This study evaluated “Prime Time,” a youth development intervention to reduce multiple risk behaviors among adolescent girls.
Specifically, Prime Time was examined for its impact on participants’ relational aggression, physical violence, and related psychosocial and behavioral outcomes. Designed for primary care clinics, Prime Time is an 18-month multi-component youth-development intervention developed primarily for adolescent girls at high risk for pregnancy. This study, however, focused on another behavioral domain targeted by Prime Time, i.e., relational aggression, physical violence, and related psychosocial and behavioral outcomes. Qualitative case exemplars were used to illustrate the social contexts of participants with differing longitudinal patterns of aggression and violence. Two community and two school-based primary-care clinics were recruited for the study. Data were obtained from a randomized efficacy trial with 253 girls ages 13-17 years old. Prime Time participants and control participants, who received usual clinic services, were monitored for 18 months following service initiation. Participants completed self-report surveys at baseline and at the end of 18 months of services. Outcome analyses showed significantly lower levels of relational aggression in the intervention group compared with controls; however, Prime Time involvement did not result in significant reductions in physical violence. Qualitative findings suggest that Prime Time’s emphasis on modeling and building supportive relationships contributed to reductions in relational aggression. Overall, findings indicate that sustained involvement in a youth-development intervention offered through clinics has promise in preventing multiple risk behaviors among youth most vulnerable to poor health outcomes, including early pregnancy. 53 references