NCJ Number
149708
Date Published
1993
Length
51 pages
Annotation
The Violence Intervention Program (VIP) employs various teaching, interpersonal skill development, conflict reduction, and anger management techniques for youths and parents who have entered the juvenile justice system because of violent crime.
Abstract
The program attempts to address the needs and problems of these youths before they proceed further in the criminal justice system. The VIP was evaluated using 15 adolescent participants; four did not complete the program, leaving 11 participants for evaluation. Most participants were male Hispanics between 14 and 17 years of age. Outcome, process, and formative evaluation data were obtained using questionnaires and interviews. Results showed that the VIP impacted participants in terms of their likelihood of getting into family arguments, self-efficacy for controlling violent behavior in family conflicts, self-efficacy for empathy and understanding other peers who behaved violently, intention to employ conflict reduction techniques with peers, and knowledge of conflict and conflict reduction. After participating in the VIP, parents felt they understood their adolescents better, valued the communication skills training, perceived the problem-solving training as effective, and found it comforting to relate to other parents and families with the same difficulties. Findings revealed, however, that the VIP had more impact on adolescents than adults. Program improvement recommendations are offered, and adolescent and parent questionnaires are included. 2 tables