Top

Published in:

01-11-2018 | Original Article

Evaluation of a Teen Dating Violence Prevention Intervention among Urban Middle-School Youth Using Youth Participatory Action Research: Lessons Learned from Start Strong Boston

Authors: Elizabeth D. Beatriz, Alisa K. Lincoln, Jess Alder, Nicole Daley, Felicia Simmons, Karibe Ibeh, Crystal Figueroa, Beth E. Molnar

Published in: Journal of Family Violence | Issue 8/2018

Abstract

Almost half of adolescents aged 11 to 14 have dated and between 10 and 30% report experiencing Teen Dating Violence (TDV). However, there are no evidence-based TDV prevention interventions designed for afterschool, community-based settings with middle-school youth, in high-risk neighborhoods. Start Strong Boston (SSB) is a model that fills all three gaps, founded on partnerships between the Boston Public Health Commission, community afterschool sites, academic experts and evaluators, and youth. Here, we describe the SSB program and discuss how this collaboration built upon successes of this peer-engaged intervention, by developing and implementing a youth participatory action research (YPAR) evaluation study of SSB. Use of the YPAR framework tested the feasibility of employing Peer Researchers in an interdisciplinary evaluation team. We describe how through participation in evaluation research, Peer Researchers improve professional and leadership skills while informing measurement and conceptualization of a program affecting their own neighborhoods. Lessons learned are presented.

Available only for authorised users

Ackard, D. M., Eisenberg, M. E., & Neumark-Sztainer, D. (2007). Long-term impact of adolescent dating violence on the behavioral and psychological health of male and female youth. Journal of Pediatrics, 151(5), 476–481. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpeds.2007.04.034.CrossRefPubMed

Ali, A. Z., Ali, & H, N. (2015). Teen dating violence. International Journal of Women Empowerment, 1. https://doi.org/10.29052/2413-4252.v1.i1.2015.30-32.CrossRef

Alleyne-Green, B., Coleman-Cowger, V. H., & Henry, D. B. (2012). Dating violence perpetration and/or victimization and associated sexual risk behaviors among a sample of inner-city African American and Hispanic adolescent females. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 27(8), 1457–1473. https://doi.org/10.1177/0886260511425788.CrossRefPubMed

Benson, M., & Fox, G. L. (2004). When violence hits home: How economics and neighborhood play a role. Washington, DC: National Institute of Justice.

Braun, V., & Clarke, V. (2006). Using thematic analysis in psychology. Qualitative Research in Psychology, 3(2), 77–101. https://doi.org/10.1191/1478088706qp063oa.CrossRef

Break the Cycle. (2014). About us. Retrieved from https://www.breakthecycle.org/.

Buhrmester, D. (1990). Intimacy of friendship, interpersonal competence, and adjustment during preadolescence and adolescence. Child Development, 61(4), 1101–1111. https://doi.org/10.2307/1130878.CrossRefPubMed

Cascardi, M., & Avery-Leaf, S. (2014). Case study of a school-based universal dating violence prevention program. SAGE Open, 4(3). https://doi.org/10.1177/2158244014551716.CrossRef

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2016). Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System (YRBSS). Retrieved from https://www.cdc.gov/healthyyouth/data/yrbs/index.htm

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2017). Teen dating violence. Retrieved from https://www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention/intimatepartnerviolence/teen_dating_violence.html

De La Rue, L., Polanin, J. R., Espelage, D. L., & Pigott, T. D. (2017). A meta-analysis of school-based interventions aimed to prevent or reduce violence in teen dating relationships. Review of Educational Research, 87(1), 7–34. https://doi.org/10.3102/0034654316632061.CrossRef

Exner-Cortens, D., Eckenrode, J., & Rothman, E. (2013). Longitudinal associations between teen dating violence victimization and adverse health outcomes. Pediatrics, 131(1), 71–78. https://doi.org/10.1542/peds.2012-1029.CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral

Fedina, L., Howard, D. E., Wang, M. Q., & Murray, K. (2016). Teen dating violence victimization, perpetration, and sexual health correlates among urban, low-income, ethnic, and racial minority youth. International Quarterly of Community Health Education, 37(1), 3–12. https://doi.org/10.1177/0272684X16685249.CrossRefPubMed

Hickman, L. J., Jaycox, L. H., & Aronoff, J. (2004). Dating violence among adolescents: prevalence, gender distribution, and prevention program effectiveness. Trauma Violence Abuse, 5(2), 123–142. https://doi.org/10.1177/1524838003262332.CrossRefPubMed

Johnson, R. M., Parker, E. M., Rinehart, J., Nail, J., & Rothman, E. F. (2015). Neighborhood factors and dating violence among youth: a systematic review. American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 49(3), 458–466. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.amepre.2015.05.020.CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral

Lau, G., Netherland, N. H., & Haywood, M. L. (2003). Collaborating on evaluation for youth development. New Directions for Evaluation, 2003(98), 47–59. https://doi.org/10.1002/ev.84.CrossRef

London, J. K., Zimmerman, K., & Erbstein, N. (2003). Youth-led research and evaluation: tools for youth, organizational, and community development. New Directions for Evaluation, 2003(98), 33–45. https://doi.org/10.1002/ev.83.CrossRef

Malhotra, K., Gonzalez-Guarda, R. M., & Mitchell, E. M. (2015). A review of teen dating violence prevention research: what about hispanic youth? Trauma Violence Abuse, 16(4), 444–465. https://doi.org/10.1177/1524838014537903.CrossRefPubMed

Miller, S., Williams, J., Cutbush, S., Gibbs, D., Clinton-Sherrod, M., & Jones, S. (2015). Evaluation of the start strong initiative: preventing teen dating violence and promoting healthy relationships among middle school students. Journal of Adolescent Health, 56(2), S14–S19. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jadohealth.2014.11.003.CrossRefPubMed

Niolon, P. H., Vivolo-Kantor, A. M., Latzman, N. E., Valle, L. A., Kuoh, H., Burton, T., … Tharp, A. T. (2015). Prevalence of teen dating violence and co-occurring risk factors among middle school youth in high-risk urban communities. Journal of Adolescent Health, 56(2 Suppl 2), S5–13. doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jadohealth.2014.07.019.CrossRef

Noonan, R. K., & Charles, D. (2009). Developing teen dating violence prevention strategies: formative research with middle school youth. Violence Against Women, 15(9), 1087–1105. https://doi.org/10.1177/1077801209340761.CrossRefPubMed

Oudekerk, B., Blachman-Demner, D., & Milford, C. (2014). Teen dating violence: How peers can affect risk & proctective factors. Washington, DC: National Institute of Justice.

Powers, C. B., & Allaman, E. (2012). How participatory action research can promote social change and help youth development. Retrieved from http://cyber.harvard.edu/sites/cyber.harvard.edu/files/KBWParticipatoryActionResearch2012.pdf

Powers, J. L., & Tiffany, J. S. (2006). Engaging youth in participatory research and evaluation. Journal of Public Health Management and Practice, Suppl, S79–87.

Price, E.L., Byers, E.S., Belliveau, N., Bonner R., Caron B., Doiron D, … Moore R. (1999). The attitudes towards dating violence scales: development and initial validation. Journal of Family Violence. 14(4), 351–375. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1022830114772.CrossRef

Ritchwood, T. D., Albritton, T., Akers, A., Dave, G., Carthron, D., Adimora, A., … Grace, P. (2015). The effect of teach one reach one (TORO) on youth acceptance of couple violence. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 24(12), 3805–3815. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10826-015-0188-5.CrossRef

Rothman, E. F., & Xuan, Z. (2013). Trends in physical dating violence victimization among U.S. high school students, 1999–2011. Journal of School Violence, 13(3), 277–290. https://doi.org/10.1080/15388220.2013.847377.CrossRefPubMedCentral

Rothman, E. F., McNaughton Reyes, L., Johnson, R. M., & LaValley, M. (2012). Does the alcohol make them do it? Dating violence perpetration and drinking among youth. Epidemiologic Reviews, 34(1), 103–119. https://doi.org/10.1093/epirev/mxr027.CrossRefPubMed

Sabo, K. (2003). A Vygotskian perspective on youth participatory evaluation. New Directions for Evaluation, 2003(98), 13–24. https://doi.org/10.1002/ev.81.CrossRef

Spriggs, A., Halpern, C., & Martin, S. (2009). Continuity of adolescent and early adult partner violence victimization: association with witnessing violent crime in adolescence. Journal of Epidemiology & Community Health, 63(9), 741–748. https://doi.org/10.1136/jech.2008.078592.CrossRef

Stueve, A., & O’Donnell, L. (2008). Urban young women’s experiences of discrimination and community violence and intimate partner violence. Journal of Urban Health, 85(3), 386–401. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11524-008-9265-z.CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral

Tharp, A. T. (2012). Dating matters™: the next generation of teen dating violence prevention. Prevention Science, 13(4), 398–401. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11121-012-0307-0.CrossRefPubMed

Vagi, K. J., Rothman, E. F., Latzman, N. E., Tharp, A. T., Hall, D. M., & Breiding, M. J. (2013). Beyond correlates: a review of risk and protective factors for adolescent dating violence perpetration. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 42(4), 633–649. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-013-9907-7.CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral

Vagi, K. J., O'Malley Olsen, E., Basile, K. C., & Vivolo-Kantor, A. M. (2015). Teen dating violence (physical and sexual) among US high school students: findings from the 2013 National Youth Risk Behavior Survey. JAMA Pediatrics, 169(5), 474–482. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamapediatrics.2014.3577.CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral

Wincentak, K., Connolly, J., & Card, N. (2017). Teen dating violence: a meta-analytic review of prevalence rates. Psychology of Violence, 7(2), 224–241. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0040194.CrossRef

Wolfe, D. A., Scott, K., Reitzel-Jaffe, D., Wekerle, C., Grasley, C., & Straatman, A. L. (2001). Development and validation of the conflict in adolescent dating relationships inventory. Psychoogical Assessessment, 13(2), 277–293. https://doi.org/10.1037//1040-3590.13.2.277.CrossRef

Yonas, M. A., Burke, J. G., & Miller, E. (2013). Visual voices: a participatory method for engaging adolescents in research and knowledge transfer. Clinical and Translational Science, 6(1), 72–77. https://doi.org/10.1111/cts.12028.CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral

Title: Evaluation of a Teen Dating Violence Prevention Intervention among Urban Middle-School Youth Using Youth Participatory Action Research: Lessons Learned from Start Strong Boston
Authors: Elizabeth D. Beatriz
Alisa K. Lincoln
Jess Alder
Nicole Daley
Felicia Simmons
Karibe Ibeh
Crystal Figueroa
Beth E. Molnar
Publication date: 01-11-2018
Publisher: Springer US
Published in: Journal of Family Violence / Issue 8/2018
Print ISSN: 0885-7482
Electronic ISSN: 1573-2851
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10896-018-9981-4

Keynote webinar | Spotlight on medication adherence

Springer Medicine

Evaluation of a Teen Dating Violence Prevention Intervention among Urban Middle-School Youth Using Youth Participatory Action Research: Lessons Learned from Start Strong Boston

Abstract

Keynote webinar | Spotlight on medication adherence

Springer Medicine

Abstract

Please log in to get access to this content

Other articles of this Issue 8/2018

Before there Is a Table: Small Wins to Build a Movement against Sexual and Relationship Violence in a University Context

RYSE Youth Center: Youth Participatory Action Research

Survivor-Centered Research: Towards an Intersectional Gender-Based Violence Movement

Moving from the Mainstream to the Margins: Lessons in Culture and Power

Responding to the Structural Violence of Migrant Domestic Work: Insights from Participatory Action Research with Migrant Caregivers in Canada

“No Sacred Cows or Bulls”: The Story of the Domestic Violence Program Evaluation and Research Collaborative (DVPERC)