Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Impact of the RIPP Violence Prevention Program on Rural Middle School Students

  • Published:
Journal of Primary Prevention Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

The effectiveness of Responding In Peaceful and Positive Ways (RIPP), a violence prevention program originally developed for urban middle schools serving a predominantly African American student population, was evaluated in rural schools serving an ethnically diverse student population. A between-school design was used to compare outcomes over two years for a cohort of students at four intervention schools where the RIPP program was implemented and four no-intervention control schools. Although results were not consistent across all measures and time points, several significant intervention effects were found on self-report measures of aggression, victimization, life satisfaction and mediating variables including knowledge and attitudes.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

REFERENCES

  • Aber, J., Jones, S., Brown, J., Chaudry, N., &; Samples, F. (1998). Resolving conflict creatively: Evaluating the developmental effects of a school-based violence prevention program in neighborhood and classroom context. Development and Psychopathology, 10, 187–213.

    Google Scholar 

  • Aitkin, M., Anderson, D., Francis, B., &; Hinde, J. (1989). Statistical modeling in GLIM. New York: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Carlo, G., Fabes, R., Laible, D., &; Kupanoff, K. (1999). Early adolescence and prosocial/moral behavior II: The role of social and contextual influences. Journal of Early Adolescence, 19, 133–147.

    Google Scholar 

  • Catalano, R. F., Berglund, M. L., Ryan, J. A., Lonczak, H. C., &; Hawkins, J. D. (1998). Positive youth development in the United States: Research findings on evaluations of positive youth programs. Unpublished manuscript, University of Washington, Seattle.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cohen, J. (1988). Statistical power for the behavioral sciences (2nd ed.). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.

    Google Scholar 

  • Committee for Children (1990). Second Step: A violence prevention curriculum. Grades 6-8. Seattle, A: Committee for Children.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cooley, M. R., Turner, S. M., &; Beidel, D. C. (1995). Assessing community violence: The Children's Report of Exposure to Violence. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 34, 201–208.

    Google Scholar 

  • Crick, N., &; Dodge, K. (1994). A review and reformulation of social-information processing mechanisms in children's social adjustment. Psychological Bulletin, 115, 74–101.

    Google Scholar 

  • Crockett, L., &; Petersen, A. (1993). Adolescent development: Health risks and opportunities for health promotion. In S. Millstein, A. Petersen, &; E. Nightengale (Eds.), Promoting the health of adolescents (pp. 13–37). New York: Simon &; Schuster.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dahlberg, L., &; Potter, L. (2001). Youth violence: Developmental pathways and prevention challenges. American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 20(1S), 3–14.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dodge, K. (1986). A social information-processing model of social competence in children. In M. Perlmutter (Ed.), Minnesota Symposium on Child Psychology Vol 18, (pp. 77–125). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.

    Google Scholar 

  • Elias, M., Zins, J., Weissberg, R., Frey, K., Greenburg, M., Haynes, N., Kessler, R., Schwab-Stone, M., &; Shriver, T. (1997). Promoting social and emotional learning. Alexandria, VA: ASCD.

    Google Scholar 

  • Elliott, D. S. &; Tolan, P. H. (1999). Youth violence prevention, intervention, and social policy: An overview. In D. J. Flannery. &; C. R. Huff (Eds.), Youth violence prevention, intervention, and social policy (pp. 3–46). Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Farrell, A. D., Ampy, L., A., &; Meyer, A. L. (1998). Identification and assessment of problematic interpersonal situations for urban adolescents. Journal of Clinical Child Psychology, 27, 293–305.

    Google Scholar 

  • Farrell, A. D., Danish, S. J., &; Howard, C. W. (1991). Evaluation of data screening methods in surveys of adolescents' drug use. Psychological Assessment, 3, 295–298.

    Google Scholar 

  • Farrell, A. D., Kung, E. M., White, K. S., &; Valois, R. (2000). The structure of self-reported aggression, drug use, and delinquent behaviors during early adolescence. Journal of Clinical Child Psychology, 29, 282–292.

    Google Scholar 

  • Farrell, A. D., &; Meyer, A. L. (1997). The effectiveness of a school-based curriculum for reducing violence among sixth grade students. American Journal of Public Health, 87, 979–984.

    Google Scholar 

  • Farrell, A. D., Meyer, A. L., &; Dahlberg, L. (1996). Richmond Youth Against Violence: Aschool-based program for urban adolescents. American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 12(suppl.) 13–21.

    Google Scholar 

  • Farrell, A. D., Meyer, A. L., Kung, E. M., &; Sullivan, T. N. (2001a). Development and evaluation of school-based violence prevention programs. Journal of Clinical Child Psychology, 30, 207–220.

    Google Scholar 

  • Farrell, A. D., Meyer, A. L., &; White, K. S. (2001b). Evaluation of Responding in Peaceful and Positive Ways (RIPP): Aschool-based prevention program for reducing violence among urban adolescents. Journal of Clinical Child Psychology, 30, 451–463.

    Google Scholar 

  • Farrell, A. D., Meyer, A. L., Sullivan, T. N., &; Kung, E. M. (2003). Evaluation of the Responding in Peaceful and Positive Ways (RIPP) Seventh Grade Violence Prevention Curriculum. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 12, 101–120.

    Google Scholar 

  • Frey, K., Hirschstein, M., &; Guzzo, B. (2000). Second Step: Preventing aggression by promoting social competence. Journal of Emotional and Behavioral Disorders, 8, 102–112.

    Google Scholar 

  • Garbarino, J. (1982). Children and families in the social environment. New York: Pergamon Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Huebner, E.S., Laughlin, J.E., Ash, C. &; Gilman, R. (1998). Further validation of the multidimensional students' life satisfaction scale. Journal of Psychoeducational Assessment, 16, 118–134.

    Google Scholar 

  • Huesmann, L. (1988). An information processing model for the development of aggression. Aggressive Behavior, 14, 13–24.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jessor, R. &; Jessor, S. L. (1977). Problem behavior and psychosocial development: A longitudinal study of youth. New York: Academic Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kelder, S., Orpinas, P., McAlister, A., Frankowski, R., Parcel, G., &; Friday, J. (1996). The Students for Peace Project: A comprehensive violence-prevention program for middle school students. American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 12, 22–31.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kellam, S., Ling, X., Merisca, R., Brown, C., &; Ialongo, N. (1998). The effect of the level of aggression in the first grade classroom on the course and malleability of aggressive behavior into middle school. Development and Psychopathology, 10, 165–185.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kendall, P. C., Flannery-Schroeder, E., &; Ford, J. (1999). Therapy outcome research methods. In P. C. Kendall, J. N. Butcher, &; G. N. Holmbeck (Eds.). Handbook of research methods in clinical psychology (pp. 330–363). New York: Wiley.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kolbe L.D., Kann, L. &; Collins, J.L. (1993). Overview of the Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System. Public Health Reports, 108(Supp 1), 2–10.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lam, J. A. (1989). School mediation program evaluation kit. Unpublished manual.

  • Liang, K. Y., &; Zeger, S. L. (1986). Longitudinal data analysis using generalized linear models. Biometrika, 73, 13–22.

    Google Scholar 

  • Meyer, A. L., &; Farrell, A. D. (1998). Social skills training to promote resilience and reduce violence in African American Middle School Students. Education and Treatment of Children, 21, 461–488.

    Google Scholar 

  • Meyer, A. L., Farrell, A. D., Northup, W., Kung, E., &; Plybon, L. (2000). Promoting nonviolence in early adolescence: Responding in Peaceful and Positive Ways. New York: Kluwer.

    Google Scholar 

  • Meyer, A., &; Northup, W. (1998). Responding in Peaceful and Positive Ways (RIPP): A violence prevention curriculum for sixth graders. Unpublished manuscript.

  • Meyer, A., &; Northup, W., &; Plybon, L. (1998). Responding in Peaceful and Positive Ways (RIPP) seventh Grade Program: A Focus on Friendship. Unpublished manuscript.

  • Newman, D., Horne, A., &; Bartolomucci, C. (in press). Bullies, victims and bystanders: An examination of the effectiveness of a teacher training program. The School Counselor.

  • Norton, E. C., Bieler, G. S., Ennett, S. T., &; Zarkin, G. A. (1996). Analysis of prevention program effectiveness with clustered data using generalized estimating equations. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 64, 919–926.

    Google Scholar 

  • Orpinas, P., Kelder, S., Frankowski, R., Murray, N., Zhang, Q., &; McAlister, A. (2000). Outcome evaluation of a multi-component violence prevention program for middle schools: The Students for Peace project. Health Education Research: Theory and Practice, 15, 45–58.

    Google Scholar 

  • Palma, T. R. (2001). Peer and family support as protective factors for adolescents at risk for engaging in violent behavior. Unpublished master's thesis, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, Virginia.

    Google Scholar 

  • Patterson, G. (1986). Performance models for antisocial boys. American Psychologist, 41, 432–444.

    Google Scholar 

  • Reid, J., Eddy, M., Fetrow, R., &; Stoolmiller, M. (1999). Description and immediate impacts of a preventive intervention for conduct problems. American Journal of Community Psychology, 27(4), 483–517.

    Google Scholar 

  • Samples, F., &; Aber, L. (1998). Evaluations of school-based violence prevention programs. In D. S. Elliott, B. A. Hamburg, &; K. R. Williams (Eds.), Violence in American schools: A new perspective (pp. 217–252). New York: Cambridge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Slaby, R. G., &; Guerra, N. G., (1988). Cognitive mediators of aggression in adolescent offenders. Developmental Psychology, 24, 580–588.

    Google Scholar 

  • Tabachnick, B. G., &; Fidell, L. S. (1996). Using multivariate statistics (3rd Ed.). New York: HarperCollins.

    Google Scholar 

  • U.S. Department of Education (April 15, 2001). Announcement on the Expert Panel on Safe, Disciplined, and Drug-Free Schools, 1. Available: http//www.ed.gov/offices/OESE/SDFS/programs.html.

  • U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (2001). Youth Violence: A Report of the Surgeon General. Washington, DC: United States Department of Justice.

    Google Scholar 

  • Valois, R.F., Zullig, K.J., Huebner, E.S. &; Drane, J.W. (2001). Relationship between life satisfaction and violent behaviors among adolescents. American Journal of Health Behavior, 25,(4), 353–366.

    Google Scholar 

  • Zins, J. (2001). Examining opportunities and challenges for school-based prevention and promotion: Social and emotional learning as an exemplar. The Journal of Primary Prevention, 21, 441–446.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, Virginia

    Albert D. Farrell & Aleta L. Meyer

  2. Arnold School of Public Health, University of South Carolina, Columbia, South Carolina

    Robert F. Valois

  3. Tidwell and Associates, Inc., Columbia, South Carolina

    Ritchie P. Tidwell

Authors
  1. Albert D. Farrell
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Robert F. Valois
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Aleta L. Meyer
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Ritchie P. Tidwell
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Farrell, A.D., Valois, R.F., Meyer, A.L. et al. Impact of the RIPP Violence Prevention Program on Rural Middle School Students. The Journal of Primary Prevention 24, 143–167 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1025992328395

Download citation

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1025992328395

Search

Navigation