Preliminary Findings From an Outcome Evaluation of an Intimate Partner Violence Prevention Program for Adjudicated, African American, Adolescent Males

• NCJ Number: 215698
• Journal: Youth Violence and Juvenile Justice Volume: 4 Issue: 4 Dated: October 2006 Pages: 368-385
• Author(s): Laura F. Salazar; Sarah L. Cook
• Date Published: October 2006
• Length: 18 pages
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This study evaluated the effectiveness of the Violence Prevention Mentoring Program (VPMP), a culturally focused intimate partner violence (IPV) prevention program for adjudicated African-American male adolescents.

Abstract

Results indicated that the intervention group demonstrated higher levels of knowledge (77 percent) following the intervention than the control subjects (63 percent) after controlling for pre-intervention scores. Moreover, this difference in knowledge level was sustained at the 3-month followup. Patriarchal attitudes as measured by the Wife Beating Is Justified subscale were reduced in the intervention group, but the patriarchal attitudes measured by the Seventh Grade Inventory were not reduced. Overall, the findings suggest that the VPMP was effective at changing some attitudes and increasing knowledge among adjudicated African-American males despite the high prevalence of committing violence against a female. The authors remark that the results are encouraging because even though the adolescents in the study were already violent against females, they were receptive to the intervention. The evaluation study involved an experimental design in which the 37 adjudicated African-American male participants were randomly assigned to 1 of 2 groups: the intervention group that received the VPMP (21 participants) and the control group that was assigned to a wait-listed VPMP group and received no intervention (16 participants). Data were collected via survey from both groups before the intervention and directly following the intervention 2 weeks later. Data were collected from the intervention group only at a 3-month followup. Surveys included measures of knowledge of IPV, patriarchal attitudes, experiences of witnessing parental violence, and prevalence of committing violence. Data analysis techniques included an analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) using hierarchical multiple regression models. Followup studies should attempt to follow intervention subjects for greater lengths of time to determine the program impact on future behaviors. Tables, figure, references