Adaptation of RIPP For Cultural and Community Differences

Abstract

In the previous chapters we’ve discussed the implementation and evaluation of RIPP in an urban and a rural school system. Will RIPP work in other communities? This is a particularly important question for those who are considering implementing RIPP in their community. Although RIPP was developed for a primarily low—income, urban, African—American population, RIPP is not a culture—specific program. This is evidenced by our ability to successfully adapt this program to a vastly different student population in a rural system. Similarly, although RIPP has been evaluated with high—risk populations, the program is not restricted to such populations. The recent outbreak of school shootings in communities considered low—risk, such as Littleton, Colorado, and Jonesboro, Arkansas, has raised our nation’s awareness of the need for violence prevention programs across communities of varying risk levels. Increasingly, schools across the country are realizing the need to address the issue of violence, as well as develop school norms for nonviolence. We believe that the theoretical model upon which RIPP is based and the intervention techniques will be an appropriate violence prevention program for middle and junior high schools that represent different types of communities, cultures, and risk levels.