NCJ Number
239106
Journal
Justice Quarterly Volume: 29 Issue: 1 Dated: February 2012 Pages: 125-151
Date Published
February 2012
Length
27 pages
Annotation
This study identified promising or effective gang prevention and intervention programs.
Abstract
Despite a long history of youth gang problems in the United States, there remains a paucity of evaluations identifying promising or effective gang prevention and intervention programs. One primary prevention program that has received limited support is Gang Resistance Education and Training (G.R.E.A.T.). An earlier national evaluation of the G.R.E.A.T. core middle school curriculum reported modest program effects but, importantly, found no programmatic effect on gang membership or delinquency. This manuscript presents results from a second national evaluation of the revised G.R.E.A.T. core curriculum that utilizes a randomized field trial in which classrooms were randomly assigned to treatment and control conditions. Approximately 4,000 students attending 31 schools in 7 cities comprise the initial sample. Analyses of 1-year post-treatment data indicate that students receiving the program had lower odds of gang membership compared to the control group. Additionally, the treatment group also reported more prosocial attitudes on a number of program-specific outcomes. (Published Abstract)