This study examined the effect of school- based violence prevention programs for children identified as aggressive or at risk of being aggressive.
The authors searched CENTRAL, Cochrane Injuries Group specialised register, MEDLINE, EMBASE, other specialised databases, and reference lists of articles. They also contacted authors and organizations to identify any further studies. Of 56 trials identified, none reported data on violent injuries. Aggressive behaviour was significantly reduced in intervention groups compared to no intervention groups immediately post intervention in 34 trials with data, (Standardised Mean Difference (SMD) = ‐0.41; 95% confidence interval (CI) ‐0.56 to ‐0.26). This effect was maintained in the seven studies reporting 12-month follow‐up (SMD = ‐0.40, (95% CI ‐0.73 to ‐0.06)). School or agency disciplinary actions in response to aggressive behaviour were reduced in intervention groups for nine trials with data, SMD = ‐0.48; 95% CI ‐1.16 to 0.19, although this difference may have been due to chance and was not maintained, based on two studies reporting follow‐up to two to four months (SMD = 0.03; 95% CI ‐0.42 to 0.47). Subgroup analyses suggested that interventions designed to improve relationship or social skills may be more effective than interventions designed to teach skills of non‐response to provocative situations, but that benefits were similar when delivered to children in primary versus secondary school, and to groups of mixed sex versus boys alone. (Published abstract provided)