Empowering girls is the best prevention against violence

A study carried out in Philadelphia (United States) suggests that educators, particularly in elementary grades, should teach their students problem-solving skills and should provide them with opportunities to develop the leadership to prevent relational aggression in the future.

The relational aggression it includes gossip and social exclusion to harm others, and is the most common form of aggression among girls.

The study tests the efficacy of an aggression prevention program

A recent study has been carried out by the Violence Prevention Initiative. Initiative, VPI) at The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) and states what teaching leadership skills and providing opportunities for girls to develop leadership skills prevents relational aggression between girls.

The study has been published in The Journal Psychology of Violence, and a random sample of African-American girls from third to fifth grade (boys 8 to 11 years old) has been used to test the effectiveness of the program in the prevention of aggression "Friend to Friend" (Friend to Friend, F2F).

First violence prevention program that shows its effectiveness even one year after having carried it out

The F2F is the first and only aggression prevention program that shows its effectiveness in reducing relational aggressive behavior among girls and that, in addition, their positive results continue even one year after finishing the program. This program improves skills and knowledge in solving problems of a social nature and causes a decrease in the levels of relational aggression.

“Including the learning of this type of skills in the school curriculum is important because the boys who attend it, especially in areas marginalized, are at serious risk of acquiring emotional and behavioral problems, ”says Dr. Stephen Leff, director of this study and co-director of the Violence Prevention Initiative (VPI).

“This is the evidence that having problem-solving skills and having the opportunity to develop leadership capacity increases resilience and guides to a better future in terms of interactions social. This positive approach is infused into the school prevention programs that are part of our Violence Prevention Initiative at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia”Adds Dr. Leff.

A program that is more than a decade old

The team of researchers has been developing and redefining the program for a decade thanks to the different investigations it has carried out in the CHOP, in partnership with key community stakeholders. “This associative approach has been used to develop the F2F program and to innovate teaching modalities used in the same program, such as drawings, videos or role plays, "says Brooke Paskewich, psychologist and director of the VPI.

In addition, it explains that “involving students, teachers and parents in the design of the program has helped to ensure its cultural sensitivity, proper development and appropriate use for ethnic minorities ”.

F2F that has been used in this study, is a program of 20 sessions that was carried out for 40 minutes per session. Taught strategies for solving social problems and provided opportunities for girls to lead classroom sessions for their peers. A pilot study published in 2009 already advanced the efficacy of the F2F program in reducing relational aggression among elementary school girls in two North American schools.

The current study involved 144 aggressive girls (relational aggressiveness) from 44 different classrooms within the Philadelphia district. The subjects were randomly distributed between the F2F group and the control group to carry out the research.

Tips for Designing a Successful School Aggression Prevention Program

After analyzing the results of his study, Dr. Leff offers the following suggestions for the design and evaluation of successful aggression prevention programs:

• Aggression must be defined in general terms, that is, as any action taken by a child that inflicts physical or mental harm on another child.
• Programs must focus on prevention and early intervention
• Programs should emphasize positive social behavior: prosocial behaviors, anger management skills, and respect for peers and adults.
• Pay attention to recognition and understanding the different types of aggression: For example, girls more commonly express relational aggression and boys are more likely to engage in acts of physical aggression.
• You need to be culturally sensitive and foster collaboration between schools, families, and neighborhoods.
• Aggression prevention programs must be developed in a way that responds to the specific needs and values ​​of the school and its community.
• They must incorporate a strong research component and must measure the results. Long-term effects also need to be evaluated.
• More than in the classroom, aggression prevention programs should be carried out in natural environments: for example, play areas.