Trial Summary
What is the purpose of this trial?
This cluster-randomized community-partnered study will examine the effectiveness of a trauma-sensitive, gender transformative youth violence prevention program called Creating Peace that integrates racism and discrimination prevention with youth ages 14-19.
Do I need to stop my current medications to join the trial?
The trial information does not specify whether you need to stop taking your current medications.
What data supports the effectiveness of the Creating Peace Program for Youth Violence Prevention treatment?
Research on similar violence prevention programs, like the Aban Aya Youth Project, shows that school-based social development curricula can help reduce violent behaviors in youth. Additionally, conflict resolution and peer mediation projects in schools have been found to improve attitudes towards violence and school discipline, suggesting that components of the Creating Peace Program may be effective in preventing youth violence.12345
How is the Creating Peace Program treatment different from other youth violence prevention treatments?
The Creating Peace Program is unique because it is a 12-session curriculum-based program that focuses on promoting healthy conflict resolution skills among urban adolescents, balancing brevity and effectiveness to fit within school schedules. Unlike other programs, it specifically addresses the challenge of integrating violence prevention into the limited time available during the school day.678910
Eligibility Criteria
This trial is for English-speaking teens aged 14-19 who are interested in a program aimed at preventing youth violence and addressing issues related to racism and discrimination. It's not open to those outside this age range or who don't speak English.Inclusion Criteria
I am between 14 and 19 years old.
Participants must speak English
Exclusion Criteria
I am not between the ages of 14 and 19.
I do not speak English.
Trial Timeline
Screening
Participants are screened for eligibility to participate in the trial
2-4 weeks
Treatment
Participants engage in the Creating Peace program, which includes 12 sessions over a 4 to 12 week period focusing on trauma-sensitive, gender-transformative youth violence prevention.
4-12 weeks
12 sessions (in-person)
Follow-up
Participants are monitored for changes in positive bystander behaviors and recent use of violence at 3 and 9 months after program conclusion.
9 months
Treatment Details
Interventions
- Creating Peace (Behavioral Intervention)
- Job Readiness (Behavioral)
Trial OverviewThe study tests 'Creating Peace,' a trauma-informed, gender-aware program designed to prevent youth violence while tackling racism and discrimination. The effectiveness of the program will be compared across different groups.
Participant Groups
2Treatment groups
Experimental Treatment
Active Control
Group I: Creating PeaceExperimental Treatment1 Intervention
Creating Peace uses a group discussion format with activities that explore race, gender, sexual identity, and social class. Creating Peace is a 12 session curriculum designed to support youth ages 14-19 in healing from experiences of trauma by restoring social connections, strengthening positive coping strategies that exclude all forms of violence, challenging gender norms that foster violence perpetration, and practicing positive bystander intervention skills to intervene safely with peers' disrespectful and harmful behaviors. Through 12 sessions (3 hours/session) over a 4 to 12 week period, Creating Peace offers gender transformative content combined with youth leadership development. Near program conclusion, youth will offer guidance to law enforcement on interacting with youth in a process of social restoration.
Group II: Job Readiness TrainingActive Control1 Intervention
Job Readiness Training uses a group discussion format to learn specific skills to prepare for employment including developing goals, seeking jobs, preparing for interviews, and so forth. Participants receive a 12 session job readiness training with linkages to businesses and employment opportunities. Discussions include a wide range of topics related to career exploration and job readiness.
Creating Peace is already approved in United States for the following indications:
🇺🇸 Approved in United States as Creating Peace for:
- Youth violence prevention
- Racism prevention
- Discrimination prevention
Find a Clinic Near You
Research Locations NearbySelect from list below to view details:
University of PittsburghPittsburgh, PA
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Who Is Running the Clinical Trial?
University of PittsburghLead Sponsor
National Institutes of Health (NIH)Collaborator
National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NIMHD)Collaborator
References
Comparison of two violence prevention curricula for middle school adolescents. [2015]To compare the effectiveness of the Violence Prevention Curriculum for Adolescents to the Conflict Resolution: A Curriculum for Youth Providers among middle school students.
The impact of age and type of intervention on youth violent behaviors. [2021]This study compared the impact of the Aban Aya Youth Project (AAYP; Archives of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine 158: 377-384, 2004) social development classroom curriculum (SDC), school/family/community (SC) intervention curriculum, and a health enhancement curriculum (HEC) attention placebo control on changes over time in violent behaviors among participating youth. Grade 5 pretest and grades 5-8 posttest data were used to investigate the possibility of differential intervention effects, especially the extent to which the SDC and SC interventions were differentially efficacious across age. Unlike most previous investigations of AAYP intervention effects, this study included youth who joined the study after baseline data collection in the outcome analyses. Findings indicated that, regardless of age level, the SDC limited the growth of violence of participating students when compared to students in the control condition. In the SC, however, reduction in the growth of violence emerged only among older participants. Importantly, this included joiners who received less exposure to the intervention. Findings for the SDC are consistent with recent meta-analyses of school based programs, whereas SC findings suggest that violence prevention curricula alone are not sufficient for highly mobile students and that interventions for such populations need to engage multiple social ecological systems. Editors' Strategic Implications: The authors present promising violence prevention findings, and they also provide important answers to dosage and developmental timing questions with their analyses of these longitudinal data.
A review of selected school-based conflict resolution and peer mediation projects. [2019]Many U.S. schools are implementing curricula and other activities to reduce interpersonal violence among students. Most involve conflict resolution or peer mediation (CR/PM) training. Little is known about the effectiveness or manner of implementing these projects. This paper examines nine projects supported by four state health departments. Available data suggest some projects may modify youths' self-reported attitudes about violent behavior, improve school discipline, and reduce absenteeism. The review also revealed considerable variation in implementation, especially in the role of professionally trained consultants and amount of teacher and student training. More attention should be paid to evaluating CR/PM projects. Some data suggest they may contribute positively to community efforts to reduce violence among youth, but insufficient information exists to know which projects best serve which students, and how projects should be implemented. Until consensus emerges, project personnel should carefully assess the implementation and impact of their activities. Routinely collected data, such as disciplinary actions, can be used for evaluation, often with only minor modification.
Developing a trauma-informed, emergency department-based intervention for victims of urban violence. [2022]The Surgeon General's report on youth violence, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and other national organizations are calling for public health approaches to the issue of youth violence. Hospital-based violence intervention programs have shown promise in reducing recurrent violence and decreasing future involvement in the criminal justice system. These programs seldom address trauma-related symptoms. We describe a conceptual framework for emergency department-based and hospital-based violence intervention programs that intentionally addresses trauma. The intervention described--Healing Hurt People--is a trauma-informed program designed to intervene in the lives of injured patients at the life-changing moment of violent injury. This community-focused program seeks to reduce recurrent violence among 8- to 30-year-olds through opportunities for healing and connection. Healing Hurt People considers the adversity that patients have experienced during their lives and seeks to break the cycle of violence by addressing this trauma.
Youth violence prevention curriculum evaluation: outcomes of a Cook County, Illinois community based partnership. [2011]The John H. Stroger, Jr. Hospital Departments of Trauma and Emergency created a youth violence prevention curriculum for healthcare providers and staff with a community partnership of practitioners and professionals. A participatory, train-the-trainer approach was used to develop and present the curriculum. Participants were offered voluntary participation in the anonymous evaluation survey to determine their interests, work experience, expectations, knowledge, and skill development, use of, and improvement for the curriculum. Responses from 49 complete surveys were qualitatively analyzed with a response rate of 42% (49/116). The activity, and efforts of professionals and community members to engage and educate themselves through this violence prevention partnership, are an example of how healthcare providers can deploy resources to benefit communities as well as to respond to the needs of individual patients, particularly in the compelling area of youth violence prevention.
Optimizing violence prevention programs: an examination of program effectiveness among urban high school students. [2014]While demand for youth violence prevention programs increases, the ability of the school-day schedule to accommodate their time requirements has diminished. Viable school-based prevention programs must strike a balance between brevity and effectiveness. This article reports results from an effectiveness trial of a 12-session curriculum-based universal violence prevention program that promotes healthy conflict resolution skills among urban adolescents.
Richmond youth against violence: a school-based program for urban adolescents. [2022]The Richmond Youth Against Violence Project teaches middle school students in the Richmond Public Schools knowledge, attitudes, and skills for reducing their involvement in violence. These students are primarily African Americans, many of whom come from low-income, single-parent households in neighborhoods with high rates of crime and drug use. The program, "Responding in Peaceful and Positive Ways," employs a developmentally anchored health promotion model. Its goal is to promote peaceful and positive alternatives to interpersonal and situational violence, by creating environments that teach and encourage health-enhancing behaviors and intrapersonal attributes and weakening supports for health-compromising behaviors and intrapersonal attributes. The 16-session school-based program was implemented by prevention specialists with sixth graders during the 1994-1995 school year. Students are taught a seven-step problem-solving model. Program implementation was staggered to allow an intervention group to participate during the fall semester and a control group to participate during the spring semester. Outcome measures include school data and measures completed by students. There were few significant baseline differences between the intervention and control groups. A high percentage of students, particularly boys, reported exposure to community violence; more than 92% had heard gunshots. Many have also engaged in risk behaviors; 70% of the boys and 44% of the girls reported being in a fight in the preceding 30 days. The impact of the curriculum is being examined. The program has provided valuable lessons about conducting community-based research, particularly designing, implementing, and evaluating prevention programs.
Peacebuilders: a theoretically driven, school-based model for early violence prevention. [2015]PeaceBuilders is a schoolwide violence-prevention program for elementary schools (K-5). A coalition of the Pima County Community Services Department, University of Arizona, and Heartsprings, Inc., (a Tucson-based company) are conducting a formal evaluation. Children who grow up to commit acts of violence show cognitive, social, and imitative differences from their peers. These characteristics can be ameliorated, most successfully through interventions that begin at an early age and involve multiple segments of the child's social experiences and interactions. PeaceBuilders activities are built into the school environment and the daily interactions among students, teachers, and administrative staff, all of whom are taught a common language and provided models of positive behavior, environmental cues to signal such behavior, opportunities to rehearse positive behavior, and rewards for practicing it. Four schools, one from each of four matched pairs, were randomly assigned to begin PeaceBuilders in Year 1. The remaining four schools begin in Year 2. Outcome assessments include student self-reports, standardized teacher reports, playground observations, and school and law enforcement records. Process assessments include school observations and surveys of teacher practices and satisfaction. Surveys were completed by 2,736 children. The sample is about 55% Hispanic, 26% Anglo, 14% Native American, and 4% African American. Among children in grades 3-5, during the past week 15% had been sent to the office for disciplinary problems, 13% tried to start a fight 27% hit someone, and 12% reported being threatened with a gun or knife. Violent behaviors and experiences are common among the studied children. A valid evaluation is underway of PeaceBuilders.
Communities are not all created equal: Strategies to prevent violence affecting youth in the United States. [2019]We describe violence in the United States (US) and solutions the Urban Networks to Increase Thriving Youth (UNITY) Initiative has developed, led by Prevention Institute, a US non-governmental organization (NGO) and authors of this article, with initial funding from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Safety distribution across populations is unequal, while public health research has identified aspects of community environments that affect the likelihood of violence, or risk and resilience factors. An overwhelming number of risk factors have accumulated in some US communities, disproportionately impacting young people of color. US policies, systems, and institutions powerfully shape how and where these factors manifest. Violence is preventable, not inevitable. We argue that comprehensive strategies for improving community environments can reduce violence and promote health equity. We present lessons, tools, and frameworks that UNITY cities use to adapt for international application, including multi-sector collaboration, strategies for influencing policy and legislation, and strengthening local violence prevention efforts.
Burgeoning directions for the prevention of youth violence. Introduction. [2022]Despite focused efforts toward the prevention of youth violence within the United States, it continues to adversely affect the lives of children and families within our communities and society at large. The articles in this issue address risk and protective factors that affect violence among urban youth to inform prevention and treatment. Pathways to youth violence are complex and may begin early. Prevention efforts in school, family, and community settings that address risk and protective factors within a socially, culturally, and ecologically valid context early in human development are crucial. While challenges remain for the prevention of youth violence, research suggests opportunities to improve our efforts. Federal agency initiatives in partnership with communities are currently underway to increase the knowledge base and advance prevention of youth violence among diverse populations.