Institute, Center for Youth Ethics (2009). Youth Violence Statistics. Retreived from http://charactercounts.org/resources/youthviolence/rskstats.html [11] Makinson, L.S., Myers, J.E. (2003). Wellness: An alternative paradigm for violence prevention. Journal of Humanistic Counseling, Education, and Development, 42: 165-177.

[12] Myers, J.E., Sweeney, T.J., & Witmer, J.M. (2000). The Wheel of Wellness counseling for wellness: A holistic model for treatment planning. Journal of Counseling & Development, 7: 251-266.

[13] National Center for Education Statistics. (2008). Indicators for School Crime and Safety. Retreived from http://nces.ed.gov/ pubs2009/2009022.pdf [14] Prothrow-Sith, D. (1991). Boston’s violence prevention project (PHR No. 106, pp. 237-239). Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

[15] Rosenberg, M. (1999, March). The public health approach to violence prevention. In Violence in children, adolescents, and families: Strategies for Violence prevention and clinical intervention. Symposium conducted at Harvard Medical School, Boston.

[16] Seigal, L. & Welsch, B. (2009). Juvenile Delinquency: Theory, Practice, and Law. Edition 9. Wadsworth: Belmont, CA. [17] Valois, R., MacDonald, J., Bretous, L., Fischer, M., and Drane, J.W. (2002). Risk Factors and Behaviors Associated with Adolescent Violence and Aggression. Am J Health Behav, 26: 454-464.

[18] Vuong, L., Silva, F., Marchionna, S. (2009). Children Exposed to Violence (FOCUS). National Council on Crime and Delinquency.

Retrieved from: www.nccd-crc.org/nccd/pubs/2009_childexposure.pdf

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